Monster fans descend on Loch Ness hoping for glimpse of Nessie

Tens of thousands of visitors descend on Loch Ness each year, hoping for a glimpse of the loch’s elusive monster.

The mystery is all part of the fun and the loch will be under more scrutiny than ever this weekend as more than 50 Nessie enthusiasts from across the world take part in a major spotting exercise.

They will scan the waters from strategic points, logging any sightings, as part of a hunt to mark 90 years since the first organised expedition to try to track down the famous creature.

Paul Nixon from The Loch Ness Centre told STV News: “They should document any sightings – time of day, where it is, what they think they are looking at and of course any photographs they capture.

“This will be uploaded to our database at the centre where our team of experts will analyse them and answer – or not answer – what it is they are looking at.”

Ashley Range travelled all the way from the United States to take part.

She said: “I get teased all the time: ‘Do you really think you are going to find Nessie?’ We might! You never know, this might be the day and how glorious would it be to be there on that day and get to share it with everybody.”

And there’s more than one way to spot a monster – whether it’s by sight or sound.

Alan McKenna runs a volunteer group called Loch Ness Exploration that monitors the loch’s sounds using special listening equipment submerged in the water.

He said: “The most recent sound I picked up at night-time.

“I do a lot of hydrophone studies at night when there is no boat traffic and it is as quiet as possible.

“There was a noise like a sudden rush of water and, because we don’t know what it is, it makes it all the more interesting.”

The weekend’s event will also see a number of Nessie-themed talks and the screening of a special documentary called “They Created A Monster”, which explores the monster-hunting frenzy at Loch Ness in the 1970s and 80s.