Description

Suit: Drysuit recommended

Type of diving: Wreck, reef and wall dives

St Abbs: this historic port is set in the Berwickshire coast, of the Scottish Borders, surrounded by jagged cliffs and old fishermen's cottages. The coastal water is unusually clear and home to spectacular underwater scenery and marine life, making it one of the top dive destinations in Europe.

St Abbs offers some great diving around its rocky islets and Scotland's only marine reserve, the Eyemouth Nature Reserve. Discover and explore over 80 wrecks and enjoy many shore dives. When you visit you will be amazed by the local hospitality, large range of family activities, and the incredible world class diving close to home.

New divers to the area will benefit the most from a guide, but those who frequently visit will still be interested to learn of the lesser-known sites around. In the early days numbers were low, but word soon spread and by the 1970s there were concerns that increasing human activity might start to have an adverse effect on the wildlife. Initially divers banned themselves from taking a crab or lobster “for the pot” from around St Abbs and the Barefoot Marine Reserve was set up at Eyemouth by a local landowner. Then in 1984 local fishermen, divers and conservationists got together and decided to create St Abbs & Eyemouth Voluntary Marine Reserve (VMR). This was the first reserve of its kind in the UK and, to this day, remains the only one in Scotland.

WDR.