Scotland's Loch Ness Monster

There is mention of a monster in or around Loch Ness as long ago as the sixth century AD.
We are told by Adomnan, biographer of Columba, that the saint had made a journey to visit Brude, King of the Picts, at his fort. beside the River Ness. He was returning across the water and had just reached the far bank when he saw a man being buried, the victim of an attack by a water beast. One of his companions swam the Ness to retrieve a boat only to disturb again the monster, who now attached his second victim. Columba, however, raised his hand, drew the sign of the cross and ordered the beast to turn back. The monster, on hearing the saints command, turned and fled terrified.

The earliest known report occurred in the Life of St. Columba by Adamnan, written around the 7th century.
"...(He) raised his holy hand, while all the rest, brethren as well as strangers, were stupefied with terror, and, invoking the name of God, formed the saving sign of the cross in the air, and commanded the ferocious monster, saying, "Thou shalt go no further, nor touch the man; go back with all speed." Then at the voice of the saint, the monster was terrified, and fled more quickly than if it had been pulled back with ropes, though it had just got so near to Lugne, as he swam, that there was not more than the length of a spear-staff between the man and the beast. Then the brethren seeing that the monster had gone back, and that their comrade Lugne returned to them in the boat safe and sound, were struck with admiration, and gave glory to God in the blessed man. And even the barbarous heathens, who were present, were forced by the greatness of this miracle, which they had seen, to magnify the God of the Christians".

Although sightings of the creature on land around the loch reputedly date back to the sixteenth century, modern interest in the monster was sparked by a 22 July 1933 sighting, when Mr George Spicer and his wife saw 'a most extraordinary form of animal' cross the road in front of their car. They described the creature as having a large body (about 4 feet (1 m) high and 25 feet (8 m) long), and long, narrow neck, slightly thicker than an elephant's trunk and as long as the 10-12 foot width of the road; the neck had a number of undulations in it. They saw no limbs because of a dip in the road obscuring the animal's lower portion. It lurched across the road towards the loch some 20 yards (20 m) away, leaving only a trail of broken undergrowth in its wake. On 5 January 1934 a motorcyclist called Arthur Grant claimed to have nearly hit the creature while approaching Abriachan on the northeastern shore, at about 1 am on a moonlit night. Grant saw a small head attached to a long neck; the creature saw him and crossed the road back into the loch. Grant dismounted and followed it to the loch, but only saw ripples where it had entered. However some believe this was only a joke to a friend of Grant.
In another 1934 sighting, a young maidservant named Margaret Munro supposedly observed the creature for about 20 minutes. It was about 6:30 am on 5 June, when she spotted it on shore from about 200 yards (200 m). She described it as having elephant-like skin, a long neck, a small head and two short forelegs or flippers. The sighting ended when the creature reentered the water. Sporadic land sightings continued until 1963, when a poor-quality film of the creature was made from a distance of several miles.
Along with Bigfoot and the Yeti, the Loch Ness Monster is one of the best-known mysteries of cryptozoology. Belief in the legend persists around the world. Local people, and later many around the world, have affectionately referred to the animal by the diminutive of Nessie.
Modern sightings date only to 1930s when the construction of a new road along the banks opened up large stretches of the Loch for view.
 

Visit Loch Ness, If you're planning a holiday in Scotland you really should put Loch Ness at the top of your list.