Smash hit

Loch Ness, which is now set to become a World Heritage Site, has been recognised a place of mystery since the days of St Columba, who in 565 A.D was reported to have shouted "Go no further, nor touch the man! Go back!” at the monster when it attacked one of his monks who was swimming in the water.

What makes the myth endure is the sheer size of the loch. It’s the largest and deepest inland expanse of water in Britain, 24 miles long and about 750 feet (230 meters) deep, which means it’s deeper than the North Sea.

Its depth does intimidate. This week competitors in the Wilderness Arc, the adventure racing world championships crossing 500km of Highland terrain, had to swim and kayak across the loch at Urquhart Castle, scene of most of the sightings.

Organisers insured their 196 competitors against attack from the Loch Ness Monster. They said: “We are committed to making the course as safe as possible, but sometimes a balance must be made and we therefore thought insurance might be a good idea. Of course it will scare some of the international teams, but also add extra intrigue.”

Some of the international athletes were surprised and concerned to find that they were crossing some of the world’s most notorious water, but all survived.

There have been more than 4,000 purported Nessie sightings since she was first caught on camera by a surgeon on vacation in the 1930s.

I spoke to a dignified elderly lady who saw her as a ten-year-old child. Mrs Muriel Buie, 79, who has never spoken publicly before about the monster, described how in 1937 she was driving past Urquhart Castle with her father and her mother and the chauffeur.

"At Urquhart Castle another car had stopped, and we did, too. I saw two humps in the water and a wash, in the middle of the loch.

"I certainly believe what I saw. There was something there. The monks in the abbey, they fully believed it too. At that time, people did not seek publicity."

Neither, one has to say, did St Columba. So if there is something there, what could it be? Some unknown prehistoric species of fish? A last surviving dinosaur? Or is it some psychological phenomenon which lets people see what they want to see? As the Scots say, there is more to life than meets the eye.

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