Loch Ness Monster seeker wins tourism award

Loch Ness (Scottish Gaelic: Loch Nis) is a place of great beauty, surrounded as it is by spectacular scenery.  The Loch is a maximum of twenty two and a half miles (36.2km) long with a maximum width of just over one and a half miles (2.7km) and at its deepest is over 754 feet (230m). As well as its many obvious attractions Loch Ness is also famous for being home to the mysterious large aquatic animal known as the Loch Ness Monster or affectionately known by the nickname Nessie (Scottish Gaelic:Niseag). For many years people have claimed to have seen Nessie. Recorded sightings date back to the time of Saint Columba (December 521 – 9 June 597) when it is said that he came across a group of people burying a man by the River Ness. Columba was told that the man had been attacked by a “water beast” . 

Since that time many have sought to prove the existence of Nessie. One such man, Steve Feltham, has now received a tourism award. He has been named Ambassador of the Year at the Highlands and Islands Tourism Awards after 25 years trying to solve the Loch Ness Monster mystery. He gave up his job and sold his home to move to Dores (Scottish Gaelic: Duras) a village located on the south shore of Loch Ness, in his efforts to find the great and elusive creature. He has previously been recognised by the Guinness Book of World Record for the longest continuous vigil hunting for the Loch Ness Monster. His work has been recognised as having helped promote the tourism industry in the Highlands of Scotland.