A holidaymaker has captured images of a mysterious shape on Loch Ness - which he says had a "huge neck". 

John Payne, 55, was admiring the scenery from a window when he noticed some strange movement on the loch. 

The dad-of-three quickly grabbed his camera and managed to grab several snaps - which appear to show a shape on the surface. 

Stories of a Loch Ness monster - sometimes nicknamed Nessie - have been around for centuries. Conclusive evidence either way has never been found. 


READ MORE: What's the story behind Scotland's famous Loch Ness beastie?


Mr Payne said: “I was looking out at the scenery from the window and this huge thing just appeared out of nowhere. 

“I tried to get a picture but it was gone and then it popped up again further down the loch. I took another picture and then zoomed in on my camera in and waited to see if it would appear again and it did. 

“It must have been something very large because we were about a mile away from the loch and I could see it clearly." 

The Herald:

A snap of the object 

He added: “You wouldn’t have been able to see a bird or anything from that far away – it had to be something large. It was like a huge neck. 

“At first I thought it was a giant fin, but I know there are no dolphin or porpoises in the loch so I was thinking what the hell is this thing. 

“It wasn’t like it was tied to anything, like a buoy, because it kept moving further away.” 

Mr Payne, a retail worker from Newport, Wales, was at guest house Foyers Roost on April 9 when he spotted movement on the lake. 

He went down to the loch later than day but said the creature was nowhere to be seen.

The Herald:

The holidaymaker said: “I showed some people at the hotel and they were all really shocked. 

“It all happened so quickly, it was only there for maybe two minutes. I went down to the loch later that day but I couldn’t see anything. 


READ MORE: Loch Ness prepares for opening of new £1.5m Nessie visitor centre


“I looked at other Nessie pictures and these do look similar to it.” 

The first written mention of a monster in Loch Ness appeared in a 7th century biography, according to Britannica. 

Much 'evidence' to support the existence of a creature in the loch has emerged over the years, although it has mostly been discredited.