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My 23 year obsession with the Loch Ness monster - and how I missed my big chance to prove she exists

"This is my passion and exactly what I want to do with my life. I am hopeful I will see Nessie again, and I will be here ready with my camera every day until that day comes"



A full time Loch Ness monster hunter has dedicated 23 years of his life just to catch a glimpse of her - but didn't have his camera with him the one time Nessie turned up.

Professional Nessie hunter Steve Feltham, 51, from Wimborne, Dorset quit his job fitting security cameras to spend his days searching for Nessie and living on the banks of Loch Ness, Inverness-shire, back in 1991.

The monster-hunter became obsessed with the legend of Nessie after a family holiday to the Highlands when he was just seven - and made it his life's mission to prove she exists.

But after 23 years of patiently watching the loch, Steve still doesn't have any proof of the beast's existence - because he forgot his camera the day he did spot the monster in 1993.

Steve said: "Gutted is an understatement for that moment. It was the moment I had always dreamed of since I was a young boy - but I didn't catch it on film.

"Ever since I have dedicated my life to seeing Nessie again - and this time I am ready with my camera."



For the past 23 years Steve has carefully studied the waters of the Loch in the hope of catching a glimpse of his beloved Nessie.

But Steve couldn't believe his eyes when he caught a glimpse of Nessie after just 18 months of living on the banks of Loch Ness.

Steve said: "I was sitting on the shore near the Fort Augustus end of the Loch when something went past the bay, through the water.

"It was like a torpedo shot and it had some weight behind it, hitting through the waves.

"Nothing in Loch Ness could create a disturbance like that- apart from Nessie.

"I just sat there in amazement. It was the moment I had always been waiting for and I am kicking myself for not taking a photo.

"Since then I have been by the Loch with my camera poised, every day, come rain or shine. I won't let an opportunity like that pass me by again."


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It was childhood holiday to the Scottish Highlands in 1970 which sparked a lifelong fascination with the Loch Ness Monster for Steve.

Steve said: "I remember standing on the banks of Loch Ness while on holiday with my family and watching a big expedition of Nessie hunters set up a platform with a huge metre long camera.

"I remember being fascinated by the mystery of the monster and I was hooked from there."



Steve would spent two weeks at a time camping in a tent during his teen years, hoping to catch a glance of the elusive monster.

When he was 27 and has a job fitting security cameras and decided his true passion was still with Nessie, so Steve up sticks and moved to the Scottish Highlands to start a new life.

He bought an old mobile library for £1,500 and has been living in it ever since, parked in the car park of a pub called the Dore Inn.

But Steve has no plans to leave Loch Ness and is happiest in his own company.

He makes models of Nessie to sustain his simple lifestyle and sells them to tourists during the summer months.

This means he can happily spend his days studing the waters of the loch he is so fond of.



Steve said: "This is my passion and exactly what I want to do with my life.

"I am hopeful I will see Nessie again, and I will be here ready with my camera every day until that day comes.

"I have been here for more than 20 years now and this is my way of life.

"People ask me if I'm lonely but I'm not at all. I'm perfectly comfortable in my own company and it's great for quiet contemplation.

"The mystery of the Loch and the monster it holds has interested and intruiged me since I was a boy.

"The loch is such a huge a mysterious body of water, which contains more fresh water than the lakes of England and Wales combined, it is the perfect place for a unknown sea creature to dwell.

"I am now living out my dream as a full time Nessie hunter and after I missed my chance to catch her on camera, I am happy to wait here vigilently until that moment comes around again."


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The legend of the Loch Ness Monster has been around since the 6th Century when an Irish monk called Saint Columba witnessed locals burying a man who had been attacked by a "water beast."

One of the first famous sightings of the water-dwelling beast was in 1933, when a couple spotted something unusual as they drove past Loch Ness.

George Spicer and his wife claimed they saw "a most extraordinary form of animal" which was 4ft high and 25ft long crossing the road near the loch.

Many sighting over the years have encouraged the legend of Nessie, a sea monster most commonly thought to resemble a serpent or plesiosaur, which dwells in the depths of Loch Ness.

There have been famous images of Nessie, showing the monster's head poking out of the water, or her famous hump but often the most famous pictures have been exposed as hoaxes.

A picture taken in 1934 by Dr Robert Kenneth Wilson, showed a head and long neck belonging to a sea animal in the middle of the lake.

After 60 years of debate it was exposed as hoax when a man called Christian Spurling fitted a toy submarine with a fake head, took a photo and then passed it on to the doctor,

Scientists consider the Loch Ness Monster a myth but Steve is adamant in his belief in the Loch Ness Monster, and has original sighting had given him enough hope to keep he living on the banks of the loch.