January 26, 2008
Scotland’s famous Loch Ness may see more visitors
The new movie The Water Horse: Legend of the Deep that opened in the US on Christmas Day 2007 (and opens in the UK in early February) is sure to inspire more tourists to visit Scotland’s famous Loch Ness. The story is about a boy who finds a mysterious egg from which a lizard-like creature hatches and eventually is let loose in a lake to become the Loch Ness Monster.
If you are planning a trip to Loch Ness, there is no guarantee that you will see “Nessie” as the locals have christened him, but there are plenty of other monster-themed attractions in the area.
Perhaps one reason why the monster has never been caught or proved beyond doubt to exist is that the lake is so huge – it’s by far the largest lake in Great Britain, measuring over 20 miles long and over 700 feet deep. Some people have spent many years and a lot of money watching the Loch – but without success.
Loch Ness is also launching a bid to become a world heritage sight, along with other such famous places as the Grand Canyon, the Taj Mahal and the Great Barrier Reef.
The Travel Channel (about which there has been a lot of discussion on these pages recently!) airs quite a lot of shows in which somebody goes in search of mysterious creatures such as Bigfoot, the Loch Ness Monster, etc. And there are several tours that take in Loch Ness, although I’m not sure if you can ask for a refund if you don’t see the monster.
A lot of places have benefited from “movie tourism’ – the UK for example saw a big increase in visitors to London, Oxford and other places featured in the movies, following the success of the “Harry Potter” films.
If you need some more inspiration for visiting movie locations, Budget Travel magazine has a list of the movies of 2007 that will most inspire you to travel!
Posted by James Trotta at January 26, 2008 8:43 AM | TrackBack