Armed with drones, cameras, notepads and binoculars, hundreds of volunteers have arrived in the Scottish Highlands while others watch online from as far away as Japan
Around Loch Ness on Saturday, there were more than a few people hoping for sunshine. Would-be champions prepared for the Glenurquhart Highland Games, dedicated runners warmed up for the Loch Ness 24 endurance race – and volunteers from around the country and beyond got their binoculars and notepads ready for the biggest search for the Loch Ness monster in 50 years.
The weather wasn’t on their side – the majority of the Highland Games was called off and runners’ endurance was certainly tested as relentless rain battered Loch Ness all day. But as Alan McKenna from Loch Ness Exploration (LNE), a research team focused on the famous loch’s natural behaviour and phenomena, greeted bright-eyed monster-hunters under a grey sky at 8.30am, the message was clear: “The weather is not perfect but that’s not going to stop us.”
