In another entry from SCUBA magazine's 2025 writing competition, A Dive to Remember, Clare Pettinger delights in revisiting St Abbs, a place she has come to regard as a second home.
Briefing:
Tucked away on the rugged southeast coast of Scotland, St Abbs is a charming fishing village that also happens to be one of the UK’s most beloved dive sites. It lies within a voluntary marine reserve, offering dramatic underwater landscapes, vibrant marine life, and a sense of calm that keeps calling me back. After so many dives here, St Abbs genuinely feels like my second home.
The dive:
From the first moment I descended beneath the surface at Cathedral Rock, I was hooked. The natural arches, covered in soft corals and anemones, create an almost cathedrallike stillness and awe. Light filters down through the gaps, highlighting the pollock and wrasse that come to greet you. It’s peaceful, magical and never the same twice. Over the years, I’ve come to know the contours of Black Carr, Wuddy Rocks, and Big Green Carr like familiar footpaths.
Reef covered in bright orange dead man's fingers | Brittlestar aggregation at Black Carr
What makes St Abbs special isn’t just the topography, it’s the life it supports. The reefs are bursting with colour: bright orange dead man’s fingers, jewel anemones, and delicate nudibranchs that demand a slower pace to truly appreciate them. I’ve watched wolf fish peer from their dens, spotted shy lumpsuckers in breeding season, and hovered, heart pounding, as seals curiously circled me in the shadows. There’s a rawness to the wildlife here that never fails to thrill.
St Abbs Harbour itself adds to the charm. The dive boats are run by knowledgeable locals who treat you like family, the atmosphere is warm and inclusive. Even the surface intervals feel special, surround by seabirds on the cliffs, the call of the gulls, and the everchanging North Sea stretching to the horizon.
The rocky Berwickshire coast
Debrief:
For me, St Abbs isn’t just a dive site, it’s where I’ve found quiet, wonder and community below the waves. It’s my happy place.
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This article was originally published in SCUBA magazine, Issue 158, September 2025. For more membership benefits, visit bsac.com/benefits.
Images in this online version may have been substituted from the original images in SCUBA magazine due to usage rights.
