Diving in Scotland ^*

On the western coast of Scotland is the Firth of Lorne. Lorne is a now-defunct region of Scotland that a firth is a Scottish term for a long estuary or fjord. This watery area became a Special Area of Conservation in 2005 and has become a great place for diving in western Scotland. On the North Sea and just over the border from Scotland’s neighbor to the south, England, sits the county of Berwickshire. This is a place that is home to approximately 115,000 people and covers an area of 1,184 square kilometers (457 square miles). There are many coastal towns where diving is done throughout the east coast of Scotland but as the water gets colder further north, these spots are fewer and further between. These locations are as far north as Dundee and extend down to Berwickshire with spots in Edinburgh, Falkirk, Burntisland, and North Berwick among a few others. As for the diving, you can expect to explore reefs and dramatic walls, kelp forests where crab, lobster and tinny critters hide out. Then there are the larger animals, from mink whales to basking sharks and hundreds of species of fish, starfish and sun stars. The best spot to dive here is a small fishing village called St Abbs, with its fantastic shore diving opportunities. The east coast in general is dotted with gullies and archways, spectacular marine life and colorful anemones. There is plenty of soft coral to spot as well, not to mention rushing tides and sheer cliffs, then there are the wrecks, the time capsules waiting to be explored on the seabed. The dive season runs from April to October and although you can