Fife and Scotland - the offbeat perspective

Throughout the ages, in many countries and locations, there have been a substantial number of reports about strange and rarely seen creatures roaming the forests, in the sea or in lakes.

Bigfoot and the Lake Champlain Monster are well known examples from the North American continent but perhaps one of the longest example and perhaps most famous originates from alleged sightings in Loch Ness in Scotland.

The Loch itself lies about twenty-three miles from Inverness and is one of the largest bodies of freshwater in the United Kingdom. In terms of surface area, Loch Lomond is larger and Loch Morar is deeper but with a maximum depth of two hundred and thirty metres, Loch Ness is the largest in terms of volume. In fact, Loch Ness is deeper than the London BT Tower is high and contains more freshwater than all lakes in England and Wales combined – more than enough space for any form of species to hide and remain virtually undetected and amid amid waters heavily laden with particles of peat where submarine vision rarely exceeds a few yards! This also makes it difficult to use sonar and other methods of detection. Being perfectly honest, a huge degree of the legend relies on inconsistent 'eye witness accounts' and where one story, concerning a motor-cycle accident is highly suspect and where evidence of a monster intervention was more likely a work of fiction designed to support a case of innocense.

The oldest written text concerning the possibility a monster or strange creature being resident in the loch relates to a visit by St Columba in to what was then called Pictland. In this narrative, written about a century after the event, St Columba came across a burial being undertaken beside the loch and was told that the dead man had been attacked by the monster. One of Columba's aides was persuaded to swim in the Loch and when the monster appeared and made to attack the swimmer, Columba raised his cross and bade the monster to leave. According to the story, the monster did so and those present were mightily impressed and praised God. Sadly, the account isn't sufficiently detailed and where the monster could have been a large walrus or something similar.

It's surprising that relatively few sightings were recorded since that time and until around 1930 when articles began to appear in the Inverness Courier. This brought new reports, often from anonymous readers, and gradually these stories were repeated in national newspapers. In time, photographs proclaiming to be illustrative proof of the monsters existence were put to the test with many quickly dispelled as fake and hoaxes. One photograph, however, resisted any definite conclusion and seemed genuine. In contrast to other submissions, the picture showed a small head on a long neck and suggested an animal akin to a surviving species from the age of dinosaurs.

British naturalist Peter Scott announced in 1975 that the scientific name of the monster would henceforth be Nessiteras rhombopteryx (Greek for "The Ness monster with diamond-shaped fin"). Scott probably intended that this would enable the Loch Ness Monster to be added to a British register of officially protected wildlife but Scottish politician Nicholas Fairbairn pointed out that the name was also a convenient anagram for "Monster hoax by Sir Peter S".

In the 1990s, the whole story and photographic originals were examined again. According to Dr Wilson, a London gynaecologist, and attributed to having taken the photographs, he saw the monster then took five pictures before it disappeared. After development, only two the photographs were reasonably clear with the second shot still quite blurry.

The first picture was much clearer and became internationally known as the 'Surgeon's Photograph' because Wilson did not want his name associated with it. It was published in the Daily Mail on 21st April 1934 and quickly became the subject of debate amongst many scientists. The picture fooled many for nearly seventy years before modern technology seemed to suggest the object was a model of some kind, perhaps just three feet long, and towed to create the effect of movement.

Amid growing pressure, Christian Spurling, a sculpture artist and son-in-law of Marmaduke Wetherall made a confession. According to Spurling, Marmaduke Wetherall sought revenge on the Daily Mail after he had been publicly ridiculed in the newspaper and where he organised one of the best hoaxes ever perpetrated in modern history.

Ian Marmaduke, Wetherall's son, bought the material to make the model while Christian Spurling fitted the long neck and head onto the body of children's toy submarine and using a new product recently introduced to model builders in the nineteen-thirties known as 'plastic wood'. Maurice Chambers, an insurance agent, was also part of the hoax and who persuaded Wilson to submit the picture to the Daily Mail.

In 2003, the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) sponsored a full search of the Loch using the latest technology with six hundred separate sonar beams and satellite tracking. The search was one of the most extensive ever conducted in the loch and with advanced technology capable of high resolution and ability to detect small size objects at depth yet failed to discover no animal of any great size. Despite initial high hopes; most involved with the project felt sure the story of the Loch Ness Monster was essentially a myth.

Despite this, the Loch Ness Visitor Centre at Drumnadrochit receives many visitors each and every year. Castle Urquhart, located mid-way along the loch is where most sightings have been reported, is also a popular tourist attraction. This author has visited both although our visit to Urquhart Castle was curtailed on account of a motorcycle accident and where a fatality prompted the local constabulary to close the road for some time before we could eventually reach the castle. Time spent at this venue was thus less than planned yet ultimately of little significance. It's a nice enough castle ruin but without the Loch Ness Monster Myth, it's just another tourist trap with little to really recommend it. Sadly, the Loch Ness Visitor Centre at Drumnadrochit, perhaps also belongs in this category; desperately trying to prove existence while the evidence tends to prove otherwise. I know that bottles of 'Loch Ness Water' have been successfully sold in the US and (so far as I know) is genuine but whether such sales will continue far into the future is speculative.

In closing, and having lived in Scotland for most of my life, the entire mythology about the Loch Ness monster seems less probable than certain. I'm guessing that if a Walrus, suddenly presented with a man holding a large metal c ross, and perhaps apparently increasing the threat, might shy away and especially if protecting young pups. Subsequent sightings, photographs and testimony combine to illustrate doubt rather than confirm certainty.

Is there a Loch Ness Monster?

Frankly, I'm inclined to doubt it. In the wake of the Napoleonic Wars, the notion of connecting several lochs together to form the Caledonian Canal had led to the construction of a network designed to permit Navy ships to pass from one side of the country to another without recourse to a longer voyage across the tip of Scotland. Despite severe economic stringency far worse than in 2011, the project was completed in 1821 and when most new Royal Navy ships were simply too lbig and heavy to use it.

It took nearly forty years before Britain paid of the debt of the Napoleonic Wars during which tmes, many forms of ships used the Caledonian Canal and where there was no single sighting of abnormal creatures. To a large extent, it all depends on what might have been classified as a 'monster' and without more detailed and accurate reference; this could range from agressive eels to Walrus protecting their young! If that seems a tad fantastic, then, until a few years ago, I might have dismissed the proven existence of giant Humbolt squid equipped with over three thousand razor sharp teeth and where attacks on human swimmers had been documented in detai. On balance, I'm inclined to think St Columba confronted a walrus or similar sea creature and the rest became folklore and fiction.