Loch Ness, Scotland

No holiday in Scotland is complete without a visit to Loch Ness. Over 20 miles long, a mile wide and 700 feet at its deepest, Loch Ness is the largest lake in Scotland by volume.

The surrounding area is filled with historic attractions, natural wonders, cosy places to stay, and superb eateries. The Loch Ness Monster is just one of the many myths and legends to be discovered in this particularly beautiful part of Scotland.

I visited Loch Ness last month for the first time in my life and I’m approaching fifty (Sad as I’m Scottish) I loved it and would definitely visit again and again. With lots to do in the near Inverness and if you love to shop then there is the shopping centre bang in the middle of town right outside the Train Station.

Some Facts. Credit To: http://www.lochnesswater.com/facts

Loch Ness is situated at the North Eastern end of the Great Glen, a large “side-slip” (and active) fault line that splits the north of Scotland down the middle and further sculpted by Ice Age glaciers. The word Glen means “steep-sided valley”.

The Word Loch is another word for lake or fjord.

There are about forty small rivers, streams, burns and waterwaysrunning into Loch Ness. The Loch itself is connected to the sea via the River Ness and Caledonian Canal — both feeding into the Moray Firth.

Loch Ness is 51 feet (16 metres) higher than sea level, is 23 miles long and 1 mile wide. Beneath the water the Loch consists of two deep basins separated by a barrier of sediment from the River Foyers,approximately half-way down the southern shore of the Loch.

So far, “Operation Deepscan” has been the largest and most exhaustive expedition staged at Loch Ness. During the exploration, several unidentified and unexplained sonar contacts were recorded beneath the water.

There have been countless fake monster sightings and false evidence of its existence presented over the years, including a fabricated echo sounder chart showing a multi-legged creature taken from the Rival III in 1957.

The first real scientific survey of Loch Ness occurred in 1901 by John Murray.

A plan to bring trained dolphins to help study Loch Ness was thwarted when one of the dolphins died during acclimatization in New England.

Osprey’s regularly fish the waters at Loch Ness.

The waters of Loch Ness never freeze over.

The power company Hydro Electric is able to adjust the level of the water in Loch Ness by several feet, a practiced used to prevent flooding in the River Ness & Inverness.

There are two layers of radioactive sediment beneath the waters of Loch Ness. The first was the result of radioactive fallout from the Chernobyl disaster.

Loch Ness contains more water than in all of the lakes and rivers of England and Wales combined. It also has the greatest volume of water than any other Scottish Loch.

The colour of the Loch Water is caused by peat particles floating throughout the Loch.

There is so much to hear and learn so a visit is a must, you’ll be very surprised and who knows you may even get a little glimpse of Nessie.

My Thoughts — Absolutely a must if you have never been before.

A.J