LOCH SUNART - Northumberland & Northeast
Loch Sunart isn't your typical deep, dramatic wreck dive, and that’s precisely why we love it. This is a shallow, coastal treasure, practically an intertidal dive if you hit the tides right. What you’ll find here are the distributed remains of a sailing vessel, not a neat, upright hulk. Think timbers, plates, and ironwork scattered across the seabed, all beautifully encrusted. It's less about penetration and more about slow, deliberate exploration, picking through the history. We’d suggest planning this around slack high water for the best visibility, which, let’s be honest, can be variable in the Northeast. But when it’s good, the light plays wonderfully on the barnacle-covered iron. Look closely and you'll spot crabs scuttling under plates, blennies peeking from crevices, and the occasional curious dogfish nosing around the larger sections. It's a fantastic site for photographers focusing on macro life and the textures of a long-lost ship. If you're into wreck detective work and prefer a relaxed, shallower dive to something more demanding, Loch Sunart is our pick.
- Location
- Northumberland & Northeast, United Kingdom, Mediterranean & Europe
- Coordinates
- 54.538630, -5.452950
- Type
- wreck
- Maximum Depth
- 1m
Marine Protected Area: North Channel
Nearby Dive Sites in Northumberland & Northeast
- AARLA - 35m (wreck)
- ABBOTSFORD - 7m (wreck)
- ABYDOS - 8m (wreck)
- ACACIA - 11m (wreck)
- ACTION - 0m (wreck)
- ADC 527 - 60m (wreck)
- ADC 527 - 50m (wreck)
- ADC 527 (POSSIBLY) - 37m (wreck)
- ADGILLUS - 36m (wreck)
- AFTON - 22m (wreck)
- AFTON - 0m (wreck)
- AILSA - 1m (wreck)
- ALARM - 27m (wreck)
- ALASTOR - 13m (wreck)
- ALBANIAN - 35m (wreck)
Nearest Dive Centres to LOCH SUNART
- Above & Below Dive Centre - ["PADI"]
- Academy Divers - ["PADI"]
- Aqua Adventurers Scuba Diving
- Aqualogistics
- Aquaventurers - ["PADI"]
- Barracuda Scuba Ltd
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
- Protestant (Clupea harengus) - Reef Fish
- whiting (Merlangius merlangus) - Reef Fish
- Cowfish (Tursiops truncatus) - Whales & Dolphins
- Haddock (Melanogrammus aeglefinus) - Reef Fish
- Common sea star (Asterias rubens) - Starfish
- Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua) - Reef Fish
- dab (Limanda limanda) - Reef Fish
- harbour porpoise (Phocoena phocoena) - Whales & Dolphins
- long rough dab (Hippoglossoides platessoides) - Reef Fish
- sprat (Sprattus sprattus) - Reef Fish
- Edible periwinkle (Littorina littorea) - Sea Snails & Nudibranchs
- Common lobster (Homarus gammarus) - Crabs & Lobsters
- Acorn barnacle (Semibalanus balanoides)
- Blue mussel (Mytilus edulis) - Clams & Mussels
- bladder wrack (Fucus vesiculosus) - Seagrass & Algae
- Dog whelk (Nucella lapillus) - Sea Snails & Nudibranchs
- Beadlet anemone (Actinia equina) - Hard Corals
- Common brittlestar (Ophiothrix fragilis)
- butterfish (Pholis gunnellus) - Reef Fish
- Common shore crab (Carcinus maenas) - Crabs & Lobsters