St Abbs is 370-odd miles from London, but we covered the journey in 8 hours despite being limited to a top speed of 50mph (because we were towing a trailer). We find our trailer invaluable because it means that we can keep wet diving gear out of our living area. One item of equipment we stow in there, and which we find essential is a sack trolley (for wheeling tanks to distant air stations).

Timing a UK holiday becomes critical when you are travelling that sort of distance. Being on the eastern side of Scotland, the Berwickshire coastline is exposed to winds with east and north in them. But at harvest time the winds are nearly always off the land, almost guaranteeing the diving inshore. We therefore chose the first two weeks in August for our stay.

I have the technique of ‘‘single-point observer" forecasting off to a fine art in our camper van. I can tell the exact wind force and direction lying in my bed, by hearing the flapping canvas on the van’s retractable top.

If you wish to get your weather predictions by more conventional means however, when listening to the shipping forecast for this area it is safest to assume that tile weather is a mixture of Tyne and Forth; but bear in mind that a big easterly blow in Forties or Dogger will send swells rolling in. The vis settles incredibly quickly after bad weather, though; typically by next day!

You don’t get those Atlantic ground swells familiar to south and west coast diving of course; but you don’t get the warming gulf stream waters either. As a consequence, instead of a water temperature range from 8 - 16C, the range is a chilly 3 - 13C.

This means that there is a very short ‘season’ when the kelp forest is at its most pristine. This year we missed the peak by a couple of weeks; it came early, probably clue to the July heatwave.

The diving was, nevertheless, most impressive, and winding down after the wedding all thoughts of moving on evaporated.

We found that preparing meals in a caravanette could be a chore, but you soon adjust your diet to include meals that create the minimum amount of washing up! Eating out is the best bet for the main meal anyway.

Air (used to be) available in Eyemouth at Northburn Caravan Park, and at the National Dive Air Installation in the Dolphin Hotel at St Abbs on the harbour front, and 24 hrs at Scoutscroft in Coldingham (£1 slot meter). The dive shop at Eyemouth caravan park has closed but there is a dive shop now at the new Eyemouth harbour (signed on the way in to Eyemouth), Aquastars. This does nitrox as well. No parking charge and there is a nice shore dive nearby. The compressor at Rock House St Abbs gets my award for the best fill. We remember Dave your 232 bar tanks got 232 bar in them! Why does everywhere else in the country only manage 200?

There are two caravan sites in Coldingham. Coldingham caravan park no longer allows camping. The air station there is now filled using a pre-paid magnetic key unless staff are around. Scoutscroft is the most popular with divers, and the only one in the area that takes tents.

The caravan park in Eyemouth was our choice for a base, especially as it is the only one in the area that has diving on site. There are two excellent dive sites there: Weasel Loch and Little Leeds. Both can be reached after a short walk and a scramble down a precipitous slope.

Fortunately, the owners have provided steps to assist in getting down to the water, but those who are not sure footed would be advised to give these sites a miss. One wrong step and you would find yourself tumbling 5Oft to the rocks below - an experience that would guarantee the kitted-up diver a broken leg!

As with all the shore diving sites along this coastline, not only must you make a great effort to get in, but also keep a bit of energy in reserve for getting back out after the dive; and that’s when you are most likely to have an accident.

Weasel Loch itself is a 5Om long gash in the granite cliffs almost directly south of St Abbs, across Coldingham Bay. This narrow gully opens out into a sheltered rocky bowl, providing an ideal entry/exit point (except when swells run directly in, and the surge will take your legs from under you). It is best dived at high water, as there are fewer rocks to scramble over.

It is possible to swim out of Weasel Loch, along the wall, and out around the headland to Little Leeds Bay. We were so exhilarated on our first dive there that Nikki and I did just that. It is a long haul though, and I would recommend that you have a full tank, keep moving, and preferably make sure that the tide is running with you.

At St Abbs, what amounts to an invasion happens at weekends during the summer season, and consequently restrictions have been placed on diving. Fortunately, these are not too severe though - the main one being that diving is not allowed in St Abbs harbour itself, or at night. Note car park now £10 for over 4 hours Saturday, Sunday & Monday (aimed at divers as it is £1.20 all day the rest of the week!). There is limited space with the Harbour Trust for £5. There are now 4 boats running out of St Abbs (at £10 per dive) and Aquastars run 2 ribs out of Eyemouth (same price). Launching costs £5 and is allowed only with the express permission of the Harbourmaster.

Because the area is a marine reserve, the lifting of all marine life is prohibited, and it is mostly over this issue that the locals have maintained a love/hate relationship with divers over the years.

The local fishing boats are prepared to capitalise on the influx of divers, however, and they will take divers out at very reasonable rates. But be warned: not all boat operators seem to understand divers’ needs very clearly. On one of our dives, for instance, we had met some other divers and chartered a boat with them to take us to Tye’s Tunnel, a cave running through the headland under the St Abbs lighthouse, just along the coast.

We were given minimal information about the site; no more in fact than that we could swim through the cave and be picked up on the other side. Nikki and I were first in the water and first to the end of the tunnel. When we arrived, the exit point was seething with frothy, white water and as I poked my head up there I was battered against the sides. As I was loaded down with cameras at the time I decided that discretion was the better part of valour and returned from whence I came.

Another popular site at St Abbs is Seagull Rock, which has a large cave cut out of the seaward side. Unlike the well-known Cathedral Rock, this site is best dived at high water, as the lower the state of tide the more slippery rocks you have to negotiate. The best route is to swim out along the sewage pipe that is clearly visible from the car park. Raw sewage is discharged from this pipe so if you use the toilet on the harbour front before your dive there is a very good chance that you will meet anything you put down it again on your way out. Still, the fish seem to like it, so don’t be put off; just keep your DV firmly in your mouth!

Further up the coast, just around St Abbs head, is Petticowick Bay, a picturesque cove boasting a Divers Only car park. Petticowick is reached either by a short drive through the nature reserve, or by boat from St Abbs harbour. This is an interesting site, mostly kelp, but with reefs where rare marine life has been recorded. Probably the most spectacular sights observed here though are the diving seabirds ‘flying’ underwater. This site is completely sheltered from southerly winds and a good alternative to St Abbs at such times.

  

Motorhomes can be hired but most people find that the best idea is to buy. Buying means that you can personalise your vehicle, arranging it to suit your requirements; and besides, it makes financial sense because caravenettes don’t depreciate like cars. It is advisable to buy at the right time of year, though - essentially at the end of the summer when it is a buyer’s market.

Photography and text by  Benny Sutton