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Apart from the famous Loch Ness Monster, there are many more reports of mysterious creatures within the lakes and lochs of Britain, dating as far back as recorded history, and probably further. Some are mingled with old folklore about Dragons and Mermaids, while the more modern sightings have often become attributed to unidentified real creatures, including extinct dinosaurs. There is little doubt that strange forms are seen in various bodies of water, what is more difficult to ascertain is whether the creatures are actually physical, misinterpreted natural phenomena or something else.
Loch Morar
Loch Morar seems as likely a candidate as any for the home of a large creature, over 1000 feet in places it is deeper than Loch Ness, although not as large a body of water. Its alleged resident monster has been dubbed Morag, and was involved in perhaps one of the most frightening and physical encounters, of any British lake monster.
In August 1969, Duncan McDonnell, and Bill Simpson, were fishing on the loch in a motor cruiser. They became aware of a loud splashing in the water behind them and turned to see a large object in the water, which rammed the boat side-on in a deliberate manner. Simpson grabbed his shotgun from the boat and fired at the creature, which was described as 25 to 30 feet long, with dirty brown rough skin, 3 large black humps and a snake like head. The creature slowly slipped back under the water after it had been shot at, much to the relief of the two men. Morag has been seen on several other occasions, and the lochs remoteness (there is no road around the Loch) compared to Loch Ness, suggests that there would be many more sightings if the Loch was more accessible.
Like Loch Ness the sightings go back into history, and may have been part of common folklore before the sightings became publicised. Many other Scottish lochs are said to harbour monsters. Among these are Loch Lochy, Loch Arkaig, Loch Oich, Loch Linnhe, Loch Quoich, and Loch Shiel, (three of these along with Loch Ness are situated on the Great Glen Fault) many others were believed to have enchanted qualities.
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Folklore
In folklore, lake monsters have a long precedent, with many bodies of water thought to be haunted by strange supernatural creatures that fed on mankind. One example is the dreaded water horse, the most dangerous of which was thought to be the  of the Scottish Highlands. This creature had shape-shifting abilities most commonly taking the form of a horse. It would drag people down into the deepest part of the loch and eat them, leaving only their liver behind.
In Wales, water creatures were more dragon like, and haunted the lonely lakes and rivers. The Afanc, said to haunt a pool on the river Conwy was one such creature. Traditionally it was captured and banished to a pool on Mount Snowdon. Another example can be found at Llyn Cynwch, which was traditionally haunted by a Nwyvre (a water dragon) dispatched by a local shepherd. In England there is also a tradition of lakes and pools being haunted by strange creatures, although this belief was not as strong as in places where there was a Celtic survival.
Folklore shows that there is a long of tradition of haunted lakes and pools, this may have some relevance on modern sightings in two ways.
1) Old folklore could be related to real sightings of creatures with a long historical president.
2) Newer sightings could be related to a different phenomena perhaps more metaphysical or imaginary, coloured by the belief of the times. (This same theory applies to UFO abductions)
Of course this is an over simplification, and all modern sightings may be misinterpretation and have nothing to do with folklore and legend. But it is strange how sightings of strange phenomena are coloured by the belief of the time.
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Lake Monsters