WATCH: Hunt for the Loch Ness Monster continues 90-years on
The Loch Ness Centre celebrates the 90th anniversary of the first organised surface watch of Loch Ness, Sir Edward Mountain’s expedition with the ‘Watchers of the Monster’.
The hunt for ‘Nessie’ continues to spark a frenzy across the world and the modern fascination with whatever is lurking in the deep.
The Loch Ness Monster is a global phenomenon which has captured the world’s imagination and hearts for centuries, with the first ever recorded sighting dating back to 565 AD.
Since then, Loch Ness has been shrouded in myths and mysteries and taken a special place in Scottish folklore.
To this day, people flock to the water to try and catch a glimpse of Nessie. The number of registered Nessie sightings in 2023 have reached double figures, contributing to a total of 1,155.
To honour 90 years since the first surface watch of Loch Ness, the centre organised one of the biggest hunts yet for those to attend throughout the course of the weekend.
The Loch Ness Centre’s general manager, Paul Nixon said: “This weekend we are hopefully going to uncover some of the mysteries here at Loch Ness.
“I think there is a strong possibility that something is out there, I mean there’s all these eye witness statements and no one has ever provided me with any evidence to show Nessie does not exist.”
When talking about the importance of Loch Ness to the Highlands, Paul said: “I think the story of Nessie plays a huge role in Scottish heritage and everyone that comes here wants to see Loch Ness because of that.”
People travel far and wide in the hope of seeing the world famous water creature. A group of girls, who had travelled from the United States for the occasion were overjoyed to have joined the ‘huge search’.
They said: “We just graduated from medical school, so we are just trying to make the most of our time here in the Highlands before looking at computer screens all day and stuck inside, so this has been really nice.
“And what better way to celebrate than if we were to find Nessie!”
Starting off this weekend’s Nessie hunt was deepscan captain, Alistair Matheson, the Skipper for the Loch Ness Project, to search the Loch.
Alistair once saw what he thought was the Loch Ness monster while scanning the loch as he said: “We saw a long neck and a head sticking out of the water and when we were watching it, it was rocking back and forth.
“So, we went over to it in the boat and found it was a tree trunk that was shaped like the iconic Loch Ness image.
“I haven’t seen it, but there’s been a few close calls.”
As well as the huge search, there will be a number of other activities taking place this weekend at the Loch Ness Centre. This includes a special screening of ‘Loch Ness: They Created a Monster’, which is a new documentary that explores the monster-hunting frenzy at Loch Ness in the 1970s and 80s with a special Q&A alongside the director John MaClaverty.
Other events include a live debate with Alan McKenna from Loch Ness Exploration, Roland Watson, a renowned Loch Ness writer, and eyewitness Richard White, as they tell gripping stories, discuss ongoing research, and dissect eyewitness accounts.
