Aurora hunters hoping to catch a glimpse of the Northern Lights for the second night in a row have descended on Loch Lomond, clogging up roads around the beloved Scots beauty spot.
Locals in areas around the loch say that roads around Duck Bay, on the south-western banks, are "packed" with Scots seeking the rare phenomena. Meteorologists say the conditions for spotting the Aurora Borealis have been "perfect" in recent days, with Loch Lomond named as an ideal place to catch a glimpse on Monday.
Sensational photos shared by others from Sunday have prompted hordes of would-be Borealis buffs to descend on some of the spots believed to be the best places to see the solar phenomenon. Among them was Clydebank mum Elaine McFarlane, 44, who jumped in the car with her family to visit the loch after missing the lights at the weekend.
She told the Record: "The roads were mental – we couldn't believe it. We didn't know you could see the Northern Lights last night and it wasn't until this morning I saw all the photos on Facebook.
"When I read that you could see them again tonight I thought we would regret not trying. But I honestly didn't think the traffic would be like this.
"We sat still for about half an hour trying to get into Balloch off the roundabout at Dumbarton, and went up to Balloch Castle but it was just too cloudy. Coming back the other way you felt like shouting at all the cars: 'Turn back! You won't see anything!'"
Elaine said she would understand locals' annoyance at the traffic jams on their doorstep, but added: "Our plans beforehand were to go to bed early and watch something on Netflix. If we hadn't come out to try to see them we would have regretted it."
Locals have vented on social media, claiming aurora aficionados are ditching their cars on grass verges and even walking their children along the edge of the dual carriageway.
One Twitter user said: "The road to Loch Lomond is a two lane traffic jam at nine o'clock in a Monday in the pitch black. All the tenement tourists are out trying to find a parking space to look at a cloudy night."
Another said: "Difficult to count how many vehicles are blocking roads around Loch Lomond hoping to see northern lights. Typical humanity, all the lights & exhaust fumes make it less likely."
A third wrote: "If you’re thinking of heading to west side of Loch Lomond then don’t. It’s busier than a roasting hot Saturday afternoon."
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