Loch Ness

Loch Ness in the Scottish Highlands is the most famous lake in the world by name recognition alone, owing to the enduring legend of the Loch Ness Monster — Nessie — first reported in modern form in 1933 by a local couple on the A82 road. The loch is extraordinary in geological terms regardless of mythology: it stretches 23 miles in length, reaches a maximum depth of 230 metres, and holds more fresh water than all lakes in England and Wales combined, its dark peaty water maintaining a year-round temperature of approximately 6°C that limits visibility to under a metre even in the clearest conditions. The loch occupies the Great Glen, a massive geological fault line running from Fort William in the south-west to Inverness in the north-east, which gives the valley its characteristic straight-sided, steep-walled profile. Inverness, the regional capital, sits at the north-east end of the loch and serves as the principal access point. Urquhart Castle, the most photographed ruin in Scotland, occupies a promontory on the western shore 16 miles south of Inverness and provides unobstructed views over the widest part of the loch, particularly compelling at dawn and dusk when mist rolls across the water. The castle was deliberately blown up in 1692 to prevent Jacobite use. The Loch Ness Centre in Drumnadrochit presents the full documented history of the monster legend, including the famous — and later admitted hoax — 1934 surgeon's photograph, as well as genuine sonar and photographic surveys. Boat tours operating from Drumnadrochit take visitors out onto the loch's surface with sonar equipment. The 80-mile Great Glen Way walking and cycling route runs between Fort William and Inverness along the loch's shores.