Lochaline, Scotland, United Kingdom

Lochaline Pier

Lochaline Pier is one of the most popular shore-dive sites on the west coast of Scotland and the launch point for many of the boat dives in the Sound of Mull. The pier itself drops onto a mixed seabed of mud, sand and pebbles in 6 to 22 metres of water, with rocky outcrops and the legs of the structure offering a shallow-to-deep training profile that is sheltered from prevailing weather. The site is famous for resident wolffish, conger eels, sea scorpions, butterfish, gobies, plumose anemones, dead man's fingers, sea pens, nudibranchs, common starfish, brittle stars, lobsters and edible crabs. Common octopus are seen regularly in summer. Visibility is reliable for the west coast, often 5 to 12 metres, and water temperatures range from 7 to 14 degrees Celsius. Currents inside the loch entrance are weak, and the easy entry, gentle slope and abundance of life make Lochaline a year-round Scottish training and macro photography hotspot. Charter boats also operate from the pier to the Hispania, Shuna and Rondo wrecks.