Loch Lochy
Lizzie the Loch Lochy Monster.
Like many other Scottish lochs, Loch Lochy has a history of monster sightings. Located just down the Great Glen from Loch Ness, in many ways it is a better location for monster spotting as there is better access to the shores of the loch. Other than a more recent undated sighting by the proprietors and guests of the Corriegour Lodge hotel within the past 10 years, there has been no real reported activity of late, but this is probably because most people looking for ‘monsters’ drive right past on their way to Loch Ness.
Here are some of the documented sightings of Lizzie over the years:
2023
24 July 2023 - Tasneem Elsayed, the Egyptian-American, visiting from NJ, USA reported that at 2200 hour - it was still light - her " husband and Iwere the only ones by the loch making a fire and hanging-out. I was on the phone talking with my sister-in-law discussing workplace drama and my husband was adding more wood to the firepit. As I turned my gaze towards the loch, I saw a white/grey-blue moving neck (or what I think is a neck, it could be a giant eel too as scientists claim) raised above the water and descending back down the water. Think of an upside-down U-shape but diving down as if it had a long neck or eel-like body. I did not see a head, face or body other than a long upside-down white/grey-blue U shape, I was assuming the head or body was underwater.
It was not characteristic with any animal or bird that has been officially discovered. The neck (if it was a neck) kept diving down for several seconds as if it had a really long neck and I saw the movement of the neck going underwater. There were ripples on the water during and after the assumed neck descended down the water, further proving that it actually happened and it was not a mistake/ imagination. The Lochness Monster did not cross my mind at all before this encounter and I was so busy with drama-based conversation that there is no way my mind made this up because I was "thinking about it". I was in disbelief with what I saw and assumed that if it was a bird, it would have surfaced again and flew away. It only occured to me that it could've been the Lochness creature because it did not surface again and stayed underwater."
2021
A man and his wife were travelling past the loch on 19 July 2021 when they reported this:
My wife and I were motoring south down the Great Glen on the morning 0f the 19th July, 2021. As we were approaching the promontory on Loch Lochy some 650 metres north of the Letterfinlay Hotel our attention was drawn to a disturbed area of water (Map ref: NN253 916) less than 100 metres from the shore on what was an otherwise mirror-calm loch. The traffic was very heavy at the time and I could only afford to give a very quick glance at the disturbance but I did see something darker than the shadow on the waves. Only a glimpse and impossible to quantify what I saw - however, my wife, who is not a particularly ‘monster- minded’ person saw a black fin appear in the disturbed water. In asking her to try and verify what the fin/paddle looked like I showed her the illustrations of such on p.282 of ‘The Monsters of Loch Ness’ by Prof. Roy Mackal. Without hesitation she pointed to ‘d’ and ‘h’ – ‘h’ being that of the plesiosaurus and said it was a left paddle she saw rather than the right one as illustrated in the book.; she was unaware of the legend at the bottom of the page. The disturbed area was definitely but slowly moving south when we first saw it and had perhaps shifted a 100 metres when, a minute later, it was now moving north after we managed to park the car and began filming. In this video the wash moving to the right is the interesting feature and I should have tracked it further but was concentrating on the more agitated water further out where I was hoping something might emerge and believing there was more than one animal causing the disturbances. It will be noticed that the wash eventually reaches the shore on which we were standing. It was really noisy as it sloshed against the road embankment, and I find it hard to believe that an otter or beaver could create such a wash, which are the largest animals of I know that could enter the loch. Also, there were 12 or so people, including children, shouting and throwing stones with a dog splashing in the water and this on the promontory which we had just passed and barely a 100 metres from the disturbance. Would an otter tolerate this activity? Seals cannot access the loch because of the Mucomir hydro-electric power station at the south end of the loch. As we travelled down nearly 4 miles of loch side from Laggan locks there was no sign of any boat that could have caused a wash. The only boat we could see was the little yacht which appears in the video. It is interesting to note that this activity is only within one mile of the sighting by Mrs Margaret Sargent and her husband in 1975 (see p.240 “The Leviathans” by Tim Dinsdale) and also on YouTube “Lizzie of Loch Lochy (the other Nessie)” They too had a similar experience of the wash breaking on the shore.
The video can be seen at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A25sFtWGrBQ
2002
On the 9th of December, Roslynn Barron of Fort Augustus reported a 'very big disturbance' opposite Balmaglaster Chalets. She said it was a very quiet day on the loch with no waves. The sighting was also witnessed by her mother.
1997
The first ever expedition to look for Lizzie was organised by the Official Loch Ness Monster Fan Club in July in association with Cameron Turner. On the first day of the search an 18 - 20 foot object was detected on sonar 160 feet down in the loch out from Letterfinlay Lodge hotel. On turning the boat to follow the creature, it was re-located at a new depth of 200 feet only two minutes later. The contact was then lost. This encounter took place in the middle of the loch above a trench where the depth of the loch falls to over 300 feet. A follow up trip with the Sun Newspaper in September of that year yielded similar results.
1997
Local gamekeeper Alastair Stevenson reported that a 15 - 20 foot creature had taken his rod and tackle while he was fishing by the loch. He said it was something akin to catching a rowing boat.
1996
Staff and guests of the Letterfinlay Lodge Hotel saw an unidentified creature moving in a strange fashion through the waters of Loch Lochy opposite the hotel.
Mid 1980s
A Mr McGunigal of Leicestershire reported seeing a wake coming towards him as he was fishing lon the loch side opposite Letterfinlay Lodge Hotel. At the time, he thought it was odd as it had a distinctive 'V' shape. He explained that the 'V' shape indicated something just under the water but not visible - a bit like that which would be caused by the periscope of a submarine.
1975
Mrs Margaret Sargent of Fort William was passing the loch with her husband and family near the Corriegour Hotel when they saw an unusual wake on the flat calm loch. A long black shape could be seen moving through the water. As she took a photo, the object disappeared below the water and the subsequent picture showed only the wake.
1960
In July of that year Eric Robinson and his family were staying in a caravan near Glen Fintaig when they saw what they thought looked like a standing wave but through binoculars could see that it was a large living creature. As it started to move south a huge back rose and looked to roll over. At this time they saw a fin or paddle appear. The creature had a main body length of 15 - 20 feet and an estimated overall length of 30 -40 feet. It was dark on top with a light underside. This sighting was witnessed by nine other people.
1960
Maurice Burton was sent a photograph taken at the loch - it showed a dark mass in the middle of a patch of foam. According to legend the object disappeared below the surface of the loch a few seconds after the photo was taken.
1930
A man living on the loch side saw a strange creature in the water one day - he told his wife never to wash her clothes there again!
1929
Two local gamekeepers saw what they thought was a floating log in the loch. When they looked at it with a telescope they could see that it was actually a large living creature which they followed for one mile before it dived, never to resurface.
