St Abbs & Eyemouth · United Kingdom · Cave & cavern · Reef
Cathedral Rock
A double archway 50 metres out from the shore
Area photo: Bob Jones · CC BY-SA 2.0
Cathedral Rock is the arch divers come to St Abbs for: a double archway cut through a rocky outcrop about 50 metres off the shore, on ground that runs from 3 metres near the entry down to 18 metres and deeper further out. It is a shore dive, walked in and walked out, and the top of the rock only appears around half tide.
Where it is and how deep
55.8998° N, 2.1279° WApproximate position — the dashed circle shows where the site lies; your operator's briefing has the mooring.
The dive
You kit up and walk in at St Abbs, then swim out roughly 50 metres to the archway. The top of Cathedral Rock only appears around half tide, and at that state it is identified as the furthest rock in a south-easterly direction, which makes lining the swim up straightforward. From the surface the ground drops away from about 3 metres near the entry to 18 metres and beyond as you work out over the rocky outcrops.
The double archway is the feature, and plenty of wrasse hang about it, so it is worth swimming through slowly rather than passing over the top. A small cavern sits at one of the rocky outcrops nearby, short enough to look into without leaving daylight behind. Visibility of 10 metres and better has been reported here on the right day. The way back is a reversal of the outbound swim, shallowing over the outcrops to the entry point.
This is not a dive to force. Surface swell here is adversely affected by the wind and the surface weather conditions, so Cathedral Rock works as a slack high water dive under the correct conditions and is not worth attempting outside them. Get the state of the tide right and the archway is a 50 metre swim from dry land; get it wrong and the swim out is the hardest part of the day.
Marine life and season
- Reef fish swarms
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Off-season | Off-season | Fair | Good | Good | Prime | Prime | Prime | Prime | Good | Fair | Off-season |
Season follows St Abbs & Eyemouth: Apr–Oct is the season, with Jun–Sep giving the warmest water and calmest seas; winter northerlies make the coast unworkable.
Know before you go
- Surface swell is strongly affected by wind and surface weather, so this is a slack high water dive only and only in the right conditions. Check the forecast and the tide before swimming out.
Dive videos
StAbbs Cathedral Rock · kropaganda on YouTube
Cathedral Rock St Abbs in Scotland · kennydonaldson on YouTube
Questions divers ask
How deep is Cathedral Rock?+
The ground runs from about 3 metres near the entry to 18 metres and deeper further out, so the dive can be kept shallow or worked down the outcrops. The archway itself sits about 50 metres from the shore, well within recreational depths.
Can you dive Cathedral Rock from the shore?+
Yes. It is a shore dive from St Abbs with a swim of roughly 50 metres out to the double archway. Conditions decide it: surface swell is affected by wind and weather, so the site is dived at slack high water.
Sources
- St Abbs dive site — PADI
- Shore Diving at St. Abbs — St. Abbs Community Website
- St Abbs — Wikipedia
In The Logbook
- When is slack water? Tides for diversOcean science · 7 min read
- What is surge in diving, and how deep it goesOcean science · 8 min read
- Cold-water diving: is it worth the drysuit?Cold water · 8 min read
- The best shore dives in the worldShore diving · 8 min read
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