LA MORLAYE - Scottish East Coast & Borders
La Morlaye isn't the biggest wreck on the Scottish East Coast, but it's one of our favourites for a relaxed dive with plenty to explore. This 18-meter fishing vessel went down in 1986, tangled up in its own gear, and now sits upright, mostly intact. What we love about it is how approachable it is; you can spend a good hour here, poking around the wheelhouse, seeing the winches, and tracing the deck lines. The real draw here is the way the sea has reclaimed it. Anemones practically carpet every surface, and we’ve often found a grumpy conger eel peering out from a dark corner. Schools of wrasse dart between the hull plates, and you’ll spot crabs scuttling over the old fishing gear. It’s an ideal site if you're keen on wreck diving without the deep penetration or strong currents often found elsewhere. Best dived on a calm day, ideally around slack water, you get fantastic ambient light filtering through. Keep an eye out for nudibranchs – they’re everywhere if you look closely.
- Location
- Scottish East Coast & Borders, United Kingdom, Mediterranean & Europe
- Coordinates
- 55.050083, -1.443278
- Type
- wreck
- Maximum Depth
- 0m
Marine Protected Area: Tynemouth to Seaton Sluice
Nearby Dive Sites in Scottish East Coast & Borders
- ABESSINIA - 2m (wreck)
- ACCLIVITY - 26m (wreck)
- ADAMS BECK (PROBABLY) - 52m (wreck)
- ADORATION (POSSIBLY) - 52m (wreck)
- AEPOS - 60m (wreck)
- ALASKAN - 43m (wreck)
- ALBANO - 49m (wreck)
- ALERT - 42m (wreck)
- ALEXANDER - 2m (wreck)
- AMSTERDAM - 38m (wreck)
- ANGELA - 18m (wreck)
- ANLABY - 20m (wreck)
- ANNETTE MARY - 15m (wreck)
- ANN MODROS - 36m (wreck)
- ANU - 7m (wreck)
Nearest Dive Centres to LA MORLAYE
- Aquanorth - ["PADI"]
- Aqua Purists
- Deep Blue Scuba - PADI
- Deep Sea World Aquarium - ["PADI"]
- Libertas Scuba Stirling
- Newcastle University Sub Aqua Society - ["PADI"]
Marine Life in Scottish East Coast & Borders
Home to 126 recorded species including 53 reef fish, 12 whales & dolphins, 10 seagrass & algae, 10 sharks & rays, 9 crabs & lobsters, 8 other.
Notable Species
- Protestant (Clupea harengus) - Reef Fish
- whiting (Merlangius merlangus) - Reef Fish
- dab (Limanda limanda) - Reef Fish
- Haddock (Melanogrammus aeglefinus) - Reef Fish
- Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua) - Reef Fish
- long rough dab (Hippoglossoides platessoides) - Reef Fish
- sprat (Sprattus sprattus) - Reef Fish
- Common sea star (Asterias rubens) - Starfish
- Cowfish (Tursiops truncatus) - Whales & Dolphins
- Edible periwinkle (Littorina littorea) - Sea Snails & Nudibranchs
- Acorn barnacle (Semibalanus balanoides)
- harbour porpoise (Phocoena phocoena) - Whales & Dolphins
- Blue mussel (Mytilus edulis) - Clams & Mussels
- Common lobster (Homarus gammarus) - Crabs & Lobsters
- Beadlet anemone (Actinia equina) - Hard Corals
- bladder wrack (Fucus vesiculosus) - Seagrass & Algae
- Dog whelk (Nucella lapillus) - Sea Snails & Nudibranchs
- Common brittlestar (Ophiothrix fragilis)
- butterfish (Pholis gunnellus) - Reef Fish
- grey gurnard (Eutrigla gurnardus) - Reef Fish