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Beyond the Ride: Loch Ness Monster

For thousands of Mid-Atlantic park goers, their first coaster was the yellow beast known as The Loch Ness Monster.  Nessie was first opened 1978 as the first roller coaster with inter-locking loops.  With her 36 years in service, the legend of her namesake is older still…

The Legend of the Loch 

Loch Ness is the largest body of fresh water in Britain and reaches depths of 754 ft located in he Highlands of Scotland.

The first sighting of Nessie was in 565 AD and was written about in the 7th century book Life of St. Columba.  

When a road was built along the loch in 1933, many sightings began to surface from the once isolated area.  George Spicer and his wife saw a creature cross the road roughly 4′ high and 25′ long with a neck that stretched the width of the road.  A motorcyclist named Arthur Grant almost hit the creature that same year.

The fishing boat, Rival III, caught an odd large sonar reading that seemed to keep pace with the boat for over 2600′ at a depth of 479′.

Over the years many sonar reading, pictures and film have been taken of the creature, most are attacked by skeptics, some saying they are seeing diving birds, an elephant, snakes or wake.  The most recent sighting was on Apple Maps.  Andrew Dixon was digitally roaming the loch when he came across an interesting scene.  Of course, this is highly debated, but no true explanation has come to light.

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There may be no solid evidence of her existence, but the intrigue will go on forever.

 

Nessie in Yellow

Arrow, a roller coaster design company, built the legendary Loch Ness Monster for Busch Gardens in 1978  to a great amount of fanfare.  Today, you can still experience her 114 ft drop, interlocking loops and triple helix cave and you will be able to for a long time, as she is an ACE Landmark coaster.   I have to take at least one ride every visit, and my children and I enjoy repeated night rides to end our day at the park!