Creatures, Myths & Legends

Nessie-hunting camera rediscovered in Loch Ness undergoes restoration

By T.K. Randall
February 4, 2026 ·  13 comments

Image: AI-generated (Midjourney) Early last year, during trials of a new robotic submarine humorously dubbed Boaty McBoatface, researchers got an unexpected surprise when the device inadvertantly snagged on something beneath the surface of Loch Ness - home of Scotland's most famous cryptozoological enigma.

It turned out that what the submarine had found was a camera - one of six deployed over 55 years ago by the Loch Ness Investigation Bureau in an effort to capture photographs of the Loch Ness Monster.

When it was retrieved, the camera had long since stopped working, though some undeveloped film found inside later yielded a few previously unseen images of the loch's murky depths.

Now, with the help of BBC TV series The Repair Shop, the camera has been carefully restored and is now in full working condition again for the first time in decades."This camera is a remarkable survivor from a formative period in Loch Ness research," said Loch Ness Project founder Adrian Shine.

"Professor Roy Mackal's work in the early 1970s represented one of the first serious attempts to apply systematic science and engineering to the mystery of the loch."

"Being able to trace this camera back to that expedition, and now see it restored to working condition, is extraordinary."

"It transforms the camera from a static relic into a living piece of investigative history."

Source: Scottish Field | Comments (13)

Tags: Loch Ness Monster