the doctor

I was a GP in the local area for thirty years. Fairly active in the community. I was on multiple boards—at one stage, I think I held the Scottish record for being on the most boards! 

My mother was descended from one of the local clans. I’ve had the croft now for fifty-three years, so I’d say I’m fairly immersed in the local folklore. Growing up, a chunk of my library was all about monsters—sea worms, bears. A lot of my family lived around Loch Shiel, and they had their own beastie—Sheila. 

I remember talk about serpent-like monsters across the country. It was just casually mentioned. A part of life here. Although… you did have to be careful who you told. After all, I was a doctor in training, and people prefer their doctors to be of a scientific persuasion. 

When I heard they were doing surveys on Loch Ness, I had to take part. I’d heard there was a great social scene, and I was curious. In ’71, I just rocked up. I was in my early twenties, money was tight. We stayed in the old village hall—just camped out, really. 

We were going out on boats. I worked with this guy into sonar—side scan sonar. A total skeptic. Didn't believe in anything, just fascinated by the tech. One day, he saw something. Said it looked like an upturned boat—a hump—just sitting there. Watched it for a few minutes. Then it sank away. 

And then there was the time the sonar picked up something strange. There's a tracing paper comes out of it and, it's like an ECG. Usually, the tracing paper just shows little blips—fish, the odd log. But this one—this was like a thumbprint. Something big, moving fast, through the water. It repeated. A real signal. That whole week on sonar, that was the only one like it. 

Of course, we all wanted it to be a plesiosaur. But honestly, it was just… interesting. Really interesting. 

Loch Morar is different from Ness. It’s crystal clear. You can identify oak leaves at a thousand feet. It’s an incredible place. Very beautiful. And it still has interesting characters around. 

I’ve always thought there should’ve been a proper investigation. A serious one. If you can identify ripples in a crater on the moon, surely you can figure out what’s going on in Loch Morar. 

I think what I’d say is—there is a phenomenon. Some sort of presence. And I do believe there’s an element of dulchus—that deep connection between people and the land. The people who live on the land, work the land… they’re part of the living culture. 

They experience things in ways you don’t get if you live in the middle of a big, bustling city. You've lost that connection. 

It’s like… you don’t own the land. The land owns you. You’re possessed by it.