Morag of Loch Morar
Britain's deepest lake has its own monster, and two men said it once bumped into their boat.
What was reported
Loch Morar, in the western Highlands, is the deepest body of fresh water in Britain, at over 300 metres. Local folklore told of Morag, a creature whose appearance was said to foretell a death in one of the local families.
On 16 August 1969, Duncan McDonnell and William Simpson said a large creature, many metres long with rough brown skin, struck their boat. They tried to drive it off before it sank out of sight. A study group later collected dozens of reports from around the loch.
Explanations offered
No physical evidence has been found. As with Loch Ness, sightings may be logs, boat wakes, waves, swimming deer or birds, misjudged in size on open water. The loch has held fresh water only since the last Ice Age, which makes it hard to see how a population of large animals could live there.
- When
- 16 August 1969
- Where
- Loch Morar, Lochaber, Scotland
- Witnesses
- Two men in a boat in 1969, and others before them
- Status
- Unconfirmed
Famous cases are real, widely reported events. Each file sets out what witnesses said and the explanations that have been offered, without taking a side.