Home » St Abbs Harbour

Below the breathtaking coastline of St Abbs lies a sea full of stunning, colourful marine life – but don’t take our word for it, experience it yourself!

Follow the gullies and channels out toward Seagull Rock (Maw Carr) to explore kelp forests. Look out for colourful sea slugs, anemones, urchins and starfish.

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Facilities

Accessible car park
Accessible by public transport (bus)
St Abbs Visitor Centre
Cafe
Working harbour at St Abbs

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How to get there

By road

This snorkel site can be found next to St Abbs Harbour car park. St Abbs is accessible by bus, train, bike and car following signs for St Abbs.

 

By rail

The nearest train station is Reston (6 miles away) which has an on-demand bus service called Pingo.

By bus

A direct bus runs from Berwick, and from Edinburgh it involves one change. The bus stops (on request) next to St Abbs Head Nature Reserve car park (which is located at NT 913 674 and is well signposted from the B6438).

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Driving

Public
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Walking

Cycling

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Local conditions

Here is the wind forecast and tide times for this snorkel site. It is your responsibility to assess whether these conditions are suitable for snorkelling.

Other considerations

More information

  • Here you’ll find St Abbs Visitor Centre where you’ll find marine exhibitions and artefacts; information about the history of the village, geology and wildlife of the area; a high-powered telescope to view the cliffs and wildlife from the Outlook room; activities for children and a gift shop. Note that the centre is open seasonally, so please check opening times in advance.
  • Just up the road you’ll find the National Trust for Scotland’s Nature Centre, where you can discover more about local wildlife, geology and history of St Abb’s Head.
  • Next door to the National Trust for Scotland’s Nature Centre is Borders Pottery (a social enterprise that provides a cafe and opportunities to take part in pottery) and Number 4 Art Gallery.
  • Please check the opening times of these centres in advance, as many operate seasonally.

 

  • Visit the Berwickshire Marine Reserve (BMR); their Marine Education Centre displays a range of information about the BMR, as well as interactive activities ranging from virtual reality diving to rockpool tanks. The team offer an exciting range of events too, find out more on their Facebook page and Eventbrite profile
  • Join Snorkel Wild, based in Coldingham, who offer personalised snorkelling adventures for all ages and abilities.
  • Contact St Vedas Surf Shop in Coldingham for wetsuit hire.
  • Reach out to Blue Adventures based in Eyemouth who offer snorkel lessons, guided snorkelling tours and equipment hire.

Wildlife warning

Please be a responsible snorkeller; do not touch, take or tease wildlife.

The cliffs around Starney Bay host several species of breeding seabirds from April to September – please keep a good distance and behave responsibly.

Grey seals also come ashore to pup in the winter months and should be left undisturbed.

Stay safe

  • Best at high tide (when water entry/exit is easier from the rocky shore).
  • Please note that St Abbs Harbour is a working harbour. As such, when in the water please keep your distance from the harbour itself, be vigilant of other water users (in particular vessels) and make yourself visible using a bright tow float/swim cap.

Snorkelling can be dangerous and is done entirely at your own risk. Information is provided free of charge; it is your responsibility to check the conditions present on the day and assess whether it is safe to snorkel.

Please read our top tips to being a safe and responsible snorkeller.

Look out for the following species on your snorkel...

Fish
Ballan wrasse
Sand eels
Long spined sea scorpion
Plaice
Crustaceans
Shore Crab
Velvet Swimming Crab
Brown crab
Hermit crab
Molluscs
Painted topshell
Dog whelk
Flat periwinkle
Blue-rayed limpet
Other invertebrates
Beadlet anemone
Common starfish
Common urchin
Dead man’s fingers
Jellyfish
Lion’s mane jellyfish
Moon jellyfish
Blue jellyfish
Comb jelly
Nudibranchs
Orange-clubbed sea slug
Sea Slug (Polycera faeroensis)
Sea lemon
Lined Polycera
Plants and Algae
Cuvie kelp
Bladder wrack
Sea lettuce
Channelled wrack

Species records

Visit the NBN Atlas to see all species records from this site

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Top tips

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Why visit?

Visit for:

  • birdwatching
  • coasts
  • geology
  • scenery
  • mammals
  • archaeology

Other information

“St Abbs Visitor Centre, within the Old Village Hall overlooking St Abbs Harbour, is a great place to discover the history and culture of St Abbs past and present, through interactive displays and exhibits (open seasonally) “

In this section

FURTHER READING

About

Out & about

Nearby reserves
Starney Bay
Eyemouth Beach
Killidraughts Bay
Coldingham Bay
Milldown Bay

Local group
Local Group 1

Links & downloads

iSpot

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species

Lined Polycera

species

Sea lemon

reserve

An Dun

Snorkelling can be dangerous and is done entirely at your own risk.

Information is provided free of charge; it is your responsibility to check the conditions present on the day and assess whether it is safe to snorkel.

The Scottish Wildlife Trust strives to provide accurate information but cannot accept responsibility for changes, errors or omissions.

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