The Loch Ness monster might have left the Scottish Highlands

Residents were puzzled that the beast was so far “from home” in Scotland’s Loch Ness and wondered if the creature could have swum astray.

Legend of the Loch Ness Monster

Scotland is home to Loch Ness, Britain’s second deepest lake. It’s about 35 kilometres long and 227 metres deep, but that’s not what attracts tourists to the Scottish Highlands every year. Instead, it is the legend of the famous Loch Ness Monster that still brings in around £300 million a year to the local economy.

It was in 1933 that George Spicer sent a letter to the Inverness Courier describing how he and his wife had seen “the nearest thing to a dragon or prehistoric animal that I have seen in my whole life” in Loch Ness. Spicer wrote that it was said to be about eight metres long and had a long neck, but no visible limbs.

After Spicer’s letter, more letters began to be sent in frequently with new testimonies and soon the creature was named the Loch Ness Monster, later nicknamed “Nessie”. That same year, Hugh Gray took the first photograph of Nessie, which was a black and white blurred image of something snake-like, or log-like, in the water. However, it was the picture taken the following year that attracted the most attention.

Clevedon Marine Lake, England. Photo: Chris Fletcher/ Wikipedia

The picture, published in the Daily Mail, was probably taken by gynaecologist Robert Kenneth Wilson and shows something sticking out of the water, resembling a shark’s fin, but believed to be Nessie’s head and neck. After this, stories began to flow in and several testimonies were documented, with the oldest story going back as far as 565 AD.

The book Life of St Columba, written in the 6th century, describes how a character in the book swims across a lake called the Ness and is attacked by a sea monster. Many believe that it was Loch Ness that was described in the book.

Since 1933, testimonies, photos and later videos of what is said to be Nessie have continued into modern times.

Loch Ness Monster in Clevedon?

In February this year, a number of people in the British town of Clevedon saw something strange in the water that prompted many to rush to the shore with their cell phones. A snake-like creature several metres long swam past them in the water. Visitors and residents of the town said it resembled the Loch Ness Monster.

“It moved all the way along the sea in front of us as we sat there. My daughter Grace said it looked like a sea monster,” Anna Purse told Somerset Live. “The shape alone reminded me of Nessie.”

It is recognised that it is rare to see the beast outside Loch Ness, but the resemblance was striking. People gathered on the shore and discussed what might have happened. Some said that the beast was clearly lost and probably swam astray as Clevedon is a long way from the Scottish Highlands.

Purse admits that Nessie may in fact have been a piece of driftwood that often floats by in the canal.

“ It looked so unusual,” she says.

Whatever the case, it is clear that the legend of the Loch Ness Monster lives on. Today there is an official register of all the testimonies that have been documented. At the time of writing, it is up to 1,144 testimonies. There is also a “Loch Ness Webcam” to capture Nessie on video. Whether the belief is based on reality, to attract tourists or possibly on a strong desire to leave a small glade of mystery is left unsaid, but it can certainly be said that it still gathers and engages people today, 90 years later.