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“Latest Bownessie photo“

The Internet has been buzzing about a recent photograph allegedly depicting a monster surfacing in a British lake. As Eric Niller of Discovery News noted, “The latest entry in the lake monster sweepstakes is making a bid for glory [is the] ‘Bownessie‘ of Lake Windermere, England….Tom Pickles and Sara Harrington, work colleagues who were kayaking at the lake as part of a team-building exercise, snapped this photo of the possible sea creature with a mobile phone. It appears to show a multi-humped black object moving through the water from left to right.”

When the news broke, many people were surprised. Not just that a dark, multi-humped monster had supposedly been photographed on a lake, but that it wasn’t at Loch Ness.

Most people know about Nessie, the denizen in Ness, one of Scotland’s many lakes (or “lochs”). Reports of something odd in Loch Ness only date back to the 1930s, and a famous 1934 photo of a silhouetted, serpentine head and neck helped propel Nessie into international stardom (unfortunately the photo was later revealed to be a hoax).

The lake has been searched for nearly 80 years using everything including cameras, divers, sonar, submarines, and dolphins, yet no real evidence has been found.

“If you’re interested in lake monsters, you needn’t go all the way to Europe,” Daniel Loxton told Discovery News.

Loxton, editor of Junior Skeptic magazine and co-author of an upcoming book on lake monsters, says that “every human culture has stories of water monsters, and besides, Europeans brought their own monsters with them to North America. European-style monsters manifested early in tributaries of the St. Lawrence river, and then along the coast of Maine. They were reported in lakes Eerie and Ontario. Today, monsters are said to haunt dozens of other lakes across Canada and the United States.”

Here’s a sample:

Crescent Lake is a picturesque body of water in northeastern Newfoundland near the small town of Robert’s Arm. Robert’s Arm is gorgeous, with walking trails snaking over lush green hills and around the placid lake. The lake, deep and cold, is allegedly home to a lake monster known as Cressie. As you enter the town, a life-size(?) model of Cressie greets visitors.

Quebec’s Lake Memphremagog, which extends down into north-central Vermont, is said to be home to a lake monster, Memphre, with reports supposedly dating as far back as 1816.

In British Columbia’s Lake Okanagan, there supposedly exists the Ogopogo monster. It is said to be dark, up to 70 feet long, and have a series of humps. It is the world’s second most famous creature after Nessie, and like many lake monsters, native Indians are said to have described the beast in their legends and myths.

America has its share of reputed aquatic beasts as well, including Lake Tahoe’s Tessie. But the best known lives in Lake Champlain, which forms the border between Vermont and New York. “Champ,” as the creature is called, has allegedly been seen by hundreds of witnesses and is anywhere between 10 and 187 feet long, has one or more humps, and is gray, black, dark green, or other colors.

The small town of Port Henry, New York, is the self-proclaimed “Home of Champ” and has a large wooden board that records monster sightings. The best evidence for Champ — in fact, for any lake monster — was a 1977 photo taken by Sandra Mansi showing what appeared to be a dark head and hump in the lake. Later investigation showed that the object was almost certainly a floating log that looked serpentine from a certain angle.

All these monsters have at least one thing in common: a lack of good scientific evidence.

The Lake Windermere Bownessie photo seems likely to be a hoax; in fact Loren Coleman, Director of the International Cryptozoology Museum in Portland, Maine, has his suspicions: “The evidence brought forth is only as trustworthy as the people bringing it to us. What do we know about Tom Pickles and Sarah Harrington, who saw the creature during their company’s team building exercise? How is this all tied to a fundraising effort they were in the midst of conducting and desired to obtain publicity for? I’m not saying they are not to be taken seriously, but UK investigators should do some background checks.”

Coleman notes that previous lake monster photos have many explanations. “Some are unexplained. Some are fakes and hoaxes. Some are garbage bags. Some are otters. Some are humans. Some are other known animals.”

With the caveat that “unexplained” does not mean “unexplainable,” whatever the images of “monsters” in Windermere and other lakes truly are, they are probably accounted for on this list.

Source: news.discovery

Bownessie ?

The terrifying “beast”, thought to be up to 50ft long, was captured on camera by two pals out kayaking on Lake Windermere.

Shocked Tom Pickles and Sarah Harrington told how the mystery creature swept through the still waters at ten miles per hour – creating a giant wake.

They claimed they watched it for 20 seconds before it vanished into the mist, leaving them to scramble 360 yards to the safety of the bank.

Astonishingly, theirs is the EIGHTH sighting reported in the Lake District in just five years.

Last night experts hailed the snap as the best proof yet that “something” lives in Windermere which – at 10.5 miles long and 220ft deep – is England’s biggest natural lake.

And, referring to Scotland’s own legendary monster of the deep, one lake ecologist told The Sun: “If this thing is as big as they say it was, we’re in Loch Ness Monster territory.”

Graduate Tom, 24, snapped the creature on his mobile while on a team-building exercise with 23-year-old IT company colleague Sarah in Cumbria.

They were near the Lake’s Belle Isle when they saw the “monster” 160ft to the south.

Tom, based in Shrewsbury, said: “At first I thought it was a dog, then I saw it was much bigger and moving really fast.

“Each hump was moving in a rippling motion. I could tell it was far bigger underwater from the huge shadow around it. Its skin was dark black or browny and like a seal’s – but its shape was not like any animal I’ve ever seen.

“It looked about the length of three cars. It was petrifying.”

Sarah said: “It was like an enormous snake. It freaked us out. All I could think about was that I had to get off the lake.”

Locals in the town of Bowness have reported sightings of a creature, affectionately dubbed Bownessie, since the 1950s.

Among them is lecturer Steve Burnip, who claimed an encounter in 2006. He said yesterday: “What I saw shocked me. It had three humps – and the likeness with this is uncanny.”

Lake ecologist Dr Ian Winfield, of the Centre for Ecology & Hydrology, said the creature could be an Eastern European catfish – but he added: “If that size is accurate, I’ve no idea what it is.”

Yet sceptics remained unconvinced by the “beast” last night.

Nigel Wilkinson, director of Windermere Lake Cruises, said: “We carry millions of passengers and none has ever brought Bownessie to our attention.”

Source: thesun.uk

Here is a video on the legend of Bownessie a lake creature much like the Loch Ness Monster. Many people have reported seeing Bownessie and this video will cover some of those sightings and reports. Bownessie is said to reside in the depths of Lake Windermere.

photo source lakestv.net- footage also available

The so-called “Bownessie” is fast becoming part of modern Lake District folklore, as reported sightings of the fabled creature continue to be made.

Footage that some people believe appears to show the creature causing ripples in the surface of Windermere was shot by Lakes TV cameraman John McKeown on Saturday.

It has since appeared on Sky News on Sunday evening and American TV network giant CBS is also interested in the story.

People in Windermere are not convinced Bownessie actually exists.

But they believe it could be good for the town’s tourist economy if the legend can capture the imagination of visitors in a similar way to the Loch Ness monster.

Councillor Bill Smith, mayor of Windermere, said: “If they believe it’s actually there, I’m sure it will attract them to come and see.

“Anything that draws interest and awareness to the Lake District has to be a positive opportunity.

“I don’t think the term monster is the best expression of an animal living in the lake that could be of interest.

“It suggests something nasty, not something that could be attractive and positive.

“Bownessie conjures up something that’s a bit more cute.

“The people that have seen it believe genuinely they have seen something, even if there is no real proof yet.

“But let’s be honest, it’s far better for Loch Ness that they’ve never located it because it helps perpetuate the belief.”

Paul Holdsworth, Windermere town centre manager, says the Bownessie phenomenon is the latest in a long line of Lake District mythologies.

He said: “Probably the longest standing one is Tizzie Wizzie, which was first spotted by a Bowness boatman around 1900 and he used to tell stories of this extraordinary creature.

“It was said to have the body of a hedgehog, tail of a squirrel and a pair of bee-like wings and was a shy, water-loving creature.

“So, for the sceptics who think Bownessie is something to get the tourists in, this tale has already been around for over a hundred years. There is nothing new under the sun perhaps.”

Jacqui O’Connor, press officer for Windermere Lakes Cruises, said: “Our vessels sail up and down the lake 364 days a year and we have never seen anything unusual.

“However, our skippers remain alert as always.”

Source: nwemail.uk

A TEAM of investigators will scour Windermere in a hunt for a legendary monster that is claimed to lurk in its deep waters.

The search follows years of reported sightings of a big creature in the lake, the most recent being in July when Lake District hotelier Thomas Noblett was hit by a three-foot wave as he was swimming.

A chartered boat will take to England’s longest lake on September 19 with celebrity and sports psychic Dean Maynard at the helm. He will be joined by Windermere photographer Linden Adams who claims to have seen ‘Bownessie’ – the nickname for the monster – from a viewpoint on Gummers How in 2007.

There will also be people with cameras dotted around the shoreline to capture any unusual activity.

“Linden Adams and I are really geared up and ready for the challenge ahead and we hope to find some concrete evidence something big does exist in the lake,” said Mr Maynard.

In 2006 The Westmorland Gazette reported how Huddersfield University journalism lecturer Steve Burnip, of Hebden Bridge, saw a serpent-like creature emerge from the waters as he stood at Watbarrow Point across from Waterhead.

He described it as being 15 to 20 feet long with a little head and two small humps following in its wake. He said it looked like a giant eel.

“I am absolutely convinced that there is a big creature in the lake,” said Mr Burnip. “I am really pleased that there is a renewed interest in it because I know what I saw.

“I can see it in my head now, this grey lump and the humps breaking the water like you see in the classic Loch Ness pictures. There is something in there, something quite big and elusive.”

Mr Adams, whose picture of the creature was studied by photographic experts after appearing on the front page of the Gazette, said: “I looked at it through binoculars and the naked eye and what I saw was huge.

“A lot of photographic experts have had the opportunity to look at the pictures and they are still baffled.”

Ecology experts have told the Gazette that catfish are sometimes introduced to lakes by anglers. They believe that what could be being seen is the Welsh catfish that originates from mainland Europe.

Source: westmorlandgazette