If you are looking for stunning marine life, spectacular scenery above and below the water and good visibility then St Abbs & Eyemouth is the place to come. Whatever your level of qualification or experience there is a wide variety of different dive sites to choose from.
Shore Diving
Relatively deep water close inshore and strong tidal movements combine to provide some of the best shore diving in Britain in and around the Marine Reserve. In fact, one of the most famous dive sites at St Abbs is actually a shore dive off the harbour wall.
Cathedral Rock, with its unique double archway is a mere 50 metre swim from the shore and a must see for any first time visiting diver. If you decide to dive off the harbour wall you may well not get as far as Cathedral Rock as you may be distracted by the maze of kelp-topped gullies and vertical walls encrusted with marine life. Seagull Rock, or Maw Carr, makes for a fantastic second dive at St Abbs as it does not involve the walk around the harbour wall, it is accessible directly from the car park, has a maximum depth of about 12m and is a pretty little dive with plenty of marine life to find. St Abbs Harbour is not the only place where you can shore dive in the area; Greenends Gully and Weasel Loch at the Eyemouth end of the Reserve are also well worth checking out.
Boat Diving
Boat diving is the only way to access some of the best sites of the Marine Reserve. One of the most popular dive sites in the Marine Reserve is Anemone Gullies, just North West of St Abb’s Head Lighthouse, where a series of rocky ridges run out from the cliffs. They range in depth from about 12m to 25m and are festooned with plumose anemones from which the site gets its name. Just minutes across the bay from St. Abbs Harbour are the Black Carrs which is a tumble of huge boulders and submerged reefs. This is one of the best sites in the Reserve for seeing wolf fish with several being found on one dive sometimes. The Hurkers, with its steep sided and undercut gullies is one of the best dive sites at the Eyemouth end of the Reserve. Also remember that the Marine Reserve may have boundaries but marine life doesn’t necessarily take any notice of these. Don’t overlook the excellent dives that can be found off Fast Castle Head to the North West and Burnmouth to the South, all of which are easily accessed from St. Abbs or Eyemouth Harbours.
There are a number of deep shipwrecks further offshore that are beyond the limits of recreational diving and are left to technical divers to explore. The two most dived wrecks within the Reserve are the Alfred Erlandsen at Ebb Carrs just South East of St Abbs Harbour and the Glanmire, just off St Abb’s Head Lighthouse. The Glanmire is well broken up but you can clearly see the two huge boilers, a section of the bow and the massive propeller which is now covered with soft corals. There are lots of larger fish to see at this site including conger eels, wolf fish, ling and cod.
Several licensed charter boats operate from St Abbs and Eyemouth harbours. All the dive boat skippers are knowledgeable of the dive sites and local conditions. You could bring your own boat as there are slips for launching at both harbours for a fee payable to the Harbour Masters. If you opt for the latter and are looking for a bit of extra guidance, local skippers and dive shops are usually happy to advise.
Both of the local dive shops offer the full range of services from providing air and nitrox fills, sales, hire and repair of equipment and instruction.
Useful Numbers
St Abbs Harbour Master: 07881 767 587
Eyemouth Harbour Master: 018907 50223
Aquastars Dive Shop, Eyemouth: 018907 50904
Scoutscroft Dive Shop, Coldingham: 018907 71669
Dive boat charters
Billy Aitchison: 07802 330 036
Derek Anderson: 018907 50481
Graeme Crowe: 018907 71766
Paul Crowe: 018907 71945
Iain and Jim Easingwood: 018907 52444
Peter Gibson: 018907 71681
Paul O’ Callaghan: 018907 71525
For more information about SCUBA diving in the VMR why not purchase a copy of the VMR dive guide? They are available to buy from our shop.
Also available to buy is the guide to the Underwater World of the Berwickshire and North Northumberland Coast European Marine Site which shows the wildlife you can expect to see on a dive within the VMR. They are available to buy from the Northumberland AONB website.
