Scotland is mainly known for its wreck diving, particularly the world class Scapa Flow in the Orkneys. However, the underwater naturalist will also find much of interest, particularly in the seas around the west of Scotland. I hope the following will help people who intend SCUBA diving in and around the area. Please let me know if you are aware of other resources which should go in here, or if you spot any mistakes.

Charters & Commercial Guides
Emergencies
Marine Life
Places to Stay
Weather & Sea Conditions
WWW Sites
Other Resources

Books & Magazines for Divers

Dive West Scotland by Gordon Ridley

Charters & Commercial Guides

Puffin Dive Centre
Port Gallanach
Oban and West Scotland
Tel: +44 (0) 1631 566088
Fax: +44 (0) 1631 564142
E-mail: info@puffin.org.uk

Lochaline Dive Centre
Lochaline, Morvern
Argyll PA34 5XT
Tel./Fax: 01967 421627
E-mail: dive@lochalinedivecentre.co.uk

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Emergencies

Emergency Services, including Ambulance and Coast Guard, call 999 (free from any phone in the UK)
Scottish Diving Medicine provide information about diving accidents and illnesses. They recommend contacting them if you have a dive accident in Scotland because they are in touch with the four recompression chambers there. They recommend that you call 0845 408 6008 and ask for the on-call hyperbaric consultant.
Alternatively, call DAN Europe's hotline in Zurich +41.1.14 14

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Marine Life

Beneath British Seas (Diving guides) by Alan James.

Philip's Guide to Seashores and Shallow Seas of Britain and Europe (Philip's Reference) by Andrew Campbell.

Under Northern Seas by Linda Pitkin

Places to Stay

Findhorn Bay Holiday Park, located in northeast Scotland on the Moray Firth. Friendly people, good location.

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Weather & Sea Conditions

Water temperatures range from about 4 Celsius in January to March, to about 13 C in July to September. A dry suit with a warm undersuit is needed for most of the year. A thick semi-dry may be adequate from late spring to early autumn.

Tidal currents can be very fast indeed. It is essential to consult tide tables before diving.

Visibility can be very variable. The west coast of Scotland has a reputation for better visibility than the east. However, I have experienced visibility up to 15 metres and more in the Moray Firth (also 1m and less!).

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WWW

Scottish sub-aqua club - publishes a magazine called Scottish diver which has adverts from 10s if not a hundred charter boats in and around Scotland.

Other Resources

Diving

BurgSAC in Elgin.
Grampian Branch of the Scottish Sub-Aqua Club.

DAN - The safety organisation for divers.

Medical advice for divers is available from Ernest S. Campbell, MD, FCAS, a former surgeon and diver, at Diving Medical Online