loch ness & nessie country

Loch Ness is a spectacular stretch of water although the A82 alongside can be quite busy. The natural Highland vegetation that lines its banks, birch, alder, rowan and hazel trees, now struggle to resist the intense forestry schemes of pine that continue to engulf wide swathes of the Highlands.

It was the construction of the A82 in the 1930s that sparked off the modern craze for monster spotting when workmen and locals claimed many sightings. Perhaps the digging and blasting disturbed the monster.

The first mention of 'Nessie', as he or she is colloquially known, goes back to St Adamnan's chronicle of St Colomba who had to placate the monster following its attack on a fellow monk.

Loch Ness is undeniably one of the most famous lakes in the world. It is also, certainly, a place of outstanding natural beauty, but it has to be admitted that the world wide fame of Loch Ness owes more to the legend of its famous occupant, the Loch Ness Monster - or 'Nessie' - than the breathtaking location of the loch itself!!