Cliff Dives around Oban
by Geoff Hide
Oban is probably the most popular of all Scottish dive locations. With a very diverse set of dive sites, it attracts divers from all over Britain. In this article, you will find described, some of the underwater cliff sites which can be found within a reasonable distance from Oban.
1. Bogha Nuadh
Bogha Nuadh is an underwater shoal which rises from 40m to 5m and lies North West of Cullipool on the Island of Luing. The position of the shoal is 56 16 25N, 05 41 25W. If you look at the Admirality Chart for the area (chart 2386), it shows an area just to the west of the top of the shoal where the 20m and 30m contours merge and the 50m contour lies close. This arrangement of contours suggests that there might be a underwater cliff here. Some colleagues and I, from Edinburgh University Sub Aqua Club, dived this area of the shoal and, sure enough, there was a cliff.
The sheer cliff extended from 20m down to 40m and was covered with life. Huge anemones, crayfish and sea cucumbers could be seen amongst the small crevices which covered the cliff face. Finding the cliff is reasonably straightforward: The shoal lies close to the Bono Rock red buoy (See chart 2386). If you position your boat with a bearing of 088 degrees magnetic on the red buoy and 198 degrees on the highest point of the island of Belnahua, you should be roughly over the shoal. (Beware, though, the red buoy may move!). Drop a marker buoy as a reference and echo sound in North-South lines getting progressively further west each time. The cliff will be easily picked up on the echo-sounder. Drop another shot on the top of the shoal, just above the cliff. The cliff is north facing. We didn’t experience any particularly bad tidal streams when diving this shoal but beware, as this area is notorious for its tidal streams
2. Easdale Cliffs
Easdale cliffs arc a very popular dive site which can be dived either by boat or from the shore at Easdale. The cliffs descend from the surface to 25m at their deepest point. Generally the marine life is disappointing on this cliff although it is a nice dive in good visibility.
3. Insh Island
Along the west side of Insh Island runs a deep, sheer sided channel. At the WSW comer of Insh this channel comes to within 50m of the shore. A dive at this place leads you down to 30m on a steep rocky slope. At 30m the bottom disappears. We followed the sheer cliff down to 50m to find it continuing far below us. At 45m there is a slight overhang which adds to the excitement of such a cliff. There is rich marine life to be found on both the cliff and the steep slope. Some unusual sponges, which look a bit like the bracket fungi which adorn trees, can be seen scattered over the vertical section of the cliff. This is a superb dive! It is advisable to dive this site on slack water as some tidal streams can be experienced in this area.
4. Ard na Cuile
On the eastern shore of the Sound of Kerrera, just south of Gallanach, lies another cliff at Ard na Cuile. This cliff is quite localised and missing it leads to a dive on a boring mud slope. The bottom of the cliff is at 40m and the cliff consists of a rock slope to 20m and then an overhang which penetrates the rock progressively as you drop to depths of 35m. The cliff is well covered with marine life.
If you have managed to find the overhang, you will find that as you return up the cliff your exhalation bubbles, from beneath the overhang, have found their way up through tiny cracks and numerous small streams of bubbles will be seen coming from the rock.
5. Bach Island
Bach Island is a very popular dive and is deservedly so. A cliff from 10m to 40m provides a rich haven for marine life. Tidal streams are sometimes experienced at this site although they are not usually too strong. The cliff lies to the north west of the island.
6. Heather Island
Another popular cliff dive, located on the eastern side of Heather Island. The cliff here is quite vertical from the surface to 30m and a cave, known as the chimney, is found along it. Care should be taken if entering the chimney as at least one life has been lost here. The cliff often has plenty of marine life although it suffers from large amounts of silt.
7. Falls of Lora
Many divers drift dive the Falls of Lora and on the flood tide experience a down current on the inshore side of the bridge. Few manage to control their buoyancy to discover what causes it! In fact if you dive it at slack water, there is a small cliff running from 17m to 30m which is arranged in a large horseshoe shape across the Falls. The cliff is fairly devoid of life, which is surprising given the tidal stream which flows over it.
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