There are many exotic places in the world where rivers are associated with monsters, but would you ever have put Lancashire's River Ribble amongst that lot? Okay, rumour has it certain parts of Preston can be very exotic of a weekend, but what’s all this talk of mystery water monsters, I hear you ask?
It was during a fine day in 1994 that a brother and sister out walking their dogs along the banks of the Ribble spotted something odd in the water. Rather than observing the usual discarded shopping trolley they spotted some way up ahead a tall thin object sticking up out of the water. They estimated that it stood some four feet above the water. On seeing the object, one of them commented "look, the Loch Ness monster." It's fair to say it was far too far south for a start (that’s just a light-hearted comment before you point out the many, many reasons it isn’t).
Initially thinking that the object was nothing more than a branch stuck in the river bed and partly protruding above the water, you can imagine their surprise when, as they got closer, the object then submerged into the river; and that it appears was the last time that anyone caught sight of the mystery monster of the River Ribble.
Of course, if anyone knows of more sightings I am sure that many of us would like to hear about them.
My father always tells a story about camping on Longton Marsh (1947!) on night all their dogs went crazy at something, they were westhall strain Staffordshire terriers and scared of nothin .. Usually.. But what ever it was got them terrified. The next morning they found huge tracks going into the mud.. Interesting ...
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