Top 10 Facts About The Loch Ness

Top 10 Facts About The Loch Ness

The Loch Ness is a freshwater lake in Scotland, famous for its amazing scenery and tales of unusual historical happenings around it. It also has a lot of wildlife, plants, and creatures to discover besides the water itself. Let’s get right into it with the top 10 facts about the Loch Ness that will interest you.

1. The Loch Ness is the largest lake in the United Kingdom

Loch Ness- by Riccardo Speziari- Wikimedia Commons

The Loch Ness’ water volume is larger than all the England and Wales’ lakes put together. It can, therefore, be said to be the largest lake in the United Kingdom. However, lakes Lomond and Morar are bigger in size and deeper respectively. The Loch Ness however is attention-grabbing in its own right, for the amount of water it holds.

2. The Loch Ness is a cold water lake

Loch Ness shoreline- Wikimedia Commons

With a temperature of 6°C all year round, the Loch Ness is hardly the lake to go to for a casual warm dip. This lake is cold! It however doesn’t get to freezing point even during winter.

Cold as the Loch Ness is, when the weather is really cold in Scotland, steam can be seen rising from it as then, it is warmer than the air around it. How ironical!

3. The Loch Ness lies in the Great Glen Fault Line

View of the end of the Loch Ness from Great Glen- by Graeme Paterson- Wikimedia Commons

A long strike- strip runs along the Great Glen in Scotland, hence its name, ‘the Great Glen Fault Line’. Loch Ness lies along this line and is prone to some seismic activity detected by scientists. These activities are however no cause for alarm as the earthquakes in this region are mild.

4. Boat trips are available at the Loch Ness

Boat on Loch Ness- by Bert Kaufmann- Wikimedia Commons

This is arguably the best way to see the Loch Ness! A boat trip on the lake can be cool and leisurely or fast and furious. Presently, the Loch Ness is accessible by road. However, it used to have only Paddle Steamers for transport.

The Loch Ness also can accommodate speedboats- John Cobb, a renowned English racing motorist died while trying to beat the water speed record when piloting his speedboat at the Loch Ness.

5. The Loch Ness spots a lighthouse turned home

Bona Lighthouse- by Jo Turner- Wikimedia Commons

Scotland’s one time smallest manned lighthouse, the Bona lighthouse is found in the Loch Ness. It was once what was used to keep watch over the Loch Ness and guide ships from Loch Ness into Loch Dochfour- the lighthouse keeper would put a lantern on his window which the ships would spot.

The Bona Lighthouse was restored and turned into a holiday home.

6. The Loch Ness is believed to host a monster!

Nessie the monster- by Ad Meskens- Wikimedia Commons

From ancient times, there has been a myth about a large marine creature inhabiting the Loch Ness. An account of this monster first appeared in a biography of St. Columba from 565 AD. It apparently bit a swimmer and was headed onto its next victim when St. Columba intervened, ordering the creature back to where it came from. It apparently obeyed and its sightings lessened from that point on. The monster was nicknamed Nessie.

While the legend of the Loch Ness monster has been severally dispelled, it very much exists in the psyche of the residents – local stone carvings depict a mysterious beast with flippers fitting the description of the said monster.

Nessie is believed to be a plesiosaurus, a type of dinosaur said to have been common about at least 205 million years ago. She contributed nearly £40 million to Scotland’s economy in the early 21^st century! Tourists come to Loch Ness hoping to catch a glimpse of her but they also purchase Nessie merchandise as keepsakes. There have been searches for Nessie but the monster hasn’t been found. Yet.

7. The Loch Ness is pitch black!

Darkness of the Loch Ness- by Michal Osmenda- Wikimedia Commons

When it rains, peat washes from the hills down into the Loch Ness, which makes the lake dark. It is therefore difficult to see underwater- the water is also essentially impenetrable due to this cloudiness. This appears to be the perfect home for Nessie the monster!

8. Aleister Crowley lived at the Loch Ness

Boleskine House at the Loch Ness- by Aaron Sneddon- Wikimedia Commons

Aleister Crowley was a famous 20^th Century rock star- a British occultist, writer, and mountaineer. He practiced magic and called himself the Beast 666. He became a cult figure after he died but was known to the locals as the Beast of Boleskine, whom the press called ‘The Wickedest Man in the World’ as he carried out various rituals, black magic, and debauchery from the Boleskine House.

Strange happenings have taken place at the Boleskine house hence a tad baffling that someone else would want to occupy the same house- Led Zepplin bought it in the 1970s and owned it for around 20 years. The house was razed down by a fire.

9. The Loch Ness has been part of a triathlon

Imagine the chill on the Loch Ness as a starting point for a triathlon! The Loch Ness played the first hurdle in a triathlon in 2005. With the ‘monster lurking in the waters’ legend, each of the 100 participating athletes was insured for £1 million against bites from Nessie!

Triathlon aside, within about 31 hours, Brenda Sherratt conquered the Loch Ness. She became the first person to swim the length of the Loch Ness.

10. The Loch Ness is part of the Caledonian Canal

Caledonian Canal- by Immanuel Giel- Wikimedia Commons

The Caledonian Canal was built in the 19^th Century by Scottish engineer Thomas Telford. Its purpose was to allow ships through from the North Sea to the Atlantic evading the dangers of the Pentland Firth. The Loch Ness is part of this significant canal located near Fort William.

During the construction of the Caledonian Canal, Loch Ness is said to have lost one of its two Islands, Dog Island, by submersion as the water level was raised.

The Loch Ness, while famous for harboring Nessie the monster, is a beautiful lake with amazing scenery. A trip to the Loch Ness is a chance to unwind in the Great Highlands. Loch Ness has a number of fish species that you could see and perhaps taste such as the Northern pike and Sea trout.