Arrochar, Scotland, United Kingdom

Loch Long

Loch Long is a deep sea loch on the western Scottish coast, around an hour from Glasgow, and is the most accessible cold-water training ground for divers in central and southern Scotland. The most popular shore dive is at Conger Alley near A'Chruach, where a steep slope of mud and rubble drops from the surface to over 30 metres, hosting an exceptional variety of cold-water muck diving species. The site is famous for guaranteed encounters with conger eels in the rubble, alongside wolffish, sea scorpions, gobies, butterfish, common octopus, common starfish, brittle stars, sea pens, plumose anemones and sea urchins. Photographers come for the rich macro life, including nudibranchs, juvenile squat lobsters and crustaceans. Visibility is variable, often 3 to 8 metres, but the loch supports diving year-round and water temperatures range from 6 to 14 degrees Celsius. Currents are negligible. The shore entry is over rounded boulders and shallow pebbles. Loch Long is a major Scottish dive training and progression destination.