The centuries old mystery of the Loch Ness monster may finally have been solved – and it appears we have been looking in the wrong place the whole time.
It seems that Nessie has departed the Highland loch and taken up residency in the Netherlands of all places.
Dutch journalist Dolf Ruesink spotted the famed beast basking in the sunshine in a garden in the small town of Rekken.
The ‘Nessielands’
The arguments for and against the existence of the Loch Ness monster have been going on for years.
At least that won’t happen with this version.
Well, how could it? The monster is made up of around 50,000 dahlia flowers for a start.
Its arrival has sparked a bit of interest though, and led to Mr Ruesink joking that the country will be renamed “the Nessielands”.
Nessie forms part of the town’s art trail
Each year in Rekken, located in the east of the Netherlands near the German border, art sculptures are created during the month of August.
Usually they are driven through the town for the gathered crowd.
However, the pandemic has led to a change in style and instead 13 displays are now fixed in locations.
Mr Ruesink said he was shocked to see Nessie in the Netherlands, 50 years after he visited Inverness to go on his own Nessie hunt.
He said: “I was a student, I was 18-years-old, so half a century ago I went with some friends to Scotland for a holiday break for about a week.
“We went to Inverness mainly to see the monster. I must admit it was raining awfully for the five or six days we stayed.
“Of course, we did not see the monster.”
Mr Ruesink returned three years ago with his wife but was again out of luck on his Nessie hunt.
He added: “It was a very big surprise for me that I saw the monster returning in my neighbourhood.
“When I saw it, I thought ‘he exists’.
“Maybe he came over through the North Sea and found his way to the Netherlands.
“Now we call it the Nessielands here.”
Befaamde Monster van Loch Ness duikt onverwacht op in Achterhoekse dorp #Rekken pic.twitter.com/HzzS927zD8
— Dolf Ruesink (@DolfRuesink) August 27, 2021
Loch Ness monster display wins vote
The Nessie display was voted as the most popular on the trail.
Other displays drew inspiration from news events of the day and fixtures of the local area.
One display even mocked the Netherlands Prime Minister Mark Rutte due to a suggested delay in putting coronavirus measures in place.
Read more about Nessie
- Nessie Hunter: Why I’m still searching for the Loch Ness monster after 30 years
- Coming out of lochdown: English dad and daughter report eighth sighting of Nessie this year
- Mystery animal bones found in the Western Isles go viral with suggestions it could be ‘Nessie’
- Is this Nessie? Irish hospital clerk records ‘a black shape moving up and down’ in Loch Ness