Shorething: St Abbs and Eyemouth

Nudibranch Entry point to Ends Gully Hermit crab Treasure trove: scorpionfish Map of Eyemouth

Just outside the southern extremity of the St Abbs and Eyemouth Voluntary Marine Reserve lies a little-known dive site that is regularly overlooked by the masses. In fact, I had to ask directions to find Ends Gully, as it’s around ten years since I last dived the site. In that time, Eyemouth Harbour has been massively reconstructed and the old access to the site no longer exists. Thankfully, though, the dive site remains unchanged.

There is a car park right at the head of the gully and it’s only a short walk along a path to the entry point. You can almost get straight in if it’s a high tide, but if the tide is low it can be a bit precarious. It’s well worth the effort, though, as depth is quickly gained and the narrow confines of the kelp-covered access route are soon left behind. Soon, the depth becomes 8m within a sheer-sided gully around 5m wide. Pipefish are commonly found here in clumps of weed on the seafloor.

Around 20m along the gully, the depth starts to drop off again. On the left side, a large, flat slab of rock forms a massive overhang. It’s full of cracks and crevices with larger recesses at its base. The first thing that struck me was the colours. There were the usual dead men’s fingers in orange and white, but the rocks themselves were covered in yellow, pink and orange encrusting growths that made the site very pretty. Look more closely at this area and you will find Yarrell’s blennies, scorpionfish, lobsters, squat lobsters and loads of nudibranchs. For macro photographers it’s delightful, with all that colourful negative space to fill.

Opposite the overhang, a gully branches off at right angles from the right side of the main gully. It is shallower here, and small, rounded boulders cover the seafloor. There is said to be a nice archway in here on the right side, but I didn’t find it on this occasion, although I have seen it on previous dives. I found the main gully far more interesting.

Heading offshore from the overhang through a narrow gap, a sandy-floored gully 13m deep is found at the seaward end of the main gully. Head around to the right and just offshore is a submerged reef rising around 5m off the seafloor. There is a little more tidal movement here and lots of life to see. Velvet-backed swimming crabs fill every crevice at this site, which has a reputation for octopus sightings, although 2008 has been a poor year for seeing these creatures.

The coarse sand at the base of this gully is home to prawns, tiny flatfish and gobies that lie partially buried in the sand. A couple of large boulders mark the end of the gully. They are covered in soft corals including plumose anemones, which confirm that the tide affects this area. It’s also a good feature to mark the end of the dive. Now the diver just needs to retrace his or her route back to the main gully, past the overhang and back to the exit point. Planning to arrive back here at high tide makes the exit a lot easier on the heavily kitted diver.


Need to know

Directions
Take the turnoff from the A1 for Eyemouth and follow this road for two miles until you reach a roundabout. Take the exit marked ‘Aquastars dive shop’. Once at the shop, a track is found on the seaward side of the harbour building – continue 100m along this and you arrive at the car park.

Parking
The car park can accommodate four cars at a squeeze. This site is a favourite training site for Aquastars and the shop’s jeep is often parked here. From the car park, it’s 50m at the most until you are at the entry/exit point.

Air fills
Air and nitrox are available from both Aquastars Dive Centre and Marine Quest Boat Charter.

Parking
Parking is by the harbour itself and is free of charge to charter boat users or £3 to non-charter divers. This includes kit-wash and toilet facilities.

Aquastars Dive Centre
018907 50904
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http://www.aquastars.co.uk

Marine Quest Boat Charter
01890 752444
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http://www.marinequest.co.uk

Facilities on site
As well as the two dive centres listed above, the harbour buildings, of which Aquastars is part, have showers and toilets available. Food and snacks are available from the Harbourside Café. Eyemouth is a large town and has a variety of pubs, restaurants and chip shops.

Clubs
To find the nearest local BSAC branch, see http://www.bsac.com.