MATADOR - Scottish East Coast & Borders
The Matador is one of our favourite Scottish wrecks for a proper deep dive. She’s an old iron steamer, built in 1879, and went down in 1924. You drop onto her at around 50 metres, so this isn't one for the casual diver, but if you’ve got the training, she’s a beauty. The structure is still largely intact, a dark silhouette on the seabed, usually with a good run of visibility. We love exploring her deck, tracing the outline of where the superstructure once stood. There’s a single boiler standing proud, encrusted with dead man's fingers and anemones, and it’s a great spot to look for ling curled up in the nooks. Down this deep, the light is a muted blue, and your torch really brings out the colours of the encrusting life. It’s a quiet dive, often just you and your buddy, with plenty of atmosphere. The Matador suits experienced divers who appreciate history and the unique challenges of deeper wreck diving in colder waters.
- Location
- Scottish East Coast & Borders, United Kingdom, Mediterranean & Europe
- Coordinates
- 56.990417, -2.073567
- Type
- wreck
- Maximum Depth
- 50m
Marine Protected Area: Garron Point
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 MATADOR
- 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