Loch Ness Scotland - Nessie or not the loch is no monster!
Loch Ness some facts
Loch Ness is the most famous lake in the world. Loch is the Scottish
word for lake and many of you, especially overseas visitors often refer
to it Lake Ness, and even Loch Ness Lake! but to all Scots it is Loch
Ness, and besides who has ever heard of the lake ness monster!
Loch Ness is a substantial body of water about 24 miles long by a mile wide and at its deepest point it goes down nearly 1,000 ft. Loch Ness lies at the northeast end of the Great Glen in the Highlands of Scotland and occupies a large part of the Great Glen fault. The Great Glen is a geological fault running across the entire width of the Highlands of Scotland. It runs southwest from Inverness right down to Fort William and contains three freshwater lochs - Loch Ness, Loch Oich and Loch Lochy. Fort William is situated near the west coast on the sea loch Loch Linnhe.
These lochs are linked by the Caledonian
Canal which enables boating craft to journey from the east coast
to the west through stepped lock gates at Fort
Augustus and at Fort William overlooked by Ben Nevis, the highest
mountain in the British Isles. The Caledonian Canal was built by Thomas
Telford in 1803 and eventually opened in 1822. It has 29 lock gates
to navigate along its 60 mile route.
Loch Ness is
about 52 ft above sea level and, because of its depth, it has a larger
volume of water than any other Scottish loch - although Loch Lomond has
a larger surface area it is not so deep. Loch Ness is said never to freeze
- it is the same temperature of about 4C throughout the year. It
contains more fresh water than all lakes in England and Wales combined
and is the largest body of water on the Great Glen Fault. Loch Ness is
about 10,000 years old and was formed at the end of the last Great Ice
Age during which The Great Glen had been filled with a huge glacier.
The water becomes deep very quickly and the sides of the loch
suddenly plunge vertically down into extremely murky water due to the
high level of peat content - swimming is not recommended!
Towering above Loch Ness on the NW flank can be seen
the conspicuous dome shaped peak of the Loch’s highest mountain – Mealfuarvonie – gaelic
for ‘mountain of the cold moor’ which reaches an altitude
of 2,284 ft above sea level. The view from the summit is extensive
and allows commanding views from Fort George in the NE down to Fort
William on the SW, a distance of 70 miles.
The only island on Loch Ness is Cherry Island, visible at its southwestern end, near Fort Augustus. It is a crannog, which is a form of artificial island construction of stone and oak wood, probably used as an Iron Age fortified refuge. At the eastern end of the loch is the village of Dores with its wide crescent shaped beach a popular venue for walkers.
There have been unconfirmed reports of a Loch Ness Monster since the
15th century, affectionately known as 'Nessie'. Enthusiasts trace the
first sighting of the Loch Ness monster back to St Columba in
the 6th century. His early biographer, St Adamnan, tells how he used
the sign of the cross to repel a monster in the river Ness. Since then
there have been numerous sightings which have been seriously
reported and there have been many intensive scientific investigations.
The Loch
Ness Exhibition Centre in Drumnadrochit takes visitors
through 500 million years of Loch Ness history using a highly effective
mix of lasers, digital projection and special effects. It charts the
history of the monster by exploring Scotland's geological past, its folklore
and the various research projects carried out on the loch.
There are twice daily trips all year round from Inverness on Jacobite
Cruises which sail along the Caledonian Canal, out onto Loch Ness
and along to Urquhart Castle which juts out on a headland on the northern
shore near the village of Drumnadrochit. The magnificently situated Urquhart
Castle remains an impressive stronghold despite its ruinous state.
Once one of Scotland’s largest castles, Urquhart’s standing
remains include a tower house that commands splendid views of Loch
Ness and the Great Glen. It is steeped in history and conflict and
the story is unfolded in the new visitors centre which was built in
2002 sympathetically into the hillside. It is a worthwhile stop when
travelling round the loch on a day trip by car.
The loch is a very busy stretch of water, especially from Easter until
late October and is used by a wide variety of boating craft. Fully equipped
motor cruisers can be hired from Caley
Cruisers in Inverness for weekly or short-break charter. Larger private
cruisers and yachts of all different shapes and sizes can be seen busily
tacking against the wind or just drifting on the still waters. There
is a regular 1 hour boat trip onto Loch Ness from Fort Augustus on The
Royal Scot equipped with sonar for an interesting glimpse of life
under the water. The magnificent liner ‘The Lord of the Glens’ travels
regularly from Inverness through the Caledonian Canal into Loch Ness
and down the lochs of the Great Glen and beyond. 
The ‘Fingal’ activity
barge equipped with bicycles and canoes can frequently be seen taking
groups of people of all ages on an adventure break. The loch is also
used by a variety of working craft such as trawlers, fishing boats, Royal
Navy boats and barges and is a welcome short cut compared to navigating
the choppy Pentland Firth in the far north.
Since April 2008 Loch Ness is now home to the first RNLI lifeboat [Royal National Lifeboat Institution] on the inshore waters of Scotland. This is the first time in 13 years that the RNLI has placed a lifeboat in a new location in Scotland.
A car journey round Loch Ness is a distance of about 70 miles. A Journey round Loch Ness provides a detailed car journey with photos.
