FOYERS shop and cafe owner Jan Hargreaves and her husband Simon believe they caught a glimpse of Loch Ness’s most elusive resident — Nessie.

It was while taking a break on the store’s front decking — looking out to the loch — when Mrs Hargreaves and kitchen worker Graham Baine spotted an unusual figure cutting a strange shape through the water.

“We were standing looking out and saw something that looked bizarre,” said Mrs Hargreaves.

“I said to my husband to come and have a look.”

“We stand here all the time and look out and we see boats and kayaks but it didn’t look like anything we have seen here before.”

Despite the unidentified creature being quite a distance from their vantage point, 51-year-old Mrs Hargreaves said it had a long neck which was too long to be that of a seal and it was black in appearance.

“It went under the water and disappeared for probably 30 to 40 seconds and then came back up again,” said Mrs Hargreaves.

“It was around for a good four to five minutes. It was just so strange.”

Keen to stress she is not seeking publicity, Mrs Hargreaves does firmly believe what she saw was the Loch Ness Monster.

“It was so exciting,” she declared.

Since August last year, The Waterfall Cafe and Foyers Stores with post office, opposite the village’s famous Falls of Foyers, has been run by Mr and Mrs Hargreaves.

Nessie hunter Steve Feltham, who lives in a former mobile library turned research centre on Dores beach, said he heard about the possible sighting when he popped into the store last week and believes because it was from residents rather than tourists, it is more credible.

“I’m excited by the fact it was locals who had seen it,” said Mr Feltham.

“It’s quite a distance from the shop to the water and they watch everything that goes on there.”

“For them to be impressed then there is a possibility it could have been Nessie.”

What particularly excited Mr Feltham was that it was from the exact same vantage point where Tim Binsdale shot the best footage of the legendary creature back in 1960.

“I’ll put the sightings with the other sightings,” said Mr Feltham. “I will also continue to carry out surface observations.”

The sighting was recorded on Wednesday afternoon between 2.30pm and 3pm.

Source: http://www.inverness-courier.co.uk/News/Loch-Ness-Monster-sighting-reported-by-locals-21062011.htm

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

“Richard Preston Nessie Photo”

Richard Preston, a landscape designer, has been the latest person to spot a mysterious shape that might be the Loch Ness monster and capture a series of images on camera.

While working on Aldourie Castle gardens on the banks of the Loch Ness, 27-year-old Mr Preston spotted a shape on the loch’s surface out of the corner of his eye.

He told STV News: “I was just walking through the castle gardens and I spotted something in the distance. When I looked closer I could clearly see the four hump-like features. I thought I’d take a picture of it, to see if there was anything in it, to see what others thought.

“I was surprised that it stayed there as long as it did. I took various shots of it before it suddenly disappeared. I literally just turned my back and it was gone.”

He showed one of his friends who was also convinced there was certainly some mystery in the pictures.

When asked whether or not he believed in the monster, Mr Preston said: “Well there’s definitely something in the myth.There were no ripples in the water, no boats, nothing around. I have no idea what it was, but it undoubtedly looks like Nessie.”

The latest sighting has brought hope to monster enthusiasts, as it had been a relatively quiet spell for spotting any activity in the Loch. Fears had been mounting that Nessie might be dead since reports of any sightings had been diminishing.

In July 1930, three people in a boat at the north end of the loch saw a 6m long hump-like shape travelling fast through the water. In April 1933, Aldie Mackay saw a violent disturbance in the water and a hump “like that of a whale” while driving along the north side of the loch.

Gary Campbell, president of the Official Loch Ness Monster Fan Club, said only one sighting, made just off the Clansman Hotel on 6th June, 2009, was judged by him to have been a credible report.

And according to Mr Campbell such reports are increasingly rare.

He said: “”That’s why were so relieved to have heard about this sighting.

“In June, when it was reported, nobody had seen anything for a year. If it hadn’t been for that one, we would have been really, really worried.

“There is an embarrassment factor to seeing Nessie. The first thing people say to you is, ‘Had you had a drink?’

“Ten years ago we had a lot of good sightings, but in the last two or three years, they have tailed off.”

He added: “What we regard as a dependable sighting is very much down to the person who sees it.

“This was a local chap who knows the things that Nessie isn’t – boat wakes, debris on the loch or seals in the summer. A local person will know what these things look like.”

However, there were a number of “more dubious” sightings over the course of 2009. These included a sonar contact witnessed by “‘Allo,’Allo” star Vicki Michelle and other cast members from the stage version of the popular BBC sit-com when they took a pleasure cruise on Loch Ness in May during the play’s week-long run at Eden Court.

Their boat, the Jacobite Queen, picked up five mysterious arch shapes on its sonar between Dores and Urquhart Castle.

Also claiming a possible Nessie picture was data analyst Ian Monckton from Solihull who used his car headlights and the flash from his camera, to take a picture of what he thought could be the elusive monster while driving to Invermoriston late at night.

The 2009 episode “Death at Loch Ness” of the documentary series “MonsterQuest” looked at the theory that the Loch Ness Monster might be extinct.

In this programme researcher Robert Rhines’ claim that Nessie, if it existed, may now in fact be dead and its corpse is lying somewhere at the bottom of Loch Ness is investigated.

To prove this theory wrong, Mr Campbell hopes new witnesses might come forward.

“If people start to believe this, it might start to affect tourist numbers.

“Whether you believe in Nessie or not, the Loch Ness Monster is one of the most important tourist attractions we have.

“Perhaps, though, the answers are to be found underwater instead of on the loch’s surface.

“Unknown sonar contacts happen all the time.

“Maybe Nessie is just keeping her head down.”

Source: telegrapgh.uk

2. There were, of course, a couple of apparent “sightings,” such as the cast of “‘Allo ‘Allo,” a touring production who were conveniently lucky enough in May to see some unidentified sonar blobs.

The Jacobite Queen cruise ship, with the “’Allo ’Allo!” cast on break on May 21, 2009, was on its way to Urquhart Castle when the crew picked up a strange signal on their sonar. The unusual readings on the ship’s sonar screen (actual video capture above) occurred between the village of Dores and Urquhart Castle. Ms. Michelle dashed below decks for a look, and was amazed to see five mysterious “arch shapes” on the screen.

3. Back in March, the most ludicrous passing off of another blob, this time just some light on a black background by some tourists even made it on to US TV.

4. In August, Google Earth came to the loch with an apparent worldwide exclusive of what is clearly a boat going up the loch which the boys at Google thought must be Nessie! If you look closely enough at the picture though, they seem to have missed a trick as there are some slightly more unexplainable traces of something in the water just to the side of the boat.

5. In September, we discovered that the Natural History Museum in London had done a deal to permanently exhibit any Nessie carcasses caught at the loch. (This came from a review of their archives and apparently was influenced by some money being offered by our old friends, William Hill the bookies.)

6. Towards the end of the year, we were all saddened to read of the death of Bob Rines. A colourful character, Rines was a dedicated Nessie hunter for many years and there is no doubt that his efforts at the loch spurred many others on in the quest for Nessie and her family.

7. In April, the History television show “MonsterQuest” revealed that they had made a previous, surprising discovery at Loch Ness. When the expedition’s US scientists lowered their high tech, cameras 800ft into Loch Ness, they were prepared for anything – except tens of thousands of golf balls.

8. “MonsterQuest” kicked off their Season III on February 4, 2009, with their program “Death at Loch Ness.” looking at the theory that the Loch Ness Monsters might be extinct. Adrian Shine, Gordon Holmes, and Robert Rines were involved with the episode.

9. The unexplainable Monckton Loch Ness phtograph opened the year. Ian Monckton, from Solihull, and his fiance Tracey Gordon, on a romantic weekend at Loch Ness, were driving to Invermoriston at about 11pm, when they pulled into a lay-by (a pull off along the road). Before the couple stopped their auto, they heard a noise in the water. Using their vehicle’s headlights and the flash from his camera to check their footing on the rocky shores of the loch, data analyst Ian unwittingly recorded this picture which he thought could be the elusive monster.

10. Beside Robert Rines, another death linked to Loch Ness happened earlier in the year. James E. Colvin (pictured below, in the US Navy, 1943), 96, who was the director of two expeditions in search of the Loch Ness Monster for World Book Encyclopedia, died of natural causes, on January 4, 2009, in Greenville, South Carolina.

The Loch Ness launch in July 1969 of the World Book Encyclopedia Expedition’s Viperfish involved minisub builder  Dan Scott Taylor , Dr. Roy Mackal of the University of Chicago, and Harry Reucking, Vice President of the World Book Encyclopedia. James Colvin ran the operation from Chicago.

source: Crytomundo

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

“Oh aye,” he says, tugging at his long, flowing white beard before conspiratorially looking over his shoulder, then leaning in close from his electric wheelchair to impart some advice.

“If you want to see the beastie, laddie, then the best way is after 10 Glenmorangies (whisky) and if you don’t see it after that, then you may at least get a visit from a herd of elephants.”

He pauses for a second before throwing his head back and erupting into infectious laughter that he tries to stifle unsuccessfully, hand-to-mouth, to produce a series of snorts and cackles.

For more than a century, Loch Ness in the misty Scottish Highlands has captured the imagination the world over but continues to either raise a laugh or a sombre, more serious tone, depending on who you speak to.

Recently, a grainy Google Earth satellite image purportedly captured the beastie swimming just below the surface, its “fins” splayed out behind, apparently propelling it along the 40km stretch of freshwater. It had been almost four years since a credible sighting.

“Oh that,” Steve Feltham sighs when visited in the hamlet of Dores on the banks of Loch Ness.

“That was the Ness Express (boat service).”

The 46-year-old speaks with authority and if anyone should know, it’s him.

Steve came to the banks looking for Nessie but the strangest thing he discovered was that, 17 years on, he was still there, living in a 1970 Dodge van.

The former graphic artist and home security alarm installer had planned a two-week hunt to satisfy a childhood obsession. He drove his Dodge to the loch and it and he never left.

Steve now makes small plasticine sculptures of the creature to fund his continued search for the truth.

In 18 years, he has had only one surface sighting, in about 1994. Armed with a pair of large ex-navy binoculars, he keeps looking.

On a shelf in his van, he has a collection of articles and images of so-called sightings. All are fakes – done by photographers or tourists to make money.

“If I was ever going to cry wolf I would have done it at year two or year three, not year 18,” Steve muses. “So there would be a little more weight of a sighting by myself because everyone knows this is what I do.”

His modelling is interrupted by two well-dressed Jehovah Witnesses selling salvation. Steve loves it and challenges them to prove their deity exists – he’s got evidence, he says, eye witnesses, sonar soundings.

They leave dejected, perhaps to probe further this rival religion.

Steve is an authority on Nessie hunting, with people now coming to him to show them their photos of all things suspicious.

He is a filter of nonsense, he says, and most of what he has seen falls well and truly in that category.

“But it’s not financial; for me it’s about the fact that this little tiny island that we live on has a world-class mystery on its doorstep which almost nobody is bothering to investigate. That, I find amazing, and that makes me want to be here doing it,” he said.

Richard Macdonald has been steering the Royal Scot ferry boat for 27 years and in that time, he says he has seen the monster seven times. He reels off the dates and precise times – June 28, 2007 at 6.01pm is the most recent.

But while the sightings are open to debate, he says the evidence that the world-class sonar equipment on his vessel finds is not, picking up moving objects up to 230m below.

Even if some are sonar glitches or reflections, he says there are just way too many for there not to be something there. His sonar records fish life, but also appear to show an entity more than 10m long, weighing six-and-a-half tonnes and moving at 40km/h.

One of the most credible sightings was by a no-nonsense policeman who, while on a fishing trip on June 15, 1965, watched a creature stir off his bow for 50 minutes.

Last word to Gary Campbell, president of the Official Loch Ness Monster Fan Club.

The pic on Google Earth is from 2006 and has been well researched before, with the clear conclusion that it is of a boat, Gary says.

Indeed, but for millions the hunt goes on.

Source: news.com

There are reports that an object visible in Loch Ness on Google Earth could be the Loch Ness monster.

A search of the loch, using the website’s satellite images, reveals what appears to be a light coloured object with a rounded front and a number of protrusions.

The object can be seen in the middle of the loch, across from the village of Invermoriston.

Over the years a number of theories about the existence of the Loch Ness monster have been put forward, including the possibility that sightings are a result of mis-identification of regular animals, birds, or objects such as trees.

Others maintain that there is a so-far unknown type of creature in the loch, possibly a surviving example of an otherwise-extinct type of dinosaur, or else a previously-unknown species of a known animal like a seal.

Over the years the loch has been subject to analysis and exploration using a number of means, including sonar, underwater video and unmanned submarine. While many of these projects recorded nothing unusual, others produced results that could be interpreted as proof of Nessie’s existence, including a picture of what could be the fin of a large creature as well as sonar contact with what could be a large object moving underwater.

Source: news.stv