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A narrow road leads down past a few houses to a sea loch dotted with rocky islands under hills and cloud — Fanagmore, Kinlochbervie & the North-West Highlands

Kinlochbervie & the North-West Highlands · United Kingdom · Reef · Muck & macro

Fanagmore

Orange-clubbed, polycera, fried-egg and sea-lemon nudibranchs on one dive

Photo: Richard Webb · CC BY-SA 2.0

Fanagmore is a shore dive off the slip on Loch Laxford, in a very scenic bay with plenty of sea life. It suits divers of any experience, the rocks steepen to around 16-18 m at the point, and several nudibranch species turn up without much searching, so it should be a good place for them in spring.

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Where it is and how deep

Depth profile of Fanagmore: typical dive to 18 m (to 60 ft) 18 m · Open Water30 m · Advanced40 m · Recreational limit18 mtypical dive
Depths on a shared scale to 40 m (130 ft); dashed lines mark common certification limits.

58.3987° N, 5.1192° WApproximate position — the dashed circle shows where the site lies; your operator's briefing has the mooring.

The dive

Divers enter off the slip and follow the rocks out towards the point, where they become steeper and the depth reaches around 16-18 m. Nudibranchs turn up along the way without much searching: orange-clubbed, polycera, fried-egg and sea-lemon species have all been found on a single dive.

Marine life and season

  • Nudibranchs
Month-by-month season rating for Fanagmore
JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
FairFairGoodGoodGoodGoodGoodGoodGoodGoodGoodFair

Season follows Kinlochbervie & the North-West Highlands: Winter diving keeps to the sheltered sea lochs; the exposed north-west sites belong to the rest of the year.

Know before you go

  • The odd small boat may use the slip and the water off it.

Dive videos

Dive at Fanagmore - 18/04/2021 · Paul Stariski on YouTube

Questions divers ask

When is the best time for nudibranchs at Fanagmore?+

Spring is likely best. Orange-clubbed, polycera, fried-egg and sea-lemon nudibranchs turned up on a single dive without much searching, which points to a good nudibranch site in spring.

Sources

  1. Fanagmore — Finstrokes

Photo credits

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Gullies and swim-throughs, often teeming with shoals of fish and dogfish

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