BEECHGROVE - Northumberland & Northeast

The *Beechgrove* is a lovely wreck, accessible even on days when the North Sea is feeling a bit grumpy. She’s shallow, only 14 metres, making her perfect for longer bottom times, and brilliant for newer wreck divers to get a feel for things. We love her intact bow section, it’s really quite dramatic, still standing proud and often swarming with pollack. You can spend a good chunk of a dive here, poking around the frames, imagining the ship as she once was. The stern is a bit more broken up, but that’s where we find the big boiler, a real magnet for life. Crabs wedge themselves into every nook, and occasionally we’ve spotted a wolf fish peering out from a dark corner. Visibility can vary, of course, it's the North Sea, but on a good day, with a bit of sunlight filtering down, the light plays beautifully off the metalwork. Our favourite time to dive her is on a slack tide, gives you plenty of time to explore the full 76 metres of her length without fighting the current. She’s a great introduction to the region's wreck diving, a proper piece of history brought to life.

Location
Northumberland & Northeast, United Kingdom, Mediterranean & Europe
Coordinates
54.175167, -5.856555
Type
wreck
Maximum Depth
14m

Wreck History - BEECHGROVE

Year Sunk
1905
Vessel Type
cargo ship
Cause
collision
Tonnage
1,328 GRT

The SS Beechgrove had a well-travelled career under several names before settling on the Northumberland seabed. Launched in 1880 by the renowned J. Readhead & Sons shipyard in South Shields, she was originally christened the Joseph Viney. Over the next two and a half decades, she would be renamed Lixuri, then back to Joseph Viney, before being sold to Alexander & Muir and given her final name, the Beechgrove. As a typical steam collier of her era, she was a workhorse of the British coastal trade.

Her end came abruptly on January 16, 1905. While navigating in thick fog off Newbiggin Point, the Beechgrove was involved in a catastrophic collision with the larger steamship, the SS Othello. The impact was severe, and the Beechgrove began to take on water rapidly. Fortunately, the crew had time to abandon ship and were all safely rescued before their vessel slipped beneath the waves.

Resting at a very manageable depth of 14 meters, the Beechgrove is a fantastic introduction to wreck diving in the UK. The wreck is well broken up, scattered across a sandy bottom, but her boiler stands proud and acts as a key landmark. The site is a haven for marine life, particularly crustaceans; divers should bring a torch to peer into crevices for lobsters and crabs. The wreckage provides shelter for bib, pollack, and colourful wrasse, making for a lively and interesting dive.

Marine Protected Area: Mournes Coast

Nearby Dive Sites in Northumberland & Northeast

Nearest Dive Centres to BEECHGROVE

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