Go and Get Monstered

What do you do with your little monsters this summer holiday? Take them to meet some of their relatives! Robin Gauldie goes in pursuit of monsters and other weird creatures… 

Netting Nessie
No monster hunt would be complete without a visit to Scotland’s Loch Ness. You can take your little darlings on a two-hour trip across the loch with Jacobite Cruises for £12 each (01463 233999, www.jacobite.co.uk). Rival “research vessel” Nessie Hunter (01456 450 395; www.lochness- cruises.com) does similar cruises for £10. You can stay in a two-bed lodge at the Great Glen Water Park with Hoseasons from £555 total for a week. See www.hoseasons.co.uk

Mucky Monsters
Over in Ireland, the lakes of Killarney are said to be awash with weird beasties. A good place for monster-spotting is Muckross Lake, where anglers and scientists recently claimed to have detected something large and mysterious lurking beneath the waters. Locals have already taken to calling the creature Mucky. The Lake Hotel there (www.lakehotel.com 00 35364 31035) has webcams hooked up to your in-room TV so you can keep an eye open for the beast without getting cold, wet and eaten by midges. A room costs about £75pp. A return crossing with Irish Ferries for a car, two adults and two kids in August costs from £232 (08705 171717, www.irishferries.com).

Geordie Beasts
Down on the Tyne, Nessie has a rival called Shony. When Newcastle hosts its Monster Weekend next month, local monster-hunter Mike Hallowell will be explaining why he has spent years on the trail of Tyneside’s own sea monster. All will be revealed at the Life Science Centre, Times Square, Newcastle, on September 1 and 2. Entry is free (0191 243 8210, www.life.org.uk/monsters). A Myths And Monsters exhibition is on at the same time. Stay in the Newcastle Travelodge from £26 for a family of four. See www.travelodge.co.uk

West Country Weirdos
Next weekend some of the world’s leading cryptozoologists – or monster-hunters – will gather at Woolfardisworthy in North Devon.  From August 17-19 this village is the scene of a Weird Weekend, where the monster spotters meet to swap stories. There’s a programme of special events for children – so if you want to keep your own monsters amused, this is the place to be. A three-day ticket is £20 (01237 431413, www.cfz.org.uk).  While in North Devon, you could also visit Nessie’s ancestors at Combe Martin Dinosaur Park (www.dinosaur-park.com) where several million pounds worth of animated tyrannosaurs, megalosaurs and dilophosaurs roar and spit. Open daily 10am-3pm. Adults £12, kids £7, family ticket £34. Stay at Woolacombe Bay Holiday Parcs (www.woolacombe.co.uk) where an eight-bed holiday home costs £630 for the week.

Viking Beasts
Across the North Sea, there are Scandinavian lake monsters waiting to be spotted. Head for Lake Seljord, Telemark, southern Norway and you may run into Jan-Ove Sundberg and his Global Underwater Search Team who have been chasing a lake monster they call Selma since the 1970s.  The Seljord Hotel (0047 350 64 000, www.seljord hotel.no) has rooms at £60pp per night double on the shores of the lake and arranges canoe trips and boat rental. Or you can cruise around the fjords on board the Queen of Scandinavia with an overnight stay in Bergen from £351pp through lastminute.com

Scary Swedes
IN Western Sweden, “Storsie” is claimed to be a Nessie-like beast living in Lake Storsjon. In 1988 the authorities took the story seriously enough to ban anyone from hunting the beast – but as Storsie hasn’t been sighted since 1999 the ban has this year been lifted. You can stay self-catering through Simply Sweden (0845 8900 300, www.simplysweden.co.uk).  On Lake Vattern, also in West Sweden, hotelier Roger Karlen says he has plenty of proof that his pet monster exists – but his tongue is firmly in his cheek. “In 2001, we had visitors from Scotland,” he claims. “They brought a huge, light green egg from Nessie in Loch Ness. It was lowered into Lake Vattern and it seems that Baby Nessie has hatched, since we have found the eggshell and eyewitnesses say that they have seen her. This summer, the best place to see her is in the Gota Canal near our hotel.” Well, he would say that, wouldn’t he! If you want to check out his claims for yourself stay at the Baltazar von Platen Lodge, Norrqvarn, 54893 Lyrestad, (0046 501 50770, www.norrqvarn.se).

Canadian Creatures
Across the Atlantic, Canada’s most famous water monster is Ogopogo – a beast said to be living in 80-mile-long Lake Okanagan in British Columbia. This is the place to go if you want the best chance of spotting a real live monster – sightings of this 20ft-50ft creature with a horse-like head and serpentine body are reported every year! It’s been seen throughout the length of the lake but appears to favour an area just south of Kelowna in waters near Peachland.  Ogopogo searchers have a big choice of on-the-water options, from canoe trips to sailing boats, live-aboard houseboats and lake cruisers with bar and restaurant – for a list of options see www.okanagan.com or www.travel. bc.ca For cheap flights to Vancouver see www.zoom.com By Robin Gauldie August 12, 2007, Sunday Mirror