The Legend of Loch Ness
For at least 1,500 years a legend has held sway in the Scottish Highlands that Loch Ness is home to a mysterious aquatic animal. Find out how this legend got its start and how various possible sightings have kept the legend alive.
birth of a legend
When the Romans first came to northern Scotland in the first century A.D., they found the Highlands occupied by fierce, tattoo-covered tribes they called the Picts or painted people. From the carved, standing stones still found in the region around Loch Ness, it is clear the Picts were fascinated by animals, and careful to render them with great fidelity. All the animals depicted on the Pictish stones are lifelike and easily recognizable—all but one. The exception is a strange beast with an elongated beak or muzzle, a head locket or spout, and flippers instead of feet. Described by some scholars as a swimming elephant, the Pictish beast is the earliest known evidence for an idea that has held sway in the Scottish Highlands for at least 1,500 years—that Loch Ness is home to a mysterious aquatic animal.
In Scottish folklore, large animals have been associated with many bodies of water, from small streams to the largest lakes, often labeled Loch-an-Beastie on old maps. These water-horses, or water-kelpies, are said to have magical powers and malevolent intentions. According to one version of the legend, the water-horse lures small children into the water by offering them rides on its back. Once the children are aboard, their hands become stuck to the beast and they are dragged to a watery death, their livers washing ashore the following day.
The earliest written reference linking such creatures to Loch Ness is in the biography of Saint Columba, the man credited with introducing Christianity to Scotland. In A.D. 565, according to this account, Columba was on his way to visit a Pictish king when he stopped along the shore of Loch Ness. Seeing a large beast about to attack a man who was swimming in the lake, Columba raised his hand, invoking the name of God and commanding the monster to "go back with all speed." The beast complied, and the swimmer was saved.
A mysterious monster lurks beneath the rippling surface of Loch Ness ...
Silently roaming the murky depths, reports claim that a cryptic creature swiftly splits the water, revealing its recognizable neck and humps, before vanishing as quickly as it emerges.
It's a familiar tale for lots of visitors to Loch Ness, with the mysteries and myths surrounding Scotland's most famous legend stretching back hundreds of years.
In fact, the earliest account of a monster actually appears in the Life of St Columba by Adomnán, a record of St Columba's visit to the Highlands in the 6th century. Adomnán describes a man being mauled by a "water beast" and dragged underwater.
Modern-day sightings of Nessie began in 1933 with Aldie Mackay, manageress of the Drumnadrochit Hotel, who reported seeing "an enormous creature with the body of a whale rolling in the water".
Many of the sightings suggest that Nessie is a plesiosaur-like creature with a long neck and flippers, and thanks to a calculation comparing P.A. Macnab's 1955 photograph and the Grant Tower at Urquhart Castle, it's estimated that her largest hump is around 50 feet (15.24m) long – that's longer than our Jacobite Princess vessel!
To date, there have been over 1,000 Loch Ness Monster sightings, ranging from the controversial "Surgeon's Photograph" in 1934 to George Edwards' "most convincing Nessie photograph ever". Whilst some have turned out to be hoaxes, others have been genuine reports, with no conclusive explanation for their occurrence.
So what is the truth? At Loch Ness by Jacobite, we're continuing the search...
EXPLORE THE LEGEND OF NESSIE WITH LOCH NESS BY JACOBITE
With 23 miles of the loch to explore, conducting your own search for Nessie is no small task, but the team at Loch Ness by Jacobite can point you in the right direction.
Quite simply, no visit to Scotland's most famous loch is complete without immersing yourself in the legend of the monster.
At Loch Ness by Jacobite, we offer various cruises and tours leaving from Inverness Bus Station, Tomnahurich Bridge, Dochgarroch Lock, and Clansman Harbour. Each tour offers you the opportunity to make waves on Loch Ness and experience the beauty of the Highland surroundings.
For more information about the range of boat trips and tours we offer, contact a member of the team – we'd be pleased to help.