John Fusco wrote the screenplay as a tribute to his grandmother Isobel Moffat at the age of twenty-three. The pub and the owner's daughter Isobel are named in tribute.
Ted Danson enjoyed being in Scotland. In an interview with The Daily Record, he stated that it was a pilgrimage to see the place of his maternal grandfather's birth.
Ted Danson's stepson lists it as his favorite of the actor's movies.
This movie was originally intended for theatrical release. However, it aired on network television in the U.S. before it was released in theaters.
In the mid 1970s, Hammer Films and Toho studio's planned an ambitious Loch Ness monster movie. David Frost and Euan Lloyd were producing with Bryan Forbes directing. Richard Harris, Richard Widmark, and Katherine Ross were lined up to star, but in the end, this production titled "Nessie" failed to materialize.