diving in scotland

[bubblemaker20]

Just wondering about the diving in scotland. If anyone has any info on if there is any good diving there or good shops in the area i would really appreciate it. Thanks.

 

[DutchDown]

There should be a fair amount of information on www.divernet.com

It's the website for a good UK magazine.

Hope this helps!

Phil

 

[mrgreen]

Just wondering about the diving in scotland. If anyone has any info on if there is any good diving there or good shops in the area i would really appreciate it. Thanks.

Where about in Scotland are you talkin about?There are lots of wreck diving to do here as well as scenic dives toban is good and Scapa flow.Lots of diving shops here as well.

 

[verona]

Yes, where in Scotland will you be?

Some of the best is in south east around St Abbs. This is about an hour from Edinburgh. As Mr Green says, Oban and Scapa are good too. But they are further away from the centre. So it kind of depends where you will be

 

[DivingDaisy]

There is some excellent diving in Scotland - just be prepared for the lower temps and viz! And there are plenty of dive shops around - especially if you are in a recognised dive area!

 

[itziar]

Yes, where in Scotland will you be?

Some of the best is in south east around St Abbs. This is about an hour from Edinburgh. As Mr Green says, Oban and Scapa are good too. But they are further away from the centre. So it kind of depends where you will be

Hi verona, can you recommed any dive shop specifically for St Abbs? I will be going to Edinburgh in a week, for a month visit, and if it is at all possible, I would love to have the chance to do a dive in very different environment.

Thanks,

Itziar

 

[mrgreen]

Hi verona, can you recommed any dive shop specifically for St Abbs? I will be going to Edinburgh in a week, for a month visit, and if it is at all possible, I would love to have the chance to do a dive in very different environment.

Thanks,

Itziar

Hi here are a couple of links to diving around the St Abbs area hope this helps;http://www.stabbs.com/diving/introduction.htm

http://www.aquastars.co.uk/index.html
colin.

 

[flw]

If you are going to be based in Edinburgh, then at this time of year Oban or Lochaline may well be better bets than Abbs. If you want to travel further afield then the Moray Firth is absolutely superb ( and relatveily undived).
There is a distinct lack of dive shops/operators around that cater for those who want tto hire kit and dive, especially this late in the year - I think Puffin do in Oban - they tend to dive well dived sites and are a bit 'over-commericialised' but may suit someone travelling and not having been there before.
A lot of diving is club based, and it may be worth checking www.Scotsac.com for local branches who will help you out - however they are unilkely to dive midweek

 

[itziar]

Thank you both, that gives me a good start! I will not be taking any of my kit, except for computer and mask. I definetely will not mind a bit of a customer-oriented shop, as I never have dived in cold water. We'll check them out when we arrive there. Thanks a lot.

Itziar

 

[verona]

Itziar, if you have never dived cold water before then you should think about doing a dry suit course. Puffin at Oban will do that for you if you are up that direction. St Abbs is approaching the end of its dive season - it tends to get a bit blown out after October although you might be lucky. The links given already for St Abbs are ok. Your safest bet might be somewhere on the west coast which tends to have calmer conditions at this time of year. Whatever you do, though, please dive with someone very experienced in local conditions if you have never dived cold before. It is very different to what you will have been used to. I only began cold water after warm water and it took me many dives to get the hang of the drysuit. The conditions in Scotland, too, can be challenging with low vis. You may not find it easy to find a dive centre that will take you out without doing drysuit training first.