Long ago there was no Loch in the Great Glen; instead the twenty-four miles over which the waters of Loch Ness now stretch was a rich and fertile valley, dotted with an abundance of farms and homesteads. At the centre of this lush dale was a magic spring guarded by a strict taboo. Anyone who drew water from it must immediately replace its covering stone the moment they had finished. Failure to do so would blight the lives of those who lived in the vale. But one day, a woman had just begun filling her bucket when she heard her baby screaming in agony. Panicking, she left the spring uncovered and ran to assist. Immediately, the well overflowed and a torrent of raging water cascaded behind her and flooded the valley. The inhabitants fled to the hills, crying as they went: “Tha loch nis ann” (There is a loch there now), from which came the name Loch Ness.

Loch Ness lies at the northern end of the Great Glen, a geological fault line that slashes across the Scottish Highland’s. Its twenty-four miles of dark rippling water, presents the jaded wayfarer with an ever changing panorama of hill, water and woodland. No one knows for certain exactly how deep this mysterious Loch is, but its deepest and most sinister portion is that which ripples before the hollow shell of Urquhart Castle, beneath which, legend holds, exist underwater caves that are home to a colony of monsters. And, of course Loch Ness, despite its stunning scenery, is best known for the enigmatic creature that is said to lurk beneath its peat blackened waters, and whose forays to the surface, have made it one of the world’s most famous legendary beasts.

Whatever haunts the chilly depths of Loch Ness is neither a newcomer nor an idle legend to be derided out of hand. Indeed the very first recorded encounter with either “Nessie” or, more probably, one of her ancient ancestors, occurred in AD 565 when a disciple of the Irish missionary St. Columba, was swimming across the River Ness to fetch a boat for his master. Suddenly a fearful beast broke the surface and, “with a great roar and open mouth”, rushed upon the swimmer. St Columba immediately made the sign of the cross and bellowed at the beast “Think not to go further, nor touch thou that man! Go back…” The monster obeyed and, in the 1400 years since, despite making regular appearances, it has never harmed anyone nor, for that matter, emitted even the slightest sound, let alone a roar.

It was with the opening of a main road along the north shore of the loch in 1933, that the modern interest in Nessie began. In the December of that year, the Daily Mail sponsored the first endeavour to find the Monster, by engaging the services of big game hunter Marmaduke Weatherall and photographer Gustav Pauli. An immense amount of excitement was generated when, deep in the undergrowth by the side of the loch, the two discovered a large footprint, apparently left by a massive creature. Unfortunately, this was soon revealed to have been a hoax perpetrated with the aid of a dried hippopotamus foot, otherwise being used as an umbrella stand!

Then, on April 19th 1934, Harley Street consultant Robert Kenneth Wilson took the famous “surgeon’s photograph” of a seemingly long-necked creature, swimming across Loch Ness, and gave the world its most enduring image of the fabled beast. Although his picture has been proved a fake, there have since been over 1,000 reported sightings and, disregarding proven hoaxes, mistaken identifications of natural objects, optical illusions, or wishful thinking - and it must be said that these can certainly account for a large proportion of the sightings – their still remains sufficient evidence from sober, honest and publicity-shy witnesses, to suggest that something mysterious does indeed lurk in the murky depths of Loch Ness.

But it is over the nature of the beast that debate rages. Those who have seen the Monster close-up say that it is either “slug” or “eel” like with a head resembling that of a sheep or seal. Its length has been estimated at anywhere between 25 and 75 feet, and its skin texture is “warty” and “slimy”. Some say that it is an unknown species of fish; others that it is a survivor from pre-historic times, possibly a plesiosaurus. Sceptics dismiss it as a mass of rotting vegetation; a group of frolicking water otters; a swimming deer, or even a sunken World War One Zeppelin, that periodically rises to the surface. Gaelic folklore, meanwhile, identifies it as Each Uisge, one of the terrifying water- horses that are said to haunt many of the Highland Lochs. Numerous scientific expeditions have failed to provide conclusive proof, one way or the other, for its existence and the numerous photographers who come here in the hope of catching “Nessie” on film have long grown used to her annoying habit of appearing when they are sans camera.

It could also be one of the great eels that are known to grow exceptionally large in Loch Ness. There is an old report of a woman who drowned in the Loch and whose husband hired a local diver to recover her body. After one dive, the man refused to return to the water, claiming that the eels made the risk too great. Dismissing the divers fears as nothing more than superstition, the husband appealed to the Navy who sent a diving party to assist. The first man down quickly returned to the surface, saying that the eels had made it impossible for him to protect his airline. The naval divers then also departed. Finally, the husband brought up divers from the London docks and personally escorted them from the station to prevent them hearing any “eel gossip”. But they too refused to remain underwater because of the huge eels that attempted to foul their airlines and wrap themselves around them. They are said to have warned the husband that they had never seen such terrifying creatures and that to dive amongst them was suicide!

Whatever may or may not live beneath the waters of Britain’s greatest volume of fresh water, its legend refuses to die and visitors flock from all over the globe in the hope of catching a glimpse of the legendary creature. But perhaps the final word should go to naturalist Dr David Bellamy who said of Nessie in 1991 “I hope it’s there. But I hope they don’t find it because if they do, they’ll do something nasty to it”.