Clear underwater photos of the loch are nearly impossible due to the presence of peat that is carried into the loch from the rivers and mountain burns. the peat remains suspended in the water, making it murky beyond the top 50 feet. This is why the ‘flipper photos’ are so significant. It also explains the necessity for using sonar. Another obstacle to positively confirming, or refuting, the monster’s existence is the loch’s immense size–about 20 to 25 miles long, a mile and a half wide, and at least 700 feet deep (some say 970 feet). Even Operation Deepscan with its cruisers and backup boats covered only 60 per cent of the loch.

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Do I believe in Nessie? Well, to be honest, when I first visited the Scottish Highlands and heard the stories of Nessie, I thought the Scots a peculiarly imaginative people to have come up with a prehistoric sea creature dwelling in one of their lochs. Now, I’m not so sure. I’ve abandoned much of my scepticism. When I return to the Highlands, I too shall station myself at Urquhart Castle with my binoculars and hope for a glimpse of Scotland’s best known denizen of the deep.

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