One June night my wife Kate and my daughter in law Belinda, were walking with the dogs, as they rounded the corner to the hotel car park they noticed a disturbance on the loch and immediately told everybody about it in the hotel. We all went outside to see for ourselves what was causing the disturbance in the water. It was a flat calm day, no wind and no wave on the loch, we watched an incredible display of something weaving about in the water, travelling fast then slow, disappearing altogether and coming up somewhere else and creating a wake as big as you would get from a small speed boat. All the family members, 5 of a staff and 16 hotel guests watched this for about 10 minutes. What was it, I honestly don’t know, but I will swear that what we saw that day was a living creature of some sort.

On another occasion we noticed two humps in the water about 100 yards off shore, one was quite large and the other small, we watched for about 5 minutes then the big one sank into the water with the water quite clearly coming over it, a couple of moments later the small one did the same. What did we see that time ? On another occasion very late at night we heard a noise like the roar of a bull elephant coming from the loch, what caused that ?

Several years ago there was a submarine working on contract taking geological samples from the bottom of the loch. The two guys who manned it were ex Royal Navy submariners and when anyone mentioned the Loch Ness Monster they went into fits of laughter, I can tell you that after a few week the same guys never laughed about it and would not discuss it other than to say they were convinced that there were creatures in the loch.

Is there a monster or is it just a figment of peoples imagination? We have certainly seen things we can’t explain. Sightings have been made by priests, high court judges, police officers and many people just like you and me. Are we all mad or is there really something there? I honestly believe there is something, perhaps not a monster but for example could it be that the loch has giant eels or something similar. I have now appeared on about a dozen films made for TV, Discovery channel etc and have met many people of all opinions and yet even the most unbelieving admit interest and intrigue in the subject.

Remember that whilst many people say the monster was invented for the tourist industry the sightings go back over the centuries and in fact the first recorded sighting was in 565, long before anybody thought of the tourist industry. Still in doubt, may I recommend the book “ Loch Ness “ written by the well known BBC presenter and practicing lawyer Nicholas Witchell.  -- Dave Munro

Monster Magic

Everyone loves a mystery…and Nessie is one of the most famous. Modern sightings of the Loch Ness Monster began in the 1930’s when a new road made the loch easier to reach…and to watch. Since that time, thousands of people have visited Loch Ness in the hope of catching a glimpse. However, the first written report of the monster appeared in about 565 AD in the biography of an Irish saint!

While many scientists are doubtful about the existence of Nessie, without hard scientific evidence, nothing can be proved and the nature of the Loch makes finding proof extremely difficult.

Many of the eyewitness sightings and photographs of the Loch Ness Monster have turned out to be fakes. One person even went as far as to suggest that the monster was an elaborate hoax dreamt up by the Scottish Tourist Board to attract more visitors…needless to say, this has been strongly denied. Monster or not, there is no denying that a great number of very strange sightings have been made.

One of the most famous photographs of Nessie appeared in April 1934, nicknamed ‘the surgeon’s photograph’ taken by London surgeon Robert K Wilson and printed in the Daily Mail. It caused a huge sensation.

Another very famous photo was taken of a most strange wake, taken on a clear day with no boats nearby in August of 1996. Interestingly, staff at the Craigdarroch House Hotel are on record as sighting a large disturbance followed by a wake June 13th of that same year. Since that time, there have been fairly regular sightings of unusual events on the Loch by the Munro family and their guests.

The scientific research continues and the search goes on…by air, by land and by loch.

In any event, it may be hard to spot the Loch Ness Monster, but it’s impossible to overlook the Official Loch Ness Exhibition Centre on the shores of the Loch.

John Russell and Nigel Bell were relaxing and enjoying the views over the Loch when they noticed a long, dark object moving across the glass-like water creating a wake behind. Mr Russell immediately took a photograph with his digital camera just before the monster-like creature dived out of sight.

And strangely like a sighting made five years ago by a group of people in virtually the same location. Dave and Kate Munro, owner/managers of the Lodges on Loch Ness site and formerly owners of the Craigdarroch House Hotel just next door, said at the time:

“One June night my wife Kate and our daughter-in-law Belinda were walking with the dogs. As they rounded the corner to the hotel car-park they noticed a disturbance on the loch and immediately told everybody about it in the hotel. We all went outside to see for ourselves what was causing the disturbance in the water. It was a flat calm day, no wind and no wave on the loch. We watched an incredible display of something weaving about in the water, travelling fast then slow, disappearing altogether and coming up somewhere else, and creating a wake as big as you would get from a small speed boat. All the family members, five members of staff and 16 hotel guests watched this for about 10 minutes. What was it? I honestly don’t know, but I will swear that what we saw that day was a living creature of some sort.”

As the controversy surrounding the Loch Ness Monster continues to rage on over the centuries, perhaps there is finally some proof thanks to the technology of our digital age…or does it simply add to the mystery?

Click to see the images taken by Mr Russell

Loch Ness Monster Sighting Picture 1
Loch Ness Monster Sighting Picture 2
Loch Ness Monster Sighting Picture 3

Read the press release