For our last planned UK trip of the season Arden Divers and friends headed north to explore the beautiful scenic reefs and abundant wildlife of St Abbs in south east Scotland.
Weather is always a risk with UK diving, and certainly so when it’s the last weekend of September! A heavy swell rolling in from the east meant that we weren’t able to dive on our first day. But no matter, there was plenty else to do, and apart from the swell it wasn’t a bad day. So seven of us headed off to explore the delights of Edinburgh. A fine time was had, with visits by various people to important sites of culture, including Edinburgh Castle, the National Museum of Scotland, and the Scottish National Gallery. And, of course, no cultural visit to Edinburgh is complete without a cheeky IPA in the Oxford Bar, so beloved of Ian Rankin’s Inspector Rebus 😊
Day two was diveable. But only just. There was still a considerable swell from the east which sadly limited the choice of dive sites, and left one or two feeling decidedly queasy. Sally and Danny of St Abbs Charters managed to find a couple of places to get us in though and we enjoyed a tiny taster of what St Abbs has to offer.
Fortunately day three dawned sunny and calm. Unfortunately, several people seemed to be developing illnesses of one sort or another, and only five of us felt up to diving. But those five were certainly glad that we did. We had a couple of absolutely cracking dives on West Hurker and Anenome Gullies that really showed why St Abbs is such a favoured dive destination. With walls and gullies carpeted in anemones, a free swimming octopus and lobster at every turn it was some of the best scenic diving I’ve done in the British Isles.
All in all a fabulous weekend despite the challenges. Huge thanks to Alastair for not only organising it all, but also doing all the cooking! He definitely went above and beyond and his incredible hard work and detailed planning really made it special.
