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The Loch Ness Monster!

For centuries, the very name has conjured up monsters of the deep, mysterious happenings and more recently, tons of newsprint and famous photos.

But is "Nessie" real?

Sceptics have claimed the creature is nothing more than flights of imagination from witnesses who have mistaken it for lake mists, a large seal, or a floating tree trunk.

Millions of people around the world, meanwhile, are keeping an open mind as the popular jury is still out over the Loch Ness monster's very existence.

As a result, the hunt for Nessie continues today as hotly as it did when it was first reported seen in the Dark Ages.

Historic Sightings & Photos

There certainly is compelling intrigue in the evidence and images that have tracked the shy, elusive animal through the deep, murky waters of the lake (in Scottish, "loch") where all of the reported sightings have occurred.

The earliest know reports is from none other than Scottish St. Columba, who reportedly saved a poor unfortunate local who was in the grips of an attack by a "ferocious monster" in the 7th century.

Since then, modern notable sightings have included a spate of reports, most notably in the 1930's — from which emerged one of the most famous photos of the creature, "the Surgeon's photo" (see above) years later revealed as a hoax via modern analysis in 1994.

While other Loch Ness monster photos have been revealed as fakes, one picture taken in August, 1972 by Dr. Robert Rines of the Academy of Applied Science revealed what appeared to be the flipper of a large animal resembling a plesiosaur.

Traveling to Loch Ness - See For Yourself

Although cynics pointed to the process of photographic enhancement as the reason for its clarity, they stopped just short of calling the 1972 photo a fake.

It nevertheless touched off fascinating conjecture on the origins of Nessie as a holdover from prehistoric times, along with renewed and feverish interest in visits to Loch Ness by travelers.

Today, visitors from around the world still flock to the Loch Ness Exhibition Centre in the scenic Scottish Highlands to learn more about the lake's history & legends — and where the curious can embark on their own expeditions to find the Loch Ness Monster on boat cruises operated from various locations along the loch shore.

More abou the Loch Ness Monster around the Web:

Loch Ness Monster - Wikipedia

NOVA Online - The Beast of Loch Ness

The Loch Ness Monster - Fact or Fiction?

Loch Ness travel guide - Wikitravel

also see in Travel -> UK Tourist Attractions | Ireland Tourist Attractions