Tuesday 12 February 2013

Is there a creature in Loch Linnhe?




Loch Linnhe is a sea loch on the west coast of Scotland. It is about 50 kilometres (31 miles ) long and about 2km (1 and 1/5 miles) wide  It opens into the Firth of Lorne at its south-western end and  the town of Fort William lies at the northeast end of the loch, at the mouth of the River Lochy.
There have been several reports of a creature in the Loch over the years. The first documented sighting appears to be in the 1940’s.A witness said that she had seen a creature with a long neck swimming in the loch. It was dark brown, had small black eyes, and stubby rounded horns.
In June 1954, a Mr. Eric Robinson said he observed three humps which he estimated were moving at 30 mph and the water was churning behind the creature. He only saw it for a few minutes.
In June 1964, 10 years later a Mrs. Preston saw the head and neck of a creature in the Loch.
Then in July  1967, John Rankin Muir, William S. Muir, and others said they saw a  snake like head and neck with two or three humps. They watched for approximately 10 minutes.
There are ample fish stocks in the Loch .The southern end around Lismore is  known for  big pollack, giant skate, wrasse and conger eels and during the summer months  people expect to see shoals of mackerel, porpoises, dolphins and even occasionally a Minke whale.
The Loch Linnhe Artificial Reef was completed in 2006,to study tides I presume but as far as I am aware its construction did not prompt an appearance of the monster.
The Loch is open to the sea and as it attracts dolphins etc , it could have been a shoal of these that people have seen or some other large marine creature passing through. As Fort William is a popular tourist area it would be expected that photos would appear of the creature or more sightings would be reported. Perhaps there was a creature in the Loch  but it has long since passed out into the sea. If anyone knows of any recent sightings please post a comment.

2 comments:

  1. Dos familias españolas (4 adultos y 4 niños) hemos visitado Escocia durante 9 días. En el camino entre Glencoe y Fort William paramos en un área de descanso para admirar las vistas del fiordo Linnhe. 4 niños y 2 adultos vimos avanzar por el fiordo, en dirección a Fort William, la cabeza por fuera del agua de un animal que avanzaba rápido. Poco tiempo después se sumergió mediante un movimiento circular dejando ver lo que pareció un largo cuello.

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  2. translation:Two Spanish families (4 adults and 4 children) have visited Scotland for 9 days. On the road between Glencoe and Fort William we stop at a rest area to admire the views of the Linnhe Fjord. 4 children and 2 adults saw the fjord move towards Fort William, head out of the water of an animal that was moving fast. A short time later he submerged himself in a circular motion, revealing what looked like a long neck.

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