If you can dive in Scotland, you can dive anywhere!

When you think of things to do in Scotland what comes to mind? Climbing Munro’s? North Coast 500? Visiting castles? Visiting distilleries? I bet scuba diving isn’t one of them!

On the other hand when you say scuba diving locations, I’ll bet you Scotland probably isn’t even in the top 10 places you’d think of!

So you’d be surprised to find that actually there is a pretty healthy diving community and some stunning dive sites to be found… if you know where to look.

I’m Ross and I’ve been diving for 4 years, and like most people I started with dreams of turquoise blue water, colourful fish and underwater views as far as my eyes could see… thats not much to ask for to be honest, I wear glasses! I saw diving in Scotland as a stepping stone to diving abroad, but instead diving here in Scotland has become my passion!

Chances are if you’re a diver you will have heard about scuba diving in Scotland, but probably mainly about Scapa Flow and the German fleet scuttled during the First World War. By any account diving at Scapa is phenomenal, but you don’t need to travel so far North to find some spectacular sites. There’s plenty to be found close to Glasgow, some only as little as a 30mins drive.

So the ultimate question is, why did I fall so in love with diving at home?

“If you can dive in Scotland you can dive anywhere in the world!”; these were the words my first instructor said to me! Maybe not strictly true, but learning to dive in Scotland has made going further afield so much easier! Between the sometimes… challenging… conditions; low temperatures (a good set of thermals are a must… I’m very upset, Arctic thermals seem to have shrunk during lockdown, poor visibility and the need for a dry suit instead of a wetsuit (my biggest issue here is you can’t pee in a dry suit… i definitely didn’t make that mistake twice!) it makes for a perfect learning environment. These challenges are far outweighed by the potential rewards! It’s a bit like climbing challenging mountains, the adrenaline rush is addictive!

Whole New World – cheesy? Yes! But so true? Yes! Ok… we’re no the Maldives, or the Great Barrier Reef or… even the Mediterranean, but we do still have our own unique experiences to offer! When you think of Scottish scenery you think of untamed epic mountain landscapes and rugged beautiful ocean views. But take a dive beneath the waves and the world you enter can be just as magical and teeming with life!

History – if there is one thing we have in abundance in Scotland its history and some of our lesser known stories can be found under the waves. From sunken WW2 wrecks to legends of Spanish Galleons there is so much to be found in our sea lochs and off our rugged coastline. In fact, we’ve got around 200 wrecks just off the west coast alone! Local knowledge is key and we Scots love to spin a good tale. There’s nothing more exciting than diving into the depths and seeing a wreck slowly materialise out of the gloom. It’s amazing to see Mother Nature reclaim these human creations and the life that grows on these impressive structures.

Raised Awareness of LOCAL Environmental Damage – if you’ve got social media then at some point I’m sure you’ll have come across the videos of plastic pollution. It’s usually people diving or swimming in quite literally a sea of our waste in some far flung tropical paradise where the stark contrast is horrifying. But like a lot of things that doesn’t affect us directly we tend to brush it off. Diving in Scotland has opened my eyes to the damage we as humans can do to the environment, not abroad but right here in our own doorstep. Nothing for me has hit home more than the “Bag for Life” I found floating at 20m. In the gloom I was convinced it was a stunning huge jelly fish. It’s not difficult to see how whales, dolphins, porpoises, etc. can mistake bags for food! I’m no eco-warrior by any stretch of the imagination but it does make you reconsider your own impact.

Amazing People – as in all walks of life you meet great people, but it seems the dive community in Scotland is something special. Maybe it’s the high risk environment and the challenges of the sport, but for whatever reason, almost everyone I’ve met have been so welcoming and helpful. The more people you meet, the more experience you gain.

I can’t pretend to be an expert in diving or Scottish dive sites, there are many people with far more experience/knowledge than myself! But what I do know is that there is so much out there to discover and its definitely a side of Scotland that doesn’t get the publicity it deserves!