Last month, I was fortunate enough to go diving out of Eyemouth. Organised by one of the divers in the club, it was a great opportunity to explore somewhere new, both above and below the water. I spent a few days exploring Northumberland before joining everyone in Eyemouth. What a beautiful place, with stunning wild beaches. I’ll definitely be back at some point.

Diving St Abbs has been on my bucket list for a while, and it did not disappoint. We had four days diving and, thankfully the weather mostly played ball, and we managed to fit in eight dives in, all in the mornings before the wind picked up in the afternoon. From rocky ledges, underwater cliffs and gullies to wrecks and diving seabirds, it was amazing. Well worth braving the cold water, which was around 2-3 degrees colder than at home. I was very grateful I’d remembered my heated vest! Even with it, dive times were limited to around 45 minutes. After that, your fingers and toes were numb, making it exceedingly difficult to operate my camera!

Although we didn’t get to see the iconic wolf fish that St Abbs is famous for, we still encountered so much life. Many of the sites were dominated by urchins and dead men’s fingers, with a mix of anemones, starfish, fish, sea squirts, nudibranchs and their eggs.

There were also plenty of velvet swimming crabs, edible crabs and lobsters. Interestingly, all the crabs and lobsters we saw were small compared to those at home. Most appeared to be below landing size. It made me wonder whether this might be linked to the mass mortalities seen in the NE England in 2021, or perhaps a sign of overfishing? There certainly were plenty of pots around the dive sites we visited. I don’t have the answer, but something to think about.

My two big highlights were seeing a lumpsucker fish, a first for me and the diving guillemots. The lumpsucker was a male guarding his eggs on one of the wrecks. He sat their very patiently while we all got a good look at him. The guillemots coming to investigate us and our bubbles. We see they at home, but not in the numbers we saw here. At one point, I counted 20 or more! I just lay on my back and watched them fly down. My buddy and watched them for over 30 minutes before heading off to warm up! Totally amazing! That’s a dive I’ll never forget.

Overall, it was a fantastic trip with memorable diving, incredible wildlife, and the chance to explore a beautiful part of the UK both above and below the surface. From dramatic underwater landscapes and curious seabirds to rare encounters like the lumpsucker, it was a truly special experience that made the chilly water more than worth it.

No matter where you are, you never know what you might see – perhaps something new, but always something extraordinary.

It was an amazing trip and thanks go to Marine Quest for looking after so well. If you are thinking of a dive trip any time soon in the UK I would recommend St Abbs and the surrounding area.