Thursday 5 April 2012

First Nessie Sighting of 2012?

Has Nessie come out of hibernation at last? From Gary Campbell:

A local man travelling south on the A82 road at 5.15pm on Wednesday 4th April reported seeing a circular whirlpool like disturbance on the otherwise flat calm loch. The disturbance was near the middle of the loch just south of Urquhart Castle. He said it was similar to the disturbance that is caused at sea by bait fish being forced to the surface by larger predators. There was no boat traffic in the area at all.

Just in time for Monster Hunting Season! I await further information on this particular event.

This reminds me of another strange vortex like sighting back in 1979 - link.

UPDATE: Dick Raynor offers an interesting explanation in that the whirlpool may have been one of those fast moving boats that run from Fort Augustus to the castle where they do a U-turn to head back south. These boats are particularly noisy and throw up quite a bit of water due to their fast movement. I was watching them myself this weekend at Loch Ness.

I would say that this would produce a semi circle rather than a full circle followed by an obvious and clear boat wake to indicate its origin. It seems somebody needs to photograph one of these U-turns and ask the witness if it bears any resemblance to what they saw. Over to Gary Campbell?






Sunday 1 April 2012

Nessie Hunting Season Approaches!

Monster hunting season approaches and it is time to load up and head to the Highlands. So, is it time to douse the inflatable plesiosaur in fish oil, erect the 30 foot steel cage and practise some extremely convincing Nessie mating calls? And if Nessie tarries in surfacing, perhaps I should pack away some bottles of single malt whisky to speed up her appearance?

Not quite, not quite. In fact, when I head north to Loch Ness in the weeks ahead, none of the above will be in the packing (though the whisky is tempting and the cage won't fit in the car).

To be truthful, the equipment of the modern day Nessie hunter has a bit more technical savvy and complexity to it. I still pack the camcorder, binoculars and camera but as I pointed out in my previous hunting update, the armoury now includes, amongst other things, infra-red trap cameras. These devices are much beloved of Bigfoot hunters and that aforementioned update tells how I got on back in July.

In fact, I didn't tell all of what I did last year. I strapped the game camera round the old tree again in October and left it for about a month before I came back for it. Thankfully, no thieves had found and nicked it and so I plugged the SD memory card into my PC at home to see what advance I had on the 18 pictures over 10 days in July. The answer was 674 pictures over 25 days!

Why the great leap in images? The answer was the difference between July and October. The weather was rougher and every time a half decent wave broke on the rocks near the camera, the motion detect firmware kicked in to take a picture (example below). So, it was basically taking a picture on average every hour and this was not quite what I had planned for it. It was meant to trigger when something a bit bigger passed by. Anyway, I plodded through all these photos basically showing the same thing - a rough loch. Nothing I could see that was Nessie-like. I don't think this type of time lapse photography has much use at Loch Ness - when the creature surfaces, it is usually for a brief time and at inconclusive distances. The point of a trap camera is to trigger when something with motion and/or heat draws near. Clearly, July is better than October for camera conditions. However, for the next trip, the camera will be placed in what I think will be a better position and I will update you accordingly.




I also have a second and better camera trap from Reconyx (pictured below). It is the HC500 model and offers 1080p Hi-Def resolution images and more importantly rapid repeat image taking. They retail for about $450 but will cost more in the UK due to the mark up imposed by importers. The slower Wildgame Innovations camera can only do one image per minute whereas the HC500 can do up to two images per second onto a 32Gb SD card. Clearly, if an uncertain object comes into view, a lot more of its nature can be ascertained from a sequence of rapid multiple images rather than just one snapshot. The only problem for me is that it cost a lot more than the Wildgame and so I am less inclined to leave it at Loch Ness at the mercy of anyone who finds it! But I will use it during my short stay and leave the Wildgame model longer term.



The other aspect of last year's hunt was night vision binoculars. I own a Yukon Ranger Pro 5x42 Digital Night Vision Binocular (below) and they retail brand new for £600 or so (I got mine second hand). The "5" refers to the magnification and the "42" to the size of the objective lens in mm. This item is not like an ordinary pair of binoculars as it uses CCD technology to capture and boost the image to the eyepiece. Now night vision scopes are nothing new and indeed have been used at Loch Ness before. However, they are becoming cheaper and come with more features.

The range of viewing is up to 600m with a pixel resolution of 510x492 but the image quality very much depends on ambient conditions. The one feature that mainly motivated me to buy this was the composite video output port. In other words, what you see through the eyepiece is also sent to this port and a simple cable allows this to be attached to a recording device. That device can be a laptop with a composite to USB converter or a mini-DVR (which is more portable in the field).



Now the reason for the night vision scope is due to my belief that the Loch Ness Monster is mainly a nocturnal creature. This stands to reason as the beast lives practically all its life in dark, cold conditions. Therefore, excursions to the surface (and land) are IMO more likely at night time. This idea has indeed led to some night time experiments in the past. I think particularly of the searchlight experiments of the Loch Ness Investigation Bureau in the 1960s.

However, my main aspiration lies in the ultimate target - a photograph of the Loch Ness Monster on land. That kind of picture would be more decisive than something taken in the water - if the right equipment and conditions are fulfilled. It is my own belief that the creature comes onto the shore (and beyond) more frequently that we think. I say this because of the creature's sensitivity to light and sound. It is nocturnal and it also retreats at overt levels of noise. When it comes to terrestrial sightings, that means it prefers night time and quiet roads. That may still make land visitations very infrequent and so I am planning a strategy that maximises the chances of getting that "ultimate" shot.

It may takes years to get that picture, but then again I might get lucky. On the other hand, surface water and underwater surveillance have proved useless due to the murkiness of the water, the huge size of the loch and the fact that the creature unsurprisingly does not show enough of itself for proper study and identification. These techniques have had a go for almost 80 years, time for some lateral thinking and a new approach.

But going back to the night vision binoculars, I did a trial run back in October at a quiet spot near Dores Bay at about 7pm when it was pretty dark. I must admit it was a bit creepy walking about a dark beach alone in the belief that the loch holds one or more 40 foot carnivores that have been known to go on land. Obviously I survived to tell the tale!

I set up the binoculars on a tripod and fed the video output to a laptop which was running some video capture software. I then camouflaged it, pointed it at the loch and went away for a few hours. A short clip of the video capture is show below.



The first point is that it is dark and that leads to a loss of clarity if something did pass by. There was however a main source of infrared/light across the loch at the Clansman Hotel whose presence made me somewhat ambivalent. The advantage was that any object passing in front of the lights would have a more discernible outline. The disadvantage was my concern that dark objects would appear darker with these lights behind them. However, if something had come on shore in front of my setup, I am sure (based on me standing in front of the binoculars) it would have some reasonable clarity.

But light levels are a problem compared to daylight. In mitigation of this, Yukon add what they call an IR laser illuminator to the binoculars. This is essentially a high powered infra-red laser that helps light up the field of view in the infra-red spectrum. The advantage is obvious as IR light reflected back to the binoculars makes for a clearer scene. It does have two drawbacks. The first is that the illuminator consumes more power and eats into the batteries (battery lifetime reduces from 10 to 3 hours). The second is that its range is limited which is not much use further out on the loch.

In that respect, I invested in a separate and more powerful 45mW IR scope (below) which can fit neatly onto the top of the binoculars and gives a claimed 12 battery lifetime. The stated range is 450 meters with a light spot size of 10-70 minutes of arc. If one looks through the binocular eyepiece, the laser beam appears as a diffuse spot illuminating a certain area (as does the inbuilt illuminator). But we must remember all devices will give a diminishing return proportional to the inverse square of an object's distance. So like daylight sightings, one is still dependent on the creature putting in a relatively close appearance for better results.




The second issue was battery life as connections to the National Grid were not exactly in abundance on the shoreline. I had the binoculars, its IR illuminator and the recording device all on rechargeable batteries and the binoculars proved to be the weakest link as they ran out first. The binoculars lasted a maximum of three to four hours while the laptop could last up to eight hours. So it looks like the illuminator indeed limits binocular life. One help is to attach the aforementioned laser scope and turn off the binocular's internal one to save battery time. Secondly, use the longest life batteries available (I would note the trap cameras have no problem with battery life as the Wildgame Innovations was still active after 25 days and 674 snaps).

As it happens, I am still working through the three hours or so of binocular video, it is pretty boring and hard on the eyes. The video capture file for this length of recording comes in at about 8Gb because it was a continuous recording.

What I hope to use for the first time on this trip is my Secumate mini-DVR. Laptops are fine but a bit cumbersome and fragile for this kind of work. The mini-DVR is compact, rugged and can fit into your pocket. Our Bigfoot hunters love these things as you can plug it into the video out port, put it in your pocket and start roaming around the forest on foot. That is a night time scenario I might have a go at but the whole point of the exercise just now is to set something up and let it run automatically while you sleep.


The unit can auto-detect PAL or NTSC video formats and can record on schedule, manual or motion detect. The latter mode is the important one for me as it soaks up less SD memory and battery time. The motion detect record mode has three settings. The first is the area to monitor for motion. This is achieved in configuration mode by blocking out the parts of the area not to be analysed. This is a useful feature for possibly a fixed station video where false signals such as moving branches and breaking waves are known. But for one off placements, I will just set it to maximum coverage but make sure moving objects are kept to a minimum.

The second setting is motion detect sensitivity. In other words, does the mini-DVR trigger when a midge flies past or something a bit bigger (as it is seen in the field of view)? A bit tricky this one, so for now I will just use the default setting.

Finally, there is the setting for how long to record on a motion trigger. I set this to the maximum of 30 seconds which may seem not a lot but if the object continues to move then the DVR will just keep adding 30 seconds to the overall recording.

I plugged the mini-DVR into the video component output of my standard analogue camcorder and all looks well but the final experiment will involve the night scope on a tripod.

So the game is afoot once more as I plan for the first of hopefully several trips this year. Wish me luck as I go in pursuit of the Loch Ness Monster!



Saturday 31 March 2012

Other Lake Monsters

This is a general post linking to past postings which dealt with lake and sea monsters beyond Loch Ness. As time progresses more relevant articles will be cross referenced here.

This mainly deals with modern sightings of alleged strange creatures. For folklore and older stories click through to the Water Horses and Kelpies article.

Lagarflot, Iceland - here

Loch Oich, Scotland - here

Loch Morar, Scotland - here  and here and here.

Loch Awe, Scotland - here

Loch Duich, Scotland - here

Loch Ulladale, Scotland - here

Derwentwater, England - here

Lake Windermere, England - here

Cadborosaurus, British Columbia - here

Sea Serpent Carcasses in Spain and France - here

Long Necked Seals - here

Lake Labynkyr, Russia - here

Mokele-mbembe - here

The Beast of the Beauly Firth - here

Lake Okanagan - here 

The Creature of Findhorn Bay - here

Sandra Mansi's Painting of Champ - here

The Loch Leven Monster - here

Whales in Scottish lochs - here

The Corrie Creature - here








Wednesday 28 March 2012

Loch Ness One Hundred Years Ago

I saw this century old postcard on eBay and wondered if Loch Ness was really such a quiet place before the Nessie craze started twenty years later. Mind you, if anyone saw a strange, triangular hump back then, this photo would no doubt provide a ready explanation. As an aside, there are three references to strange things being seen in (and out of) Loch Ness in 1912.

The ebay listing said: "Published by W. Fraser, Photographer, Lochend, Inverness. Postally used 1912". First to reach Fort Augustus wins the prize?



Thursday 22 March 2012

The Rip Hepple Nessletter Archive




In the 1970s, long before the Internet, there were mainly four ways of finding information on a subject. Three of these were books, magazines and newspapers. The fourth was newsletters. The problem was simple enough, once a book was published it was immediately out of date. New information would be published at irregular intervals in magazines and newspapers but the problem was finding out when and where such items were put on the newsstand. Some got round this by subscribing to newspaper clipping services but others subscribed to newsletters.

The newsletter was a popular publication back then and still is now being a tried and tested concept. An individual qualified in a certain subject would collate and analyse information for a group of like minded individuals. The newsletter would be sent by post usually monthly or quarterly to keep the subscriber base up to date on what was happening in the chosen field.

So it was no surprise that in the 1970s the popular subject of the Loch Ness Monster also had its share of newsletters. Well, I actually only know of two such newsletters. The first was by Frank Searle and if anyone can send me paper/scanned copies that would be appreciated. The second and best however was written and published by Rip Hepple.

Rip had been visiting the loch since the early 1960s and was a member of the Loch Ness Phenomenon Investigation Bureau throughout that time. When that group disbanded, he had established a network of contacts which stood him in good stead to start a newsletter in 1974 which he appropriately called the "Nessletter".

Encouraged by such people as Tim Dinsdale (who also proofread draft copies), the first issue came out on February 1974 under the umbrella of his "Ness Information Service". As of today, it has now reached issue number 158 and continues to be published at irregular intervals.

The advantages were obvious. Subscribers would be kept up to date on sightings, personalities, expeditions, Nessie theories and other lake cryptids. Rip's network of colleagues and subscribers would also inform him of items that could be disseminated to the whole group.

There was also the social networking element as subscribers advertised their forthcoming trips to Loch Ness and later reported back their experiences. Finally, anything relevant to the Loch in a broader sense would also make its way to print.

With that rich seam of information in mind, I phoned Rip and suggested the idea of a digital archive for his past newsletters. To my great pleasure, he was agreeable to the idea and has kindly given his consent for a number of issues to be digitised and made available to other Loch Ness Monster enthusiasts.

The process of digitisation is simple enough (albeit time consuming). The paper copy is scanned to a JPEG file, it is then uploaded to Google Documents in a structured way and then the Internet link to each issue is created and published here below.

The work is ongoing as I think only half of what Rip has consented to be digitised was in my hands. Also, an index needs to be added to guide readers to specific topics. Nevertheless, what is currently available adds up to over 200 pages in 53 issues (I think the content easily exceeds that of my own blog).

In some ways, the Nessletter is THE most important document available on Loch Ness and its Monster for its chronicles a phenomenon, its abode, followers and critics in a continuous manner for nearly 40 years now. Quite simply, a unique publication such as this should not be allowed to disappear from view. If you want a full perspective on the phenomenon that is the Loch Ness Monster, then Nessletter is a requirement.

The current archive extends from 1975 to 1985 with the aim of stopping at 1994. To subscribe to the latest issues, send a letter to Rip at the following address.

Subscription rates are: £3 (UK) or $10 (USA)
R.R.Hepple
7 Huntshieldford
St John's Chapel
Weardale
Co Durham
DL13 1RQ
United Kingdom

Note that the newsletters remain under Rip's copyright. Enjoy the archive, let me know of any issues and I will post updates as and when they are added. Also note that since Google moved to Google Drive that you are likely to be greeted by a thumbnail of the JPEG and not a readable image. In that case, right click on the image and select "View Image" which should give you what you want.

No.1 January 1974 (Added 5th May 2012) - link

No.2 March 1974 (Added 5th May 2012) - link

No.3 May 1974 (Added 5th May 2012) - link

No.4 July 1974 (Added 5th May 2012) - link

No.5 October 1974 (Added 5th May 2012) - link

No.6 December 1974 (Added 5th May 2012) - link

No.7 February 1975 (Added 5th May 2012) - link

No.8 April 1975 - link

No.9 June 1975 - link

No.10 August 1975 - link

No.11 October 1975 - link

No.12 December 1975 (Added 5th May 2012) - link 

No.14 February 1976 (Added 5th May 2012) - link 

No.15 April 1976 - link

No.16 June 1976 (Added 5th May 2012) - link

No.17 August 1976 (Added 5th May 2012) - link
 
No.18 October 1976 - link

No.19 December 1976 - link

No.20 February 1977 (Added 5th May 2012) - link

No.21 April 1977 (Added 5th May 2012) - link

No.22 June 1977 - link

No.23 August 1977 - link

No.24 November 1977 (Added 5th May 2012) - link 

No.25 December 1977 - link

No.26 February 1978 - link

No.27 April 1978 - link

No.28 June 1978 - link

No.29 August 1978 - link

No.30 October 1978 - link

No.31 December 1978 - link

No.32 February 1979 - link

No.33 April 1979 - link

No.34 June 1979 - link

No.35 August 1979 - link

No.36 October 1979 - link

No.37 December 1979 - link

No.38 February 1980 - link

No.39 April 1980 - link

No.40 June 1980 - link

No.41 August 1980 - link

No.42 October 1980 - link

No.43 December 1980 - link

No.44 February 1981 - link

No.45 April 1981 - link

No.46 June 1981 - link

No.47 August 1981 - link

No.48 October 1981 - link

No.49 December 1981 - link

No.50 February 1982 - link

No.51 April 1982 - link

No.52 June 1982 - link

No.53 August 1982 - link

No.54 October 1982 - link

No.55 December 1982 - link

No.56 February 1983 - link

No.57 April 1983 - link

No.58 June 1983 - link

No.59 August 1983 - link

No.60 October 1983 - link

No.61 December 1983 - link

No.62 February 1984 - link

No.63 April 1984 - link

No.64 June 1984 - link

No.65 August 1984 - link

No.66 October 1984 (Added 5th May 2012) - link 

No.67 December 1984 - link

No.68 February 1985 - link

No.70 June 1985 - link

No.71 August 1985 - link

No.72 October 1985 - link

No.73 December 1985 - link

No.74 February 1986 - link

No.75 April 1986 - link

No.76 June 1986 - link

No.77 August 1986 - link

No.78 October 1986 - link

No.79 December 1986 - link

No.80 February 1987 - link

No.81 April 1987 - link

No.82 July 1987 - link

No.83 August 1987 - link

No.84 October 1987 - link

No.85  December 1987 - link

No.86 February 1988 - link

No.87 April 1988 - link

No.88 June 1988 - link

No.89 August 1988 - link

No.90 October 1988 - link

No.91 December 1988 - link

No.92 February 1989 - link

No.93 April 1989 - link

No.94 June 1989 - link

No.95 August 1989 - link

No.96 February 1990 - link

No.97 April 1990 - link

No.98 July 1990 - link

No.99 August 1990 - link

No.100 November 1990 - link

No.101 March 1991 - link

No.102 June 1991 - link

No.103 August 1991 -  link

No.104 October 1991 - link

No.105 December 1991 - link

No.106 January 1992 - link

No.107 March 1992 - link

No.108 May 1992 - link

No.109 July 1992 - link

No.110 September 1992 - link

No.111 January 1993 - link

No.112 March 1993 - link

No.113 June 1993 - link

No.114 August 1993 - link

No.115 November 1993 - link

No.116 January 1994 - link

No.117 April 1994 - link

No.118 - TBD

No.119 October 1994 - link

No.120 January 1995 - link


Saturday 17 March 2012

Some Stories from Readers

It's time to let the readers of this blog speak of stories they have heard or experienced for themselves in the realm of lake mysteries. Comments will be posted on this blog as something an article says may strike a chord. However, these may not be noticed by even regular readers of this blog, but since I am notified of every comment requiring moderation, I can pick some choice items for occasional postings such as this. So here we go.


SIGHTING AT LOCH NESS

Commenting on an article on the Gordon Powell sighting from 1936, one reader had this to say.

I visited Dores recently to see some friends. They told me they had seen something but didn't feel easy talking about it in fear of being mocked. There are loads of people all the same who have seen it and kept quiet for fear of been labelled an idiot or whatever, I trust my friends and I know they don't lie and wouldn't make up a story like that, there is something wonderful there, and I'm not on about the pub in Dores.

The report was seeing a very large tail like thing only 20 to 30 feet off shore swishing from side to side but no fish like tail. The length of what they saw of the creature must have been about 10 to 12 feet (a very long Sturgeon?) the whole sequence only lasted about 15-20 seconds and froze everyone who saw it fixed looking at this amazing thing.

Our reader then speaks of a strange follow up. Make of it what you will.

But the really weird thing was the the follow up to this. Almost as soon as the strange thing disappeared into the dark unknown depths of the Loch everyone heard a very deep humming sound getting closer and closer and only to see a swarm of bees flying by, really odd and so loud they could have been on motorbikes.

Finally, the reader finishes with his own speculation on whatever may inhabit the loch.

It has been know that the energy given off from the Loch itself and those creatures who reside there are exceptional as they absorb the energy through the 750ft deep fault line. Go and visit Dores. I don't work for any tourist board or have a guest house but I do have friends there and its all true.


SONAR AND OTHER WATERS

Two people have something to say about sonar and strange readings. The first is about Loch Shiel which has its own monster reputation. One reader made this comment on a recent Loch Morar article:

Seen a few strange things on a sonar on Loch Shiel, between Glen Aladale and Eilean Mhic Dhomhnuill Dhuibh. Sonar was little more than a depth sensor, and had a very poor display, so difficult to say with any certainty what it was, could of course be false echos. Bottom was about 95 meters, which ties in with OS data and at about half depth there was a constant large echo for a good 10 minutes, boat was moving at a fast walking pace.

Another person who communicated with me by email talks of strange goings on as boats ply their way up and down the Great Glen waterway:

A friend of mine ran a barge on the canal and lochs for years (and I worked on it too several times) and he spoke with passing fishing boats several of whose skippers admitted to getting really odd sonar pings from big animate objects deep down. These guys do this for a living and know the difference between a cold spot and a shoal of fish and a large single object. They don't say much because they can't be bothered.

Sonar is doubtless a bit of a blunt instrument. It may point to the presence of large objects, but it is not of sufficient accuracy to identify them (though the technology is continuously improving).


LOCH NESS AGAIN

From the article on the Fort Augustus Abbey School, a former schoolboy had this to say:

I lived and went to school in 1943 to 1945 at the Abbey Hoose of Vaughn. I saw Nessie about 1000 yards from the General Wade's road side (Corrie Cave's side). NESSIE had 2 humps and it was not a boat. It's a plesiosaur type of herbivore animal and we students had the idea at the time that since it hung around Corries Cave there would be under water connections for "IT" to reside in.

The belief in caverns and underwater passageways seems to have been a common belief with local inhabitants. He finishes off on a personal note and with what I presume is a motto related to the Abbey.

Well, some time ago I was supposed to show up for a party before the Abbey was up for sale, sorry, never made it but any hoo PAX Dominus Vobiscum Et tu Spiritus Sanctus Amen.


Another piece I hope to put up in the future is a lady's story of how her great-great-great-great-grandmother had a disturbing experience at Loch Ness (at the time of George III by my reckoning). More to follow as I await further feedback.

So, readers, if you have something worthy to say, just comment or send me an email.


Tuesday 13 March 2012

Books about the Loch Ness Monster

Not only do I love researching and hunting for Nessie but I like to collect books about Nessie. I have been doing that for over thirty years and I still have not finished. Despite the advent of the Internet, books are still important and with the advent of e-books, their survival in one form or another will continue.

Websites have their advantages and disadvantages. One may presume to find all the information they need but like good and bad books you have good and bad websites and finding the prime sources of information is at the mercy of search engines such as Google.

Indeed, information about the Loch Ness Monster can be diffusely spread across the Internet whereas a well written and researched book can concentrate data in a focused and more organised manner. However, once a paper book is written it is fixed in stone until the next revision or a similar book comes along a few years later. In that respect, Internet and books should work together for the serious researcher.

But it has to be said that websites come and go but books generally do not. One day this website will disappear from the Internet as will others since they tend to be the works of individuals and not corporate entities. So, for those who think there is something worth preserving, they should commit their works to e-books and leave them corporately available via Amazon or other e-book distributors once we have all shuffled this mortal coil.

As with all genres, Nessie has had her share of the good, the bad and the ugly. In fact, I suggest no one should bother writing a book on the Loch Ness Monster unless it fulfills four criteria.

1. It adds to the storehouse of data such as new sightings, films, sonar, photos, etc.
2. It adds to the speculation or theorising about the subject.
3. It adds to the human side of the story (culture, folklore, biographies).
4. It may not add to the above but it present the story in an entertaining and engaging way.

There are plenty of Loch Ness books which do not fulfill these criteria, but I still buy them anyway!

So for the record and for anyone interested in building their own collection I present my own Loch Ness Monster bibliography. The list currently stands at 71 titles and is presented in chronological order but the reprint and revision information is currently incomplete.

The emphasis is on books aimed at a general audience which outwardly take some kind of serious approach to the subject. So juvenile books and fictional works are not included. Books which are not purely Nessie but have a decent section on the monster are included. Books in foreign languages are not included and the vast volume of magazine and newspaper articles that exist are excluded (too much work!). But we do have some good, melodramatic pictures of Nessie that grace our various book covers!

You may also notice I might be a bit hard on some sceptical minded books, but that's because I am biased (as they are). Also, do not equate sceptical books with critical thinking books because you will find that class of analysis across both genres (to varying degrees).

As far as I know, most of these books are out of print and it is unlikely they will be published again. Most of the popular titles can be found on Amazon, Abebooks and eBay under used books but some are so rare that they may only appear at intervals of years apart.

Let me know of any omissions and I will update.


Stewart, Grant. The Popular Superstitions and Festive Amusements of the Highlanders of Scotland. Aylott and Jones, 1823.

Wait a minute, shouldn't the list start around the 1930s and not a century before? Well, maybe, but stories of strange creatures in Loch Ness go back way before the newspapers got a hold of it as this example from Georgian times shows. Grant Stewart tells the tale of the Loch Ness Kelpie as related by Willox Gregor MacGregor of Tomintoul.







Lane, W. H. The Home of The Loch Ness Monster. Moray Press, 1934.

The first book on the Loch Ness Monster published around March 1934. and you may guess from the cover what the author's theory is on the monster's ID. We reviewed this book in a previous article and a profile of the author is here.








Hamilton, W. D & Hughes, J.. The Mysterious Monster of Loch Ness. Fort Augustus Abbey Press, 1934.

The second book on the monster published by the monks at the Abbey around May 1934. This was very much a tourist booklet of 15 pages covering the best sightings up to that point (and even Ogopogo gets a mention).








Gould, Rupert T. The Loch Ness Monster and Others. London: Geoffrey Bles, 1934.

The first serious work on the Monster which came out in June 1934. Gould was an expert on Sea Serpents and the news from Loch Ness compelled him to head north and do his own due diligence. Riding around on a motorbike named "Cynthia", he conducted interviews and conversations with various witnesses and sundry others. The result was this fascinating book consisting of accounts with sketches and a survey of the likely candidates for "X" as he called it. The other cover here is a reprint from 1969, almost 20 years after Gould's death. A seperate look at the book with pictures of some pages can be seen here.





Oudemans, A. C. The Loch Ness Animal. London:Leyden, 1934.

Another Sea Serpent researcher in the form of Oudemans published a small monograph on the creature after Gould. We know it was after Gould because he mentions Gould's work. Oudemans took the view that Nessie was a stray sea serpent and proceeds accordingly.









Munro, Donald John. (Captain), Loch Ness Mystery. Privately Published, 1937.

Captain Munro attempted to raise capital at one shilling a share to form an exploration company called "Loch Ness Monster Ltd". This privately published booklet was essentially the share prospectus document. Why no image? I can't find a copy of this book for love nor money! Not even the mighty National Library of Scotland or British Library have it. One or two old time Nessie researchers (or their beneficiaries) may have copies.




Carruth, J. A. Loch Ness Monster and its Monster. Abbey Press, 1938.

A popular booklet produced by James Aloysius Carruth, a brother at Fort Augustus Abbey. This went through at least nine editions by 1971. You can read more about the book and author here.










Whyte, Constance. The Loch Ness Monster. Headley Brothers, 1951.

This little known 15 page booklet by Loch Ness Monster expert Constance Whyte first covered the subject for the King's College Hospital Gazette but then found its way into print as this booklet. A short treatise on Nessie which would later find greater expansion in her next book.

The copy I have actually has her handwriting in the margin annotating a possible sighting as dubious and she initials it "CW"! The text of this booklet can be found here.





Whyte, Constance. More Than A Legend. London: Hamish Hamilton, 1957.

Constance Whyte started a chain of events that rekindled interest in the Loch Ness Monster. Tim Dinsdale pointed to this book as the catalyst that sent him north to Loch Ness and the rest as they say is history. The book takes up where Gould left off in examining the phenomenon but also adding sightings of the creature since 1934. A second edition appeared in 1961.







Dinsdale, Tim. Loch Ness Monster. London: Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1961

Having sparked world interest in his famous film, Tim published his story and research into Nessie the following year. A popular book that went through various reprints and at least two revisions up to 1982. Tim Dinsdale is the Loch Ness Monster's most prolific author with four titles.








Burton, Maurice. The Elusive Monster. London: Rupert Hart Davis, 1961

At the same time Dinsdale published his seminal book, Burton countered with the first sceptical book on the Loch Ness Monster. It would be another 22 years before another such book arrived on the scene. Burton was a sceptic, then believer, then sceptic again and as such employs an array of standard explanations to (in his eyes) consign Nessie to the dustbin of history. Expect much talk about otters, birds, deer, vegetable mats and hoaxers.






Dinsdale, Tim. The Leviathans. London: Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1966

I think this is the first book that treats generally of all fresh and salt water cryptids. Tim Dinsdale's in-depth exploration of lake monsters, sea serpents, washed up carcasses and various other genres of the aquatic cryptid.

The book was revised and expanded to nearly 300 pages for the US market as the book "Monster Hunt" in 1972.





James, David. Loch Ness Investigation. Loch Ness Phenomenon Investigation Bureau Ltd, 1968

Written by one of the founders of the LNPIB, this is a short 40 page treatise of the monster bringing readers up to the work of that organisation. No date of publication but given the evidence of the text, no earlier than 1967.







Holiday, F.W. The Great Orm of Loch Ness. Faber & Faber, 1968

Ted Holiday was one of the most seasoned monster hunters and indulged in some lateral thinking in his first book by suggesting the "Orm" as he called it was a giant version of a long extinct invertebrate.

Note also the publisher Avon's less than invertebrate-like and more plesiosaur-like cover designed for the 1970 paperback version! I guess dinosaurs sell better than worms.



Cooke, David C & Yvonne. The Great Monster Hunt. Norton, 1969


When I first picked up this book subtitled "The Story of the Loch Ness Investigation" I thought it was a recounting of the activities of the Loch Ness Phenonomenon Investigation Bureau. They are included but it is rather the authors' personal recounting of their trip to Loch Ness and the various interviews they conducted plus conclusions and observations. A good read actually all told.





Hastain, Ronald. Loch Ness and the Monster. J. Arthur Dixon, 1971

A standard tourist trade booklet to flick through as one watches the loch from the Castle to the skirl of the bagpipes. The picture is of a well-formed standing wave and not Nessie. However, Nicholas Witchell in a precursor to his main book did provide the text.

The 1970s proved to be the best decade for Nessie books as the various photos that came out created a storm of interest in the monster. Publishing success also guranteed some very nice (albeit unrealistic) cover artwork.




Baumann, Elwood. The Loch Ness Monster. London: Franklin Watts, 1972

This was one of several mysteries books written by Baumann. It is another boilerplate book which basically surveys the sightings history though since Mr. Elwood was a member of the LNPIB there is a bit of extra emphasis on their work. The book suffers the indignity of the Hugh Gray Nessie photograph being printed upside-down and the front cover sculpture of Nessie by Dick Dulany is intriguing to say the least!






Klein, Martin. Underwater Search at Loch Ness. Academy of Applied Sciences, 1972

Martin Klein documents the earlier expeditions of the Academy of Applied Science. Contributions from Rines and Dinsdale as well (so I am not sure if this counts as a fifth book for Tim Dinsdale).








Blackdown High School. Loch Ness Survey Report. SuDaK, 1972

A well written privately published 57 page report on the school's expedition to Loch Ness in 1971-72 where locals were interviewed, searches conducted as well as a general social, biological survey of the area. Frank Searle, Alex Campbell, Constance Whyte are amongst the contributors.






Holiday, F.W. The Dragon and The Disc. Norton, 1973

Though still holding to his invertebrate theory, Holiday began to venture into the paranormal with this book as he explored his theory about long past dragon and disc cults in Britain and their connection. As far as I know, only Holiday called Nessie a dragon (though she was always referred to as a kelpie or similar in the Highlands).

Also titled "Creatures from the Inner Sphere" and "Serpents of the Sky, Dragons of the Earth" in reprints.



Dinsdale, Tim. The Story of The Loch Ness Monster. Tandem Publishing, 1973

 A Lite version of the Nessie story from our intrepid monster hunter. My favourite bit is the claimed sighting by a William Shakespeare which the newspaper staff at the local Inverness Courier were reticent to print. Sceptics will no doubt claim Shakespeare's sighting was a work of fiction!





Witchell, Nicholas. The Loch Ness Story. Terence Dalton, 1974

The definitive history of the Loch Ness Monster (albeit a bit dated now). Witchell employed a wide array of sources with the help of seasoned monster hunters to give us the best survey of the monster and its hunters. Its success ensured various revisions and reprints.





Costello, Peter. In Search of Lake Monsters. Garnstone Press, 1974

My favourite general book on lake cryptids and the one with IMO the best section on the Loch Ness Monster in that genre of books. So I include it here and I still refer to it to this day. Republished in 2015 by Anomalist Books with a new foreword by Loren Coleman and a preface by Bernard Heuvelmans. I review the book here.







MacRae, Jim. Loch Ness Monster Handbook. John G. Eccles, 1974

One of those boilerplate booklets that typified the 70s and 80s. I review the book here.








Perera, Victor. The Loch Ness Monster Watchers. Capra Press, 1974

Author Victor Perera spent a few weeks in Scotland as he toured the loch and spoke to various people associated with the mystery. This is an entertaining and insightful read of 43 pages which includes interviews with Dick Raynor, Frank Searle, J. A. Carruth (see booket above) and Alex Campbell all espousing their belief in the Loch Ness Monster.







Witchell, Nicholas. Loch Ness and the Monster. J. Arthur Dixon, 1975

A short 32-page tourist booklet brought up to date for the then recent Rines underwater pictures.












Dinsdale, Tim. Project Water Horse. London: Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1975

A great and informative read as Tim Dinsdale moves the focus away from the Monster and onto the contemporary people, equipment and strategies involved in the hunt as well as various other goings-on around the loch.









Grimshaw, Roger and Lester, Paul. The Meaning of the Loch Ness Monster. University of Birmingham, 1976

An interesting, 42-page academic work which is a sociological commentary on the Loch Ness Monster phenomemon. It is not so much an attempt to identify any such creature but rather to explain how people have framed the phenomenon through various eyes from the ancients and their folklore up to the present day and the interpretations of enthusiasts, the media, entrepreneurs, scientists and the general public. Great cover art by Fortean Times artist, Hunt Emerson.





Smith, Warren. Strange Secrets of The Loch Ness Monster. New York: Kensington Publishing, 1976

A book with a back cover which asks some startling questions. Such as is Nessie the relic of a lost underwater civilisation? Is there a connection between Nessie and the Hollow Earth, Bermuda Triangle and UFOs? Best of all, is her picture carved in ancient pyramids?

Pertinent questions to which the answer is a collective "No". As it turns out, this boilerplate book is a general survey of lake monsters worldwide with perhaps a third of its 234 pages devoted to Nessie and other Highland creatures.



Mackal, Roy. The Monsters of Loch Ness. Swallow Press, 1976

One of the best books on the Monster and certainly the biggest one at 401 pages. Dr. Mackal applies his knowledge of biology and science in general to the loch and its mysterious inhabitant to come up with the most erudite work to date. The front cover gives away his prime choice of candidate.







Searle, Frank. Nessie: Seven Years in search of The Monster. London: Coronet Books, 1976

Frank Searle published this at the height of his fame. His Sunday Mail expose was not long after this. Lots of alleged Nessie photographs, Girl Fridays and one cat.








Searle, Frank. The Story of Loch Ness. John Eccles Printers, 1977

Arch hoaxer Frank Searle also dipped into the publishing world with a few tourist oriented booklets. This book was reviewed previously here.










Harvey, Alex. Alex Harvey Presents The Loch Ness Monster. K-Tel Records, 1977. (Republished by VoicePrint Records, 2009)

A booklet accompanying a CD and originally a vinyl record. I review this booklet here.










Searle, Frank. Around Loch Ness. John Eccles Printers, 1977

This is essentially a slightly bigger version of "The Story of Loch Ness" where Searle adds his brand of monster hunting tips such as places and equipment.










Robertson, Barrie. Loch Ness and The Great Glen. James Heap Ltd, 1977

It's that two humped beastie again and you can guess who features strongly inside. Another tourist booklet for the area with Frank Searle's stuff used as the attractant.








Meredith, Dennis L. Search at Loch Ness. New York: Quadrangle, 1977

Meredith accompanied Rines and his Academy of Applied Science team to Loch Ness with the New York Times in 1976. This is the group's account of that time and their other work up to that point in time.







Snyder, Gerald. Is There a Loch Ness Monster?. New York: Julian Messner, 1977

The answer is "Yes" and Mr. Snyder who was based in Inverness goes about this survey in a fairly thorough and engaging way. So I hesitate to class this book as "boilerplate" as he does approach fulfillng the fourth of my criteria above (and I did pick up a few useful things from his book).








Akins, William. The Loch Ness Monster. Signet, 1977

A well researched book which is a kind of mini-version of Roy Mackal's book. Useful sections on eyewitness reliability, candidates and the 1976 Rines expedition. Akins takes a semi-skeptical view of much evidence but comes out in favour of the giant eel hypothesis. Interestingly, he thinks he sees a child's face in the Hugh Gray photo (as opposed to the much vaunted labrador dog).







Cornell, James. The Monster of Loch Ness. Scholastic Book Services, 1978

Another in that series of boilerplate books where someone goes to Loch Ness for a few weeks, talks to people, goes home and writes a book to cash in on the 1970s Nessie bandwagon. In Cornell's case, he went along to see if the Rines expedition could repeat their success of 1975 along with a whole army of media men and the New York Times which had first rights on any exclusives. Needless to say, he went home disappointed. Needless to say, as a collector I still bought it.






Resciniti, Angelo and Damon, Duane. Bigfoot and Nessie. School Book Fairs Inc, 1979

Perhaps the final boilerplate of the manic 70s? This book is covered here.











Harmsworth, Tony. The Mysterious Monsters of Loch Ness, Precision Press, 1980

As curator of the newly established "Official Loch Ness Monster Exhibition", Tony produced this well written booklet for visitors. Empahsis is on the evolved plesiosaur theory. More on this book can be found here.










Omand, Donald. The Devil Hunter. Sphere Books Ltd, 1981

What has this to do with Nessie? Well, the Reverend Donald Omand conducted the famous exorcism of Loch Ness in 1973 helped by F. W. Holiday (who writes his own version in "The Goblin Universe" below). He devoted a chapter to this and a few other sea monsters.









Sensical, Benjamin, Loch Ness: An Explanation. Privately Published, 1982.

A short booklet which has disappeared from view but which Mr. Seniscal reprinted in his autobiography. A well reasoned discourse on how rotting vegetation and forestry debris can produce gas propelled biomasses. More on this book can be found here.








Searle, Frank. Loch Ness Investigation. Unpublished, 1983

 Subtitled "What Really Happened", the publishers pulled this book in the face of possible legal action over some rather inflammatory things Frank had to say about other Loch Ness researchers. After this, he left Loch Ness for good never to darken her shores again. Whether Searle still believed in a Nessie or ever saw it or photographed it is forever lost in the noise of his fakes.

I looked at Searle and his book in this article. Mike Dash did a good piece on it here.




Armstrong, Edward. Sticking My Neck Out. Privately Published, 1983

A bit of an oddity this one but it certainly delivers an interesting read. I have previously addressed one item from this 24 page book with his theory that a seagull flies past the "Monster" in the Surgeon's Photo (see link). However, his main thrust is to promote the theory that Nessie is some form of aquatic pachyderm (i.e. related to the elephant).








Binns, Ronald. The Loch Ness Mystery: Solved. Open Books, 1983

We enter the era of the Sceptic as various disaffected monster hunters and "just plain against it from the start" people enter the fray. Ronald Binns published first with a title described as "prematurely titled" by another sceptic (why I am not sure). The formula was simple and not much different from Maurice Burton - waves, boats, birds, otters, deer, etc, etc. Even inert rocks get a look in (are people that stupid?) Pictures of small animals are zoomed in to the point of graininess to make them look huge and frozen snapshots of unsustainable postures (see cover) suggest the "SOLVED" should be appended with a big question mark.




Harmsworth, Tony. Loch Ness - The Monster. Peter Gray Ltd, 1985

A well written 30-page booklet written by the then curator of the Loch Ness Exhibition Centre. Presumably written to accompany the exhibition.










Campbell, Steuart. The Loch Ness Monster: The Evidence. Aquarian Press, 1986

Steuart Campbell, a general sceptic who has also written against UFOs and Religion follows on from Binns with another sceptical book and adds some of his own analysis.

Revised in 1997 I believe.







Bauer, Henry. The Enigma of Loch Ness. University of Illinois Press, 1986

Midst all this sceptical writings came Henry Bauer who erects a robust defense for the creatures of Loch Ness. The Dinsdale Film is defended amongst other classic pieces and this book also has a valuable list of all recorded sightings with sources up to that point in time (helped by the researcher Ulrich Magin).







Holiday, F.W. The Goblin Universe. Llewellyn Publications, 1986

Holiday finally makes his break from any animal theories in this full blown disseration on the paranormal origins of Nessie. However, Holiday did not publish it and Colin Wilson undertook the job after Holiday's death in 1980.

I spoke about this book here. The book was modified and republished by Xanadu Publications in 1990.




Zarzynski, Joseph W. Monster Wrecks of Loch Ness and Lake Champlain. M-Z Information, 1986

An interesting look at other stories from Loch Ness concerning underwater wrecks and various other machines used in the search for Nessie. I had a look at this book here.







Owen, William. The Loch Ness Monster. Jarrold Publishing, 1986

A standard booklet for the tourist trade which appears to have manifested in more than one form. Nuff said, though apparently William Owen was a "dab hand" at painting plesiosaurs!








Frere, Richard. Loch Ness. John Murray Publishers, 1988

 Though not a dedicated Nessie Sceptic book, it continues in the line of such books appearing at that time. Being a general book on the history and features of Loch Ness it has a chapter on the Loch Ness Monster. Confessing himself to be a Nessie Atheist, Frere makes his views known and also claimed that a famous Nessie photograph was hoaxed (which we shall speak about some other time).







Gibson, J.A. & Heppell, David. The Search for Nessie in the 1980s. The Scottish Natural History Library, Kilbarchan, 1988

A symposium on the Loch Ness Monster was held at the Royal Museum of Scotland, Edinburgh on July 25th 1987 which was organised by the Society for the History of Natural History and the International Society for Cryptozoology. The proceedings of the meeting were published in two parts in the centenary edition of the Scottish Naturalist and contained contributions from various leading lights of the Loch Ness mystery including Tim Dinsdale, Henry Bauer, Adrian Shine, Roy Mackal and Robert Rines. A thorough going analysis of Loch Ness, its ecology and its most famous resident.


Shiels, Tony. Monstrum! A Wizard's Tale. Fortean Tomes, 1990

In amongst naked witches, fairies, owlmen and general wizardry hokum you will find an interesting read about Shiels' "psychic" adventures with the Loch Ness Monster and some other aquatic cryptids. His take on paranormal squid is worth the read on its own, whether you believe he is a hoaxer or not.







Picknett, Lynn. The Loch Ness Monster. Pitkin Pictorials Ltd, 1993

Yet another tourist trade booklet, professionaly done though for 20 pages worth.










Boyd, Alastair and Martin, David. Nessie: The Surgeon's Photograph Exposed. Privately Published, 1999

A book beloved of sceptics as it dismantles the most iconic picture of the Loch Ness Monster. It doesn't occur to them that Alastair Boyd was a firm believer in Nessie with a good hump sighting in the 1970s. Martin and Boyd use the plot line of The Sting film to trace a story of deception and revenge that led to the hoaxing of this famous picture.







Harrison, Paul. The Encyclopaedia of The Loch Ness Monster. 
Robert Hale Ltd, 1999

A great resource for getting to the raw facts on key persons and events that are connected with the mystery of Loch Ness. The definitive A to Z of Nessie.

Also recently revised and updated for the Amazon Kindle (see link).






Lee, Norman. Nessie Sighting. 
Self Published, 2000

Norman Lee claimed a sighting in 1970 which he goes into detail in this small e-book. Further details can be found here.








Shine, Adrian. Loch Ness.Loch Ness Project, 2006

As current curator of the Loch Ness Centre, Adrian Shine employs his extensive knowledge of Loch Ness Flora and Fauna to give an overview of the loch's ecology as well as a potted history of its most famous inhabitant in this small booklet (albeit from a sceptical point of view).









Betts, Jonathan. Time Restored: The Harrison Timekeepers and R.T.Gould. Oxford University Press, 2006

Monster hunter Rupert Gould was a man of many talents as this book demonstrates. However, our interest is in the chapter on his pursuit of the Loch Ness Monster. Also interesting is the claim that Gould recanted on the famous Spicers land sighting (which I covered here).







Stott, Colin: Four-Teans Go To Ness. Self Published, 2009

A tale of four Nessie hunters on their expedition. You can read more about this e-book here.









Caisteal, Graeme: A Tale From Loch Ness. Self Published, 2009

Another e-book about one man's quest for the monster and his views on the monster scene. Also covers the times with his friend, Frank Searle. More details here.








Harmsworth, Tony. Loch Ness, Nessie and Me. Faber & Faber, 2010

The latest in our line of sceptical books written by the former designer and curator of the Loch Ness Exhibition Centre. I reviewed this book previously here. It has also been republished as "Loch Ness Understood".

I think all the sceptics have put pen to paper now, so is this the last of these type of books for another few decades?






Watson, Roland. The Water Horses of Loch Ness. Createspace Publishing, 2011

A book which surveys the pre-Nessie era of sightings and folklore tales of the Loch Ness Water Horse and other such Highland creatures. The book is talked about here.








Byrne, Gerald. Gestalt Forms of Loch Ness. JRP Ringier, November 2011

I have not seen this book yet, but I suspect the book is not only a personal voyage in pictures but a look at how everyday objects can deceive. More on the book at this link.







Derry, J.F. Loch Ness Monster (and other explained mysteries). Haynes Publishing, July 2013

A montage of Daily Mirror stories to celebrate 80 years of Nessie. I look at this book here









Loxton, Daniel and Prothero, Donald. Abominable Science!. Columbia University Press, August 2013

I thought the series of sceptical books had ended but up pops this one with a 67 page chapter on Nessie. I review it here and Henry Bauer has a go here.









Dinsdale, Angus. The Man Who Filmed Nessie. Hancock House, August 2013

A biography on Nessie's most famous pursuer - Tim Dinsdale. His youngest son, Angus, tells the story of his father from birth to his untimely death. I review it here.







Gallagher, Patrick. Loch Ness: From Out of the Depths. Createspace, July 2015

A compilation of Nessie sightings, people and theories as printed in the British press between 1933 and 1934. The book was reviewed here.







Williams, Gareth. A Monstrous Commotion. Orion, November 2015

An extensive multi-biography of the various monster hunters, supporters detractors of our famous cryptid and how they interacted in all too human ways. A review of the book is here.








Gallagher, Patrick. Loch Ness: Back into the Depths. Createspace, April 2016

A compilation of Nessie sightings, people and theories as printed in the British press between 1935 and 1955. This is a sequel to the 2015 "From Out of the Depths" and the book is reviewed here.








Robinson, Malcolm. Loch Ness: The Monsters of Loch Ness. lulu.com, July 2016

Possibly the biggest book on Nessie at 590 pages. An up to date history of the loch and its monster, with personal perspectives from leading paranormal researcher, Malcolm Robinson. A review of this book can be found here.






Redfern, Nick. Nessie: Exploring the Supernatural Origins of the Loch Ness Monster. Llewellyn Publications, September 2016

The first book in 25 years to champion a paranormal Nessie. Ted Holiday, Doc Shiels, Aleister Crowley and Kevin Carlyon all rub shoulders in this supernatural defense. A review of this book is here.







Shuker, Karl. Here's Nessie! A Monstrous Compendium from Loch Ness. CFZ Publications, August 2016

Karl publishes an anthology of his various articles on Nessie and her ilk, adding his zoological distinctiveness. A review of the book is here.








Binns, Ronald. The Loch Ness Mystery Reloaded. Zoilus Press, August 2017

After a good 2016 for Nessie books, 2017 took a nosedive. Arch sceptic Ronald Binns follows up his 1983 book with some more Nessie bashing. Reviews can be viewed here and here.




 

Watson, Roland. When Monsters Come Ashore. Createspace Publishing, February 2018

The first book on the monster to focus solely on the mystery of the creature seen on land. More details can be obtained here. Copies are obtainable from Amazon.








Watson, Roland. Photographs of the Loch Ness Monster. KDP Publishing, February 2019

Another first book on the monster this time dedicated to still photographs of the monster, be they good, bad or ugly. More details can be obtained here. Copies are obtainable from Amazon.









Cornes, Rob. The Loch Ness Sea Lion. Independently published, August 2019

Did an errant sea lion contribute to Loch Ness Monster sightings in the 1930s? A review will be posted in due course.











Gerhard, Ken. The Essential Guide to the Loch Ness Monster. Crypto Excursions, February 2021

A survey of various lake cryptids, sea serpents with Nessie getting the most attention. The Basilosaurus theory of Roy Mackal is given a fresh airing.










Zarzynski, Joe.
 Lochend - Monster Hunting on the Run 
. Book Baby, December 2021

Thirty five years after his book on Loch Ness underwater wrecks, Joe now publishes his 
memoirs of Nessie hunting over three decades. The book is reviewed here.