BARON HILL - Northumberland & Northeast

The Baron Hill is a cracking little wreck, and we love it for its accessibility and character. She’s not deep, meaning longer bottom times and less faff with decompression, which is always a win in our book. You drop down onto a scatter of plates and ribs, the hull mostly broken up, but there's still plenty to poke around. What really makes the Baron Hill special is the way the sea has reclaimed her. We’ve had some fantastic dives here, finding nudibranchs tucked into crevices, wrasse darting between the decaying metal, and often a grumpy wolfish peering out from under a beam. The visibility can be typical for the North Sea – sometimes a bit murky, sometimes surprisingly clear – but even on a greener day, the wreck structure is easy to follow. We’d suggest diving this one on a slack tide; it makes navigating the fragments much more relaxing. It’s an ideal site for anyone looking to spend time exploring an older wreck without the challenges of deeper, more intact vessels.

Location
Northumberland & Northeast, United Kingdom, Mediterranean & Europe
Coordinates
53.278328, -3.124941
Type
wreck
Maximum Depth
0m

Wreck History - BARON HILL

Vessel Type
cargo ship
Cause
unknown

The story of the Baron Hill is shrouded in mystery, with the date and cause of its loss unrecorded. Its name strongly suggests it was a cargo steamer belonging to the Hogarth 'Baron' line, but its final chapter remains untold. What makes this wreck a unique site for exploration is its depth: 0 metres. This means the Baron Hill is an intertidal wreck, with portions of its hull and superstructure breaking the surface at low tide. It is a ghostly and dramatic sight, offering a rare opportunity for coastal explorers and photographers to witness a wreck without even getting wet. For divers, it presents a very shallow dive or snorkel, allowing for an up-close inspection of a wreck that lives in two worlds-one of air and one of water.

Marine Protected Area: Dee Estuary

Nearby Dive Sites in Northumberland & Northeast

Nearest Dive Centres to BARON HILL

Marine Life in Northumberland & Northeast

Home to 132 recorded species including 53 reef fish, 15 whales & dolphins, 11 sharks & rays, 10 other, 10 seagrass & algae, 9 crabs & lobsters.

Notable Species