Travel
Tourists across the world take part in biggest ever search for Loch Ness Monster
The Highlands are gearing up for a monster summer – thanks to tourists who are desperate to catch Nessie.
Businesses are raking in bumper profits with some saying they’re already six figures up on last year.
And they put it all down to visitors who are flocking to Inverness to try and spot the elusive Loch Ness monster.
The incredible success story emerged as the biggest ever search for the creature is set to kick off this weekend.
Tourism supremo Willie Cameron said: “It is extraordinarily busy on all fronts.
“Hotels, guest houses, self-catering accommodation and camper vans. Right across the board it is unbelievable.
“It’s all because everyone is totally in love with Loch Ness and the mystery of the monster.
“It’s a global phenomenon and it is almost unexplainable.”
I think locally people forgot just how powerful the myth and story is for everyone, especially kids. It’s amazing to be able to take people out on the loch and be a part of it
Ally Matheson
Last year the Loch Ness Centre got a £1.5million revamp, which has helped reignite interest in Nessie.
Every day the exhibition sends dozens of visitors out on the water on research boat the Deepscan, helmed by skipper Ally Matheson.
He’s spent more than a decade scouring the 23-mile long, 750ft deep stretch for the mythical creature.
But all he’s ever found with his sonar is a Nessie model left behind by a film crew in the 1960s, and some salmon.
He said: “Nessie is a huge story and a big draw.
“I think locally people forgot just how powerful the myth and story is for everyone, especially kids.
“It’s amazing to be able to take people out on the loch and be a part of it.”
Andrew Cook, 49, and wife Sarah, from Essex visited Loch Ness with youngsters Arthur, 8, and Beatrice, 6.
The youngsters spent the hour-long trip looking out for humps in the water.
This is a bucket list trip for us. It’s better than Mickey Mouse any day. It’s just fantastic. It doesn’t matter that we didn’t see anything. That just keeps the mystery alive
Kelly Tino
Sarah, 36, said: “The kids wanted to hunt for the monster. They know all about the story.
“Beatrice was a bit sad she didn’t see anything. We think the monster was maybe a bit shy and didn’t want her photo taken.”
The family are already planning a return trip. Arthur said: “Nessie didn’t want anyone to know she was there. We’ll find her next time.”
Friends Kelly Tino, 53, Linda Owen, 60, and Kelly Williams, 61, swapped the sunshine of Florida for the drizzle of Scotland.
Nuclear medicine tech Kelly Tino said: “This is a bucket list trip for us. It’s better than Mickey Mouse any day. It’s just fantastic.
By Stuart Patterson
I’ve been reliably informed that definitive proof of Nessie could be worth millions.
So after years of watching the mystery from afar I was determined to solve it once and for all, and make some cash.
The team from the Loch Ness Centre invited me out on the Deepscan and I was sure this would be my moment.
The water on the loch was calm, the weather was dry and there were hardly any other boats out there.
Perfect conditions for Nessie hunting. Skipper Ally Matheson told me that if Nessie swam under the boat she would be picked up by sonar.
I stayed glued to my binoculars for the entire voyage just in case the monster suddenly appeared.
Thankfully the breathtaking scenery more than made up for not seeing the creature and not making my fortune.
She stayed away from me, just like she’s done for everyone else for decades.
But the trip was amazing and I was happy just to pose with the huge Nessie statue.
Judging by the huge queues to get snaps with it I wasn’t alone.
“It doesn’t matter that we didn’t see anything. That just keeps the mystery alive.”
Ashley Range has been obsessed with Nessie since she was five and took part in last year’s search.
Now she’s forked out almost £4,000 to jet over from her home in the USA for the bigger and better event this weekend.
She flew more than 10 hours from Seattle to Heathrow then on to Inverness to be part of the Quest part two.
Ashley, who sported a pair of Nessie earrings, said: “This is the trip of a lifetime for me. This is home.
“People scoff and laugh when you say you might see a dinosaur in the loch. But who knows? Something is there.
“I don’t want to be the person who discovers anything, I just want to be there when it happens. I had be there this time.
Ashley will be one of the squad of volunteers from around the world who will be watching Loch Ness for activity on Saturday.
While teams of monster hunters will be putting up thermal drones and using hi-tech equipment to try and find her once and for all.
Paul Nixon, the manager of the Loch Ness Centre, said: “Nessie never really went away.
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“But all the interest in the Quest last year has led to what’s happening now. You can really feel the momentum now.
“There are so many unanswered questions and I think people are always going to want to come here to try and answer them and find evidence.”