Strange incident on the shores of Loch Awe

Like Thomas Middleton from Dalavich (Letters, November 1), I, too, am intrigued by these stories about the strange happenings around Loch Awe.

I grew up around Loch Awe at my grandparents’ cottage, where we spent most school holidays and on occasion attended Mrs Clark’s school house in Ford village.

I was always fishing as a young boy in the burn that feeds Loch Awe at the Ford end. The fishing was very good there during the 1970s. I used to catch big bags of perch, eels, jack pike, rainbow and brown trout and was used to being on my own around Loch Awe from a very early age.

We were always told the stories as children including the one about the old chapel of Killieneuer at the foot of the loch.

Like Mr Middleton, I only mention now an event that occurred to me and my erstwhile partner, Jessica Seal, while driving up the Dalavich side of the Loch in 1996 because of these more recent stories.

I am not someone who makes stories up and knew the loch from a very early age. I was a ghillie at Slatach Estate, Glenfinnan, at the time and we were out for a drive on a day off work. It was night, showery and there was a bit of mist but the driving conditions were fine and there was no other traffic on the road.

About half way up the loch, a massive bull stepped on to the middle of the road and blocked our way. As it was such a big creature, I thought it was best to stop the car and wait patiently for the beast to move. The bull wasn’t threatening in any way but was not in any hurry to move either. After about five minutes, the

bull reversed back into the field on the left side of the road as we were driving up from Ford.

Being an unusual event in itself we were both relieved when the bull went back into the field and were laughing and talking about this as we slowly moved the car forward again.

At that stage, what I can only describe as a ghoul or phantom appeared in what I would describe as a mist cloud. There was not a great deal of mist around at the time but the detail in this apparition of what appeared to be an old mischievous man in spirit form was terrifying and sent shivers up both our spines and both of us screamed or exclaimed and were shaken after the incident.

It is something I have never forgotten or experienced since. Danny Aitken, Fort William.