A new search at Loch Ness has uncovered an underground cave system linked to the world famous loch. Adjacent to the loch shore and linked to the loch by just 100m of river, the caves have multiple entrances and include flooded underground passages.
Organised by TikTok’s @lochnessmonsterofficial, the expedition was planned a number of months ago. The search took place this week and was led by Paige Daley, who runs the TikTok Official Loch Ness channel which has over 15,000 followers and millions of views on videos about Nessie.
“The subject of the Loch Ness Monster has global appeal”, explained Mrs Daley yesterday “I had been asked by Nessie followers if there were caves at Loch Ness and through subsequent research I found that subterranean caverns had been mentioned in the past, so we decided to add a search to a pre-planned visit to the loch.”
Mrs Daley, 29 who was brought up near Loch Ness but now lives in Colchester, Essex, was in the area for a couple of weeks filming for her TikTok community. She took local advice on the likely locations of caves and with the help of a trained guide and drone pilot, finally located the underground system this week.
“Having spent my childhood near Loch Ness I was always facinated by Nessie’s story. When the chance came to see if the caves were real, I couldn’t pass up the opportunity. However, it’s not at all obvious where the caves are as they are well hidden by undergrowth and quite extensive forestation. I was really hoping to find at least one cave at the site and from that, might conclude that if there are caves above the loch water level, maybe there would be more underwater at the same shore.”
She was surprised to find that there is an entire cave system whch is linked to the loch by a short stretch of river. “There were multiple entrances and it was clear that these were linked up to each other within the hillside. What also be came apparent was that pools in the river were also linked to almost bottomless caverns, again connected to the caves above ground. There was no apparent sign of life in the caves, but then again, it was just a black watery abyss close to the loch.”
Gary Campbell, Keeper of the Register of Sightings at Loch Ness said “This is really exciting news. Local folk have spoken of caves for hundreds of years but it was never clear where they might be and more impotantly, if they were connected to the loch. Also, as it’s now clear that they are in a remote, uninhabited area which is virtually inaccessible, if Nessie did need a hiding place this would be the perfect location.”
“In terms of backup for such caves being Nessie’s lair and whether Nessie might make the journey up the river or over the rocks to the cave system,” he explained “there have been written reports recorded since 1879 of Nessie being seen on land . In 1933, on the same shore of the loch a Mr & Mrs Spicer had a famous sighting of a Nessie like creature crossing the road in front of their car and only a few years ago, a tourist also reported seeing a similar creature on the beach, so it’s possible that this really is where Nessie goes to hide.”
Since we announced the discovery, it’s gained worldwide attention but we’ve decided to keep the actual location a secret.” said Mrs Daley “This is because access is very difficult and without the proper knowledge, could be quite dangerous. Of course, we also don’t want Nessie and her family to be disturbed if in fact they are living there.”
This coming weekend also sees the biggest organised Nessie hunt in the last 50 years taking place at various locations around the loch. “I’m gutted that I can’t stay for it as we’d organised our visit long before the hunt was announced ” said Mrs Daley “but I just hope that the discovery of the caves gives extra hope of success to those who are searching this weekend.”
Loch Ness is 23 miles long and up to 889 feet deep, with more water in it than all the lakes and reservoirs in England and Wales combined. The loch has had a history of monster sightings since 565AD with the offcial register recording a total of 1149 sightings of which four are from 2023.
