A strange creature spotted at one of Scotland's most popular lochs has led to people asking if Nessie has decided to take a wee holiday. Jamie Houghton, 50, was bird-watching at Loch Long when he spotted something odd in the water.
The insurance broker from Derbyshire was shocked when he noticed a commotion on the surface on the loch, quickly grabbing his phone he was able to capture a few pics of the creature which appears to have dark mottled skin which is covered in seaweed.
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Jamie explained he was visiting the loch in Argyll near the holiday lodges at Ardgartan in June this year when he snapped the intriguing images.
"It was difficult to say what size it was as it was some distance away," he said. "Sort of close to the middle of the Loch, the pictures I took are zoomed in and cropped heavily on just a basic camera report the Record.
"When it first came up I’d say it was much longer and slender than any seal I’ve seen, I’m convinced it wasn’t a seal as it just seemed too slender and too long."
Jamie added that the first time he spotted it, it came up and higher out of the water than shown in the pictures, then dropped back in.
He said: "It came up again but not as high the second time, and this was the time I had my camera ready, I’d say it was visible for no more than a minute in total, then it submerged not to be seen again, we hung around for an hour or so hoping for further sightings but it never surfaced again."
Though he was surprised to see it, Jamie still isn't sure what the creature was, though one local thought it might possibly be a porpoise.
He added that since posting the pics online some people have joked that it might be Nessie on holiday while others have said it could be anything from a big fish or turtle to a seal or porpoise.
Jamie joked: "Whatever it was, I want it noted that I hadn’t been on the whisky that day either."
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