Wreck Diving in Scottish Borders
2 diveable wrecks in Scottish Borders, United Kingdom. Depths range from 20–62m.
HMS Pathfinder
On 5 September 1914, just weeks into the First World War, HMS Pathfinder made unwanted history as the first major warship ever sunk by a locomotive torpedo fired from a submarine. SM U-21, commanded by Otto Hersing, struck the scout cruiser's forward magazine, and the resulting explosion tore the bow clean off. Of her complement, 259 men were lost. She now rests upright in around 60 metres of water off St Abbs, her hull intact from stern to bridge area but the bow section scattered where the magazine detonated. A designated war grave under the Military Remains Act, she may be visited but not disturbed. The dive is strictly technical territory — deep, cold and demanding — but carries a historical gravity that few wrecks anywhere in the world can equal. Those who descend to her pay their respects to a moment that changed naval warfare forever.
SS Glanmire
St Abbs is one of Scotland's great dive destinations, and the Glanmire is its signature wreck. First explored by divers in 1965, this iron steamer has been introducing east-coast divers to wreck diving for over sixty years. She hit Black Carr Rocks in thick fog on a summer's day in 1912, carrying general cargo from Amsterdam to the Forth ports, and everyone on board survived. Now lying broken between 20 and 35 metres with her bow facing the coast, she sits within the St Abbs Voluntary Marine Reserve — an area renowned for its clear water and prolific marine life. Visibility here regularly exceeds what divers encounter on Scotland's west coast, and the wreck is carpeted in soft corals, anemones and encrusting sponges. A few hundred metres offshore and well within boat range, she is the perfect gateway to the exceptional diving this stretch of Berwickshire coastline has to offer.