"Nessie", the Loch Ness Monster Quiz

Answer: 565 AD

The earliest written record of a sighting of the Loch Ness monster is from 565 AD when St. Columba is said to have driven a beast back into the water. An account of the event is included in the "Life of St. Columba" by Adomnán, written in the 7th century AD.

Answer: the Surgeon's photograph

On April 21, 1934, the Daily Mail published what later became known as the "Surgeon's Photograph", reportedly made by a doctor named Robert Kenneth Wilson. In 1994, Christopher Spurling revealed that the photograph was a hoax and admitting his involvement. Spurling was the stepson of Maramaduke Wetherell, a big-game hunter who had been hired in 1933 by the Daily Mail to find the Loch Ness Monster.

Answer: 263 billion cubic feet

Loch Ness is the largest body of water in the whole of the United Kingdom. There is more water in Loch Ness than there is in all the lakes in England and Wales put together.

Answer: sonar

Several sonar explorations were undertaken in 1987 and 2003 to locate the Monster. None of these explorations were successful.

Answer: never

The loch never freezes. As the water in the highest 100 metres cools, it sinks and is replaced by the warmer water from the depths.

Answer: a hippopotamus's foot

In 1933, big game hunter Marmaduke Wetherell "found" footprints left by the Loch Ness Monster. It was later discovered that the footprints matched those of a hippopotamus, and were made using a stuffed hippopotamus foot, one of Wetherell's big game trophies.

Answer: The Loch Ness Centre

The Loch Ness Centre was established in 1980. It contains displays about the history of Loch Ness from the ice age through to the present, as well as information about the Loch Ness Monster itself.

Answer: Urquhart Castle

Urquhart Castle dates back to at least the 13th century. It has long been associated with a number of sightings of the Loch Ness Monster.

Answer: The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes

In the main plot of this 1970 film, a woman asks Holmes to find her missing husband. The investigation leads to a castle in Scotland. Along the way, Dr Watson apparently sights the Loch Ness Monster. It turns out that Sherlock Holmes's brother Mycroft is constructing a submarine for the British Navy and, when taken out for testing, the submarine was disguised as a sea monster.

Answer: 22 miles (36 km)

Loch Ness has a depth of about 788 feet (240 metres) and a length of about 22 miles (36 km). It has the largest volume of fresh water in Great Britain.