Loch Ness

Loch Ness is an enormous fresh water lake in the Scottish Highlands. Although it doesn't have the largest surface area - that is Loch Lomond - it does have the largest capacity because it's very deep. Here are some figures: Its surface area is 22 square miles and is 750 feet deep. This means that it holds more fresh water than all the lakes of England and Wales combined! Wow.

Apart from its natural beauty, Loch Ness has another attraction which brings tourists here in large numbers. It is said that a pre-historic monster called Nessie lives in the lake. The first mention of her was back in 565 when Saint Columba saved a man being attacked by a monster on the shores of the lake. Since then there have been hundreds of reports and more recently photos and videos of the animal. The most common description of Nessie is of a long-necked aquatic reptile similar to the dinosaur Plesiosaur.

However, scientists continue to deny the existence of any such beast and say that the pictures and film are hoaxes. They also argue that a Plesiosaur could not survive in the cold waters of the loch. As recently as 2003 the BBC sent a team of experts to look for Nessie. They took 600 sonar devices with them to make sure that nothing could escape the search beams and went from one end of the loch to the other scanning for the legendary beast. They found absolutely nothing.

This doesn't stop people coming though. At any time of the day you'll find visitors to the loch staring intently at the vast expanse of water in the hope that they will be lucky enough to glimpse Scotland's best loved pet.