This photo was taken by Colonel Robert Wilson early morning time April 19 1934 while driving. This photo has remained famous for decades.
Scotland is famous for the lock ness monster, Supposedly this beast lurks within the deep waters of lock ness close to Fort Augustus and has been sighted many times by photographers and locals. Many of the photos show the head and its round body protruding from the waters and some even show a long snake like creature. No one for sure has been totally convinced of its existence as locals still perceive it as a hoax or fantasy. Lets have a look at some of these masterful pictures and decide for yourself.
This stunning photo was taken by an amateur photographer called Ian Bremner 58, From Nigg Invergordon, Is this now proof the monster exists or is it just three seals swimming together.
This shot was taken in 1954 by bank manager Peter MacNab, on a lovely and warm July afternoon, Black and white photos like this don't give too much information is it a hoax maybe.
This image was taken by George Edwards who is a Nessie hunter, He was turning his ship to shore after spending time searching for an old steam engine which was on the floor of the lake and spotted this shape in the water.
Scientists and hunters explain that Nessie is similar in shape to a Plesiosaurus, Dinosaurs were wiped out millions of years ago by a ginormous meteorite which hit earth at a high speed destroying the dinosaurs way of life killing them.
Researchers now believe dinosaurs walked the earth 15 million years earlier than once thought, They now have evidence of Saltopus fossils that were found in Lossiemouth in Moray Scotland,
Saltopus Dinosaur
Matthew Barron of Cambridge University now thinks dinosaurs first originated in Scotland and not South America.
Could it be that Nessie existed 231.4 million years ago and was actually quite smart, Because the meteorite caused so much damage on land it may of decided to go into the sea or fresh water lake to protect itself from the dangerous environment.
The drifting melody of Scottish bag pipes over the lock could be a favourite sound for Nessie as it comes to the surface to feed.
Naked Science - The Lock Ness Monster.
Gary Campbell an Inverness chartered accountant keeps the register of reported nessie sightings which currently stands at over 1091. It was started 21 years ago.
Steve Feltham 53 has dedicated his life to finding and solving the mystery of the lock ness monster, For the past 26 years he has kept up his monster hunting vigil with the hope that one day he will see profound evidence of it's existence. He is even recognised by the Guiness book of records as the longest continuous Nessie hunter, He is even prepared to dedicate all of his life in the pursuit of finding the beast.
In 2016 an autonomous underwater vehicle was used to scour and explore the deep depths of lock Ness in a bid to discover Nessie. Operation Groundtruth used sonar imaging to map the lake which has steep slopes and has been difficult in the past to map. It was known among nessie hunters that there is a trench on the floor of the lake that is called Nessie's lair.
Operation Deepscan, The week-long project consisted of a flotilla of 24 boats, equipped with high-tech sonars, which trawled the 22.5-mile (36km) long, 738ft, 227m) deep lake in the Scottish Highlands for two days. It cost £1 million pounds to organise but after 3 days of searching the beast was not found. Led by Adrian Shine an avid enthusiast, He has taken countless photos and used every means possible to track down the monster.
Adrian Shine leader of the lock ness project debuncts the nessie trench as simply not being there, after 3 days of intensive sonar scanning I can confirm that it does not exist says shine. This no doubt will upset some nessie enthusiasts as they truly believed it did exist. Nessie has outsmarted the explorers again no doubt.
Operation Deepscan in October 1987. The largest sonar sweep of any freshwater lock anywhere in the world. Laurence X-16 sonar units were used which could target objects as deep as 1300 ft and pinpoint objects as small as 1 ft and seperate objects of just 1 inch apart. Over 250 news reporters and 20 television crews turned up to record the event and a helicopter was also flying overhead.
Lock Ness is the second largest Scottish lock by surface area at 22 sq miles. Lake Lomond is the largest inland stretch of water in Great Britain by surface area. Lock ness has a maximum depth of 126 fathoms or 755ft so quite deep and the second deepest after Lock Morar which has a depth of 1.017 ft.
European Eel is a native species to the lock ness water. Latin Anguilla anguilla
Northern PIke is another native fish species that lives in the lock, Latin Esox lucius.
Artic Char another fish that is abundant in lock ness, Latin Salvelinus alpinus.
Atlantic Salmon, Latin Salmo salar
Sea Trout, Latin Salmo trutta
These fish species and many more flourish in lock nesse's waters. If Nessie was living in these waters there would be plenty of fish to eat to keep up it's strength. A study by Kubecka Duncan and Butterworth in 1993 estimated there were about 23 tonnes of Artic Char in lock ness. There are also an abundant amount of eels also and estimates could be set at 100 million fish. Hungary in 1965 imported 2.5m fry and 800.000 young eels for it's waters so 100m is a good estimate, that equates to another 60 tonnes of fish. There are over 13 million adult salmon in the waters, In 1971 Robert Rines and his team placed a camera 30 feet deep in Urquhart Bay near the mouth of the river Enrick as the salmon were heading upriver. From the images it could be assessed how many salmon were entering the waters, Six other rivers also connect to lock ness being Coiltie, Moriston, Oich, Tarff, Foyers, and Farigaig, not including 30 other streams that lead to lock ness. If each fish was an average weight of 4kg that would add up to 66.000 tonnes of fish in that species. What Is significant here is there is a tremendous amount of fish for nessie if she did exist and it would be a great place for her to live deep down in the lock somewhere. Maybe only the fish know where she lay as she probably consumes a fair amount of livestock. Nessie is a secretive predator and so are her children as there may be more that one monster in those waters estimates put it at 10 monsters but maybe more, But rest assured there is more than enough food for her and the family. If nessie is breeding then there will be a greater chance of spotting one as they can only increase in population.
Saint Columba encountered Nessie on August 22nd 565, This makes this encounter the earliest known recording of the monster, He was in Scotland on a Pilgrim for christ mission and founded the monastery of Iona from which Christianity spread across North Britain. He had to cross the lock and and as he pondered he noticed some men burying a man who had been attacked and killed by some sort of water serpent beast. His body had been recovered with a hook and a boat. Despite this sight he ordered one of his trusting followers to swim across the deep lake and row back a Coble that he could spot in the distance. The brave man's name was Lugne Mocumin and without hesitation stripped and jumped in to the cold waters. The monster robbed of it's meal lunged at Lugne with it's jaws wide open in an attempt to eat him, Everyone that witnessed this were stupified with terror except Columba, A holy man who believed in the power of Christ he raised his hands forming a cross and then summoning the power of God he commanded the monster to go no further to stop and leave. At the sound of Columba the beast was gone quicker than it did when men had it binded with ropes. Everyone was amazed and concluded it was the power of God that saved the man.
In 2005 Scotland's biggest triathlon which attracts 100 international athletes from five countries were insured for £1 million each just in case they got bitten by the lock ness monster. Organisers paid the mighty sum to ensure the safety of the competing swimmers. With so many top athletes in the lock at the same time they couldn't risk disturbing the monster from the depths just in case she decided to make a meal out of one or a few swimmers. There will be a lot of splashing and noise and the risk of attack is too great said David Hart of the firm Nova International.The visit Scotland adventure triathlon's swimming stage has the competitors swimming twice around Urquhart Bay a spot where Nessie has been seen numerous times and famous photo's have been taken. The insurance will also cover obstruction by the monster if she decides to obstruct the swimmers or cause mayhem in the water, Money well spent I think.
The official lock ness fan club's chairman Gary Campbell attacked the move as poposterous, Claiming Nessie had never attacked anyone in all the years she has been hiding in the lock she is completely harmless and friendly. He further adds, if nessie wanted to participate in the swimming section she would easily win as her knowledge of the lock is second to none and she might even take to land to finish the race.
The Baxters Lock Ness marathon is a spectacular run around lock ness, Taking in the beautiful views of the lock and it's scenery, Being voted in the top 10 of UK marathons by Runner's world readers in 2016 this is a race everyone wants to participate in. Passing through highland scenery and the south eastern shores of lock ness runners will finish Inverness. But there's no time for sightseeing if you spot nessie you will just have to keep going.