EASY TO FIND, OUTSTANDING SCENERY, SUPERB MARINE LIFE - not words you often see together when discussing UK dive locations. But a couple of sites at St Abbs Head fit this description, and they are the undoubted favourites of many regular divers who know the area. Just ask any of the local hardboat operators which are the most popular sites with their customers. They will say "Anemone Gully", and then "The Black Carrs".
     A look at a chart hints at why this is so. St Abbs Head is very exposed and juts out into the North Sea with the 20m depth line running very close to the shore. It forms a significant bulwark against the tide so that, even on neaps, there is an appreciable movement of water as the pent-up flow sweeps around the headland.
     In addition, the rocks here are a mix of volcanic upthrusts and soft red sandstone. Over aeons, this sandstone has been carved away by the action of the sea, while the volcanic material has hardly been affected.
     This has produced a dramatic underwater topography of cracks, caves, walls and drop-offs that is hard to match.
     This regular, heavy tidal flow ensures a plentiful supply of plankton, to the delight of many marine animals. Encrusting forms of life, from soft corals to tiny hydroids, are effectively force-fed. They don't just thrive here, they dominate.
     Every surface from flat to vertical is an invertebrate carpet, which in turn is a habitat for a huge variety of mobile creatures, such as the 13-armed common sunstar, several types of squat lobster and the more unusual and quite large northern stone crab.
     For those using their own boats, these sites are easy both to find and dive. The Black Carrs form the south-eastern point of St Abbs Head. The largest rock, Big Black Carr, can be seen at the seaward extremity of St Abbs Bay, as you look out from the harbour mouth.
     It takes only a couple of minutes to get there, and you will then see a second rock, Little Black Carr. A nice patch of sheltered water between the two provides an ideal place to finish kitting up.
     To further help pinpoint this site, there is a passage behind the two rocks which, except on the lowest tides, is used as a shortcut by many boats, including local fishing craft.
     Where to start your dive depends on the tide, but it is best to avoid the ebb, when water pours out of St Abbs Bay, often dramatically reducing visibility and making a controlled dive difficult. A rising or, preferably, slack tide should provide better conditions: if it is rising, drop into the water about 20m out from the centre of Little Black Carr and get down as quickly as possible.
     If there is little movement on the bottom, on no account head north unless you want to spend your dive on flat ground counting the brittlestars which cover the bottom in indescribable profusion. Move south, and at the same time head down the seaward slope a little way until you come to a heavily encrusted reef wall. It drops vertically from about 17m to 22m.
     This wall runs along the outside of the site, but when it peters out you need to turn south-west to make your way gradually around the corner of the Black Carrs and avoid going off into more brittlestar territory. The whole area is made up of plunging walls, overhangs and cracks, with the most spectacular growth of soft corals I have seen anywhere.
     Anemone Gully is at the north-western corner of St Abbs Head. More properly, it is a whole series of gullies that fan out from this part of the headland to a depth of about 27m.
     To find the main gully is quite simple, but it helps to refer to a chart in the first instance. The very high, imposing and jagged rock immediately before this corner of the headland is called Floatcarr Rock. On its right, looking from the sea, is a long, wide gully into which you can easily take a boat (and which is a great dive site in its own right). Enter the water at its seaward end, drop down and follow the gully out to sea.
     It's as simple as that, and although not very well defined to start with, the gully quickly develops into a huge fissure, with deepening, vertical and in places overhanging sides.
     At this point, you are right in the middle of this system of gullies and cracks, some of which are so narrow and deep they should perhaps be called chasms.
     You can follow this gully to its deepest point where the ground starts to level out, and either turn left or right and proceed up the adjacent one. Alternatively, if some of your buddies are in front, stirring up the visibility, rise out of this gully and make your way in either direction over a few metres of flat ground to drop into the next one.
     Again, the predominant life on the flatter rocks is soft coral, which is interspersed with the rosy-coloured encrusting algae lithothamnion. But the walls of the gullies are plastered with masses of the large plumose anemones in white, pink, brown and green which give the area its name.
     Unlike many anemones, these are filter-feeders, and the guaranteed flow of plankton as they stand at right angles to the tide makes this an ideal location for them.
     As you get deeper, the floors of some of these gullies are covered in the deepwater form of the dahlia anemone. These can be up to 30cm across and come in a range of colours from violet to yellow.
     Whenever I see them, I am amazed there can be so much colour diversity within one species underwater, something rarely seen with terrestrial animals.
     An extra benefit of diving this particular spot is that you might (up to late July) get a "fly-past" from some of the many guillemots and razorbills that breed on the cliffs. Being buzzed underwater by 20 or so miniature penguins is an unforgettable experience!
     Slack water, although likely to produce the best visibility, is not vital at this site, although tidal extremes should be avoided for an enjoyable dive. The downside to slack is that many of the anemones cease feeding when the tide stops, and shut down into nondescript clumps that give no hint of their true beauty.
     I prefer some tide to be running, preferably a rising one. This causes no problems, because once you're down in the gullies, its effect is limited. In fact, if you want something a bit more exhilarating, this whole corner of St Abbs Head makes a brilliant drift dive in which you can really fly along, and duck in and out of the current at will!
     Both the Black Carrs and Anemone Gully will, depending on the time of year, produce a variety of interesting species.
     Along the tops of the walls and gullies are many small hydroid clumps which, in turn, attract a range of delicately coloured nudibranchs that feed on them.
     Ling appear in reasonable numbers some years and a northern speciality, Yarrell's blenny, is relatively common but secretive. Lumpsuckers are more likely up to late June, but don't disturb them, as they will be guarding eggs.
     A few cod are usually present, but difficult to approach. Ballan wrasse, dragonets, scorpionfish, butterfish and topknots (common and Norwegian) all occur frequently. So too nowadays does the lesser octopus, thanks to the overfishing of cod, which used to prey on juveniles of this animal.
     But the creature everybody who dives St Abbs wants to see is a wolf-fish. Although you can occasionally find them in the shallows, this is quite unusual and these two areas are, as far as I am aware, the best places in the whole UK for finding them.
     Look in every crack and hole around the 20-25m level, preferably with a lamp, and you're almost sure to come across one. I have seen as many as seven on one dive at the Black Carrs, and if you're very lucky, you might come across two lying side by side in one hole.
     Any divers visiting St Abbs should give these sites a go - more than once if possible, because there is a lot of ground to cover. If you don't have a boat, or prefer to make use of local expertise, there are a number of hardboat skippers who will be only too pleased to oblige. The going rate per dive is surprisingly cheap and reflects the fact that the journey times are short - a real bonus for those (like me) who have problems with rolling boats. Give it a go soon.

A diver admires a gully wall covered in plumose anemones


the sought-after wolf-fish


a long-clawed squat lobster


a male lumpsucker on egg-guarding duty


colourful soft corals on a wall


diver stares out a ling

GETTING THERE: St Abbs is located on the east coast about seven miles north of the England/Scotland border and four miles off the A1. DIVING & AIR: Suitable for almost all levels but not for first sea experience, though there is good shore diving for those in this category. Air is available on St Abbs slipway or at Scoutscroft Diving Centre. Boat-launching at St Abbs costs £10 per day, including overnight mooring if required. For hardboats try Peter Gibson (01890 771681) or Alistair Crowe (01890 771412). The harbour car park costs £5 per day. ACCOMODATION: There are several B&Bs in St Abbs and at nearby Coldingham. There are also two caravan sites in Coldingham plus camping and one at Eyemouth three miles away. WHEN TO GO: April to October is usually best, as visibility outside this period is often poor. Drysuits are strongly recommended - water temperature ranges from 5°C in April to 13°C in August. FOR NON-DIVERS: Excellent walking, bird-watching, trout-fishing. There is a good beach at Coldingham. FURTHER INFORMATION: Scottish Borders Tourist Board 01835 863688, www.scot-borders.co.uk; Harbourmaster 01890 771708; Scoutscroft Diving Centre 01890 771338, www.scoutscroft.co.uk

THE GLANMIRE
Slack water was only moments away, and the sunlight was reflecting off the glassy-calm sea, making us squint to see the buoy tied to the wreck.
     How different these dazzling conditions were to those on the July morning of 1912 when the Glanmire met her end.
     Thick fog had reduced visibility, causing the Glanmire to plough into Black Carr Rock. All passengers and crew made the shore safely, but the Glanmire was doomed, slipping back off the rocks to lie in its present position 300m north of St Abbs lighthouse.
     It must have been a black day for all those involved, but now their shipwreck is one of the most colourful in our seas. If they could see her now, perhaps even they would appreciate the its beauty and that of the many creatures that have colonised it.
     Although the Glanmire will keep hardened wreckies happy, its broken remains are most appreciated by divers who enjoy marine life and scenic views. It lies at 55 55 21N, 02 08 22W (degrees, minutes and seconds) broken into large sections, each of which is of interest.
     Generally the descent drops you onto the two large boilers amidships. These look like large, round rocks as you make your way down through the clear water, but by the time you reach 32m they have taken shape.
     This is a slackwater dive - it's a high-energy site, so you will have a maximum of 30 minutes to enjoy your exploration.
     Taking this time limit into account, your stops will soon mount up and if you're on a shotline you will experience the tide pushing you out like a flag from a pole if you overstay your welcome. You could explore the Glanmire in one dive, but you might well enjoy yourself more by taking your time and completing two dives on it. I lug around a lot of camera gear, so perhaps move a little slower than most divers over the wreck.
     From the boilers, move off towards the bow and you will pass over many broken plates lying over the sea floor. These are covered by masses of orange and white dead men's fingers which transform the wreck into a colourful garden.
     On nearing the bow, the hull breaks completely and you might notice a fire hose-reel sitting on the sand. The bow section is only a few metres ahead, and in good viz you will see it rising some 5m above you.
     When I last visited this area of the wreck in poor viz, I was guided by the clanging of mash-hammers, as the last pieces of brass were prised away by divers who don't care.
     On my first dive here five portholes remained. Now there is only one, and I only hope its inaccessible position saves it from being removed, so that divers for a long time to come can enjoy the sight.
     On rounding the bow section and returning to the stern, the diver once again follows the broken hull.
     The plates lie at an angle to the sea floor, and large ling can frequently be seen under them. The most frequently sighted resident of these dark recesses is an ugly-looking fish with blue coloration and a mouthful of large yellow fangs which help it to crush its usual diet of shellfish and sea urchins. This is the celebrated wolf-fish.
     The Glanmire is home to a great many fish, most of them large. Because it lies in the St Abbs and Eyemouth voluntary marine reserve, no commercial fishery operates in this area and no anglers should fish over the wreck.
     I was impressed by the size of the pollack and cod, and the large numbers of bib that filled the enclosed spaces of the wreck.
     Finning further aft on the journey to the stern, note a small donkey boiler lying off the port side.
     If you follow the hull for a short distance from here, you return to the two main boilers where your exploration started. If the tide is not tugging too fiercely at your fins by now, you might wish to continue sternwards and view the most impressive area of the wreck. Immediately astern of the boilers is a short gap. When I dived here, huge pollack held station, unconcerned by my presence as I finned on to examine the engine block.
     Once again its recesses are full of bib, and you might see a large conger eel, but the wolf-fish are most common around this rectangular box-like structure.
     Further aft, the hull lies flat across the sea floor once again, and it's certainly worth a look underneath to see what's hiding away.
     From the engine block the propshaft is clearly visible, and provides a quick route to the stern section, which now lies on its side. The four large blades of the propeller are each around 1.5m long and covered in orange and white dead men's fingers. The rudder lies parallel to the seabed.
     In clear viz the area is visually stunning, draped in colourful life and surrounded by large schools of fish.
     If you decided to cover the Glanmire in one dive, the tide by now will certainly be reminding you to get moving, and your air will probably be running low. Take the quick route back along the propshaft and around the engine block to the boilers and the safety of the shotline.
     For those taking in the wreck at leisure over two dives, don't miss the chance to move to its edge, where the hull plates meet the clean, coarse sand.
     Beneath them you will usually see a large specimen of one of the Glanmire's previously mentioned inhabitants. You will almost certainly see a lobster, octopus or even the tiny Sepia atlantica, a small cuttlefish found on the sand here.
     It is essential to dive this wreck at slack water, about 2.5-3 hours after high and low tide. A slipway at the harbour enables RIBs to be launched three hours either side of high tide.
     There are small dive boats that will take divers out to the wreck, but be sure to choose an established skipper with local knowledge to avoid disappointment.

a diver examinesa porthole on the Glanmire


a fire hose reel on the wreck


Scorpionfish on soft coral


Large cod


the Glanmire's propeller and rudder


a lesser octopus