It was raining heavily at Dochgarroch Lock, but hundreds of tourists were still queuing to hop on board their Loch Ness cruise.
The P&J was invited to a boat trip by Jacobite Loch Ness Cruises for the 50th anniversary of the company.
After interviewing owner Freda Newton, who spoke about how the company has grown 10 times bigger in the last 20 years, we jumped on board the firm’s Contemplation Cruise.
It was a two-hour trip with a brief stop at Urquhart Castle before sailing back to Dochgarroch at the northern tip of Loch Ness.
During the voyage we spoke to people on the boat about what has brought them to Loch Ness and their stories from the area, including:
- Tour guide John Clarke and skipper Gordon Siegal who spoke about their own Nessie sightings in 1975 and 2024.
- Visitors who had travelled long distances specifically to see Loch Ness for themselves.
- Why some tourists were even glad to have rain to add to their atmospheric voyage on Loch Ness.
- And from those who live closer to the beauty spot but were keen to show it off to visitors.
Rain adds to ‘lifelong dream’ of visiting Loch Ness
Billy and Jennifer Clyburn, their children Sadie, 9 and Nora, 7, and grandparents John and Adele Wadden, joined the trip at Urquhart Castle.
Jennifer, 40, said they had chosen the destination because she and her husband have Scottish heritage.
She explained: “We’re here to see where our ancestors came from.
“And we’re all fans of Outlander”, she joked.
The family was enjoying their time in Inverness after a few days in Edinburgh.
Speaking about Loch Ness, the family said: “It’s iconic. Our tour guide reminded us of the Loch Ness monster. We wanted to see the beauty of Scotland, and we knew we’d see it here.”
Meanwhile, Stephen Clarke, 39, highlighted to us that his family was there for the 40th birthday of his wife Tarryn.
The South African couple, who now live in Manchester, were enjoying their cruise experience with their son Trystan, 15 and Kayleigh, 10.
The mum-of-two explained: “This has always been a dream of mine to come to Loch Ness.
“Since the 40th is a big birthday celebration why not take it off my bucket list?”
The 40-year-old said the Loch is “absolutely lovely” and added that she did not mind the rainy weather.
She said: “I heard the tour guide apologising for the weather today. I was like, please don’t apologise.
“You see Loch ness on a clear day and it’s beautiful but having weather like this today that gives it that majestic feel,” she said.
She continued: “It almost brings out Nessie; it’s almost the weather you expect her to pop out at. It’s beautiful.
“The cruise experience has been absolutely spectacular. The views you get from the cruise, you don’t get them from the land.”
Meanwhile, French couple Jason, 25, and Pauline, 26, were enjoying a romantic holiday.
They said: “We wanted to explore Loch Ness. I think Scotland is one of the places you hear about when growing up.
“The cruise ship experience is really nice. We have explored Loch from the shore, and we prefer to see it on the boat.”
No Nessie sightings but tourists not disappointed
Mother and daughter Cyndee, 52, and Josiane, 82, from Montreal in Canada, were seeing Loch Ness as part of an 18-day holiday across Scotland.
Cyndee said they had “always wanted to see Loch Ness”.
They said: “You can’t come to Scotland without seeing Loch Ness. We saw Loch Lomond too. They are both beautiful.
“The boat experience is great even despite the rain; you can’t come to Scotland and mind the rain; you just have to be ready for it.”
Regarding Loch Ness, they were impressed by how “wide and large it is” and said their favourite part is Urquhart Castle.
“We saw the castle yesterday on foot and seeing it from the water is a different experience,” they said.
Husband and wife Werner, 75, and Sabina Wolff, 70, from Brandenburg in Germany, were also seeing Loch Ness as part of a tour around Scotland.
Ms Wolff said Loch Ness is “very nice” despite not seeing Nessie.
She said: “The castle and the nature are beautiful, but all of Scotland is beautiful.
“We enjoyed this experience, it was very very good and enjoyed the views.”
Meanwhile, the Samuel family, from South India, were also enjoying the boat trip.
Sam, who lives in Inverness, said: “We all live in Scotland and work as care workers, but they live in Glasgow.
“They are in Inverness for a visit, and I thought this was a good idea to show them around. It’s a good experience for money.”
Jacobite Loch Ness Cruises staff speak about their own Nessie sightings
Tour guide John Clarke, 65, was telling passengers to keep an eye on the water as Nessie could come out at any time.
Mr Clarke, who is retired but does the tours two days a week, said he may have seen the Loch Ness monster last summer.
He explained: “I saw something like a whale coming out of the water in front of us, it came out once and then went down. What it was, I don’t know.
“It was during the first sailing of the day just after we left the port. It’s the only time I’ve seen her.”
We also spoke to Gordon Siegal, 72, who has been a skipper for more than 50 years since he was 21.
Mr Siegal, who said that he “will never retire”, has worked all across the world.
The experienced skipper revealed he saw Nessie back in 1975.
He said: “It looked like a whale’s back.
“I was working on a boat when it happened, near Aldourie Castle at Lochend.”
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