The Loch Ness Exhibition at Drumnadrochit
A Review of the Popular Loch Ness Monster Tourist Attraction
May 23, 2009
Situated in an elegant hotel building erected in 1882, the Loch Ness Centre at Drumnadrochit is high on the tour bus and individual tourist’s list and has earned a Visit Scotland Quality Assurance 5 star rating. This article takes a critical look at the multi-award winning attraction from the perspective of a patron and evaluates what the visitor gets for the 6.50 GBP entry fee.
Entry to the Loch Ness Centre
The Centre is in the town of Drumnadrochit, close to Loch Ness, on the A82, twenty minutes drive from Inverness. There is a large car park beside the building, accommodation and a restaurant, for the Centre is more than just the ‘monster’ exhibition. On arrival, most tourists will head for the pond beside the car park where a long-necked Nessie floats and poses for photographs. Adult admission is 6.50 GBP, seniors, 5.00 GBP, children 4.50 GBP and under 6 free entry. In truth, there is little to appeal to the under 6 group.
The Loch Ness Exhibition Process
The old hotel has been gutted and organized into seven darkened chambers imitating rocky caverns or an underwater world. In each chamber, a segment of the Loch Ness story is delivered by digital projection, in such a way that patrons move from one chamber to the next at 5 minute intervals. This clever device allows new groups to start the process regularly, rather than wait 30 minutes as would be the case in a theatrette presentation.
Special Effects and Displays
In each chamber, special effects and displays enhance the digital projection presentation. For example, in the submarine segment, when authentic camera shots of the Loch Ness floor are shown, other overhead screens showing light filtering through water create a sense of great depth. In other rooms, lights go on at appropriate moments to illuminate artifacts such as a plesiosaurus skull that have been positioned on the darkened wall.
Much is made of the fact that real objects used in various Loch Ness monster investigations are revealed in the exhibition: the micro-sub Machan, the exploration vessel John Murray and the Rosetta super-corer that took samples from the bottom of Loch Ness revealing a 10000 year history of the environment. Equally valuable are the segments of original footage and old photographs accompanying the narration by Loch Ness expert Adrian Shine, who wrote and designed the exhibition.
Focus of the Loch Ness Exhibition
Despite the fact that it is the history of alleged sightings of the ‘Loch Ness monster’ Nessie that draws the crowd to Loch Ness, the focus of this presentation is clearly scientific and refreshingly non-sensationalised. Many visitors who want a thrilling revelation will go away disappointed. The credibility of most sightings and photographs is swiftly destroyed as hoaxes are revealed.
The visitor to the exhibition is treated to an excellent computer graphics display of the formation of Loch Ness during the Ice Age, a discussion of the types of animal life at different depths, and the revelation that the estimated fish stocks could not support a ‘monster’ of any size.
Operation Deepscan Explained
As well, there are detailed analyses of the several scientific investigations that have been carried out on the loch, including Operation Deepscan of 1987, in which 19 cruisers formed a sonar curtain across the loch. This leads to a fascinating explanation of underwater wave formation that might have generated several false sonar reports of a large object.
Tourists can book a trip on the RV Deepscan, watch sonar scanning in operation and learn from the skipper about the ongoing research.
By and large, the exhibition is a worthwhile experience for adults and older children, but probably doesn’t have enough razzmatazz to thrill some. The captive audience gets an excellent layman-friendly treatise on loch ecology and the ‘monster’ issue quickly takes second place. The one black mark this patron would give the operation is the all-too-obvious commercial ploy of having the exhibition exit into a labyrinthine tacky tourist shop, the many corridors of which must be negotiated before an exit door can be found. Other than that, full marks for this Scottish tourist attraction.
 |
 |
