Tony Harmsworth

Tony Harmsworth was born in Brocket Hall in 1948 and educated in Welwyn Garden City, Hertfordshire and Bude, Cornwall. After disastrous university entrance results, caused mainly by a severe allergy, Tony was thrown back upon his own resources taking whatever work he could find after leaving school.

With only a high-school education, but an IQ of 158, he began his career in retail. A quick learner, he rapidly progressed to store management before reaching twenty. He switched careers in 1971 to the cosmetics industry where he helped develop administration and computer systems for Wella. He was quickly promoted and was soon reporting directly to the managing director.

In 1976, he was head-hunted by British American Cosmetics where he stayed until 1978.

Aged 30, lifestyle had become more important than climbing the greasy pole, so he and his wife moved to the Highlands of Scotland.

He spent the next fifteen years staging exhibitions and creating visitor attractions which included the Loch Ness Centre, the Story of Scotland and the Macbeth Experience. After a failed excursion into manufacturing, crushed by the 1990 recession, he progressed into tour-operating, quickly establishing, according to Trip Advisor, the most highly-acclaimed private guided-tour company in Scotland.

He retired from the tourism industry in 2013 after writing, LOCH NESS UNDERSTOOD, the most comprehensive book about Loch Ness – a geography of the loch, biography of the famous monster and autobiography of his time living on the lochside. It is written from the sceptical viewpoint, tearing apart long-established evidence but also giving credence to some far less sensational possibilities.

He now writes science fiction in the old-style, descriptive, with as much real science as possible. His style has been compared to Arthur Clarke by his readers, but sadly not, so far, by the publishing companies. This has resulted in this ‘go it alone’ website.

Tony Harmsworth – Website