Our recent trip to the Farne Islands was nothing short of memorable! A group of enthusiastic divers from our club descended upon the charming town of Seahouses on Thursday, August 29th, eager to explore the underwater wonders of Northumbria’s famous dive destination.
The Farne Islands, renowned for its rich marine life and particularly its large seal population, did not disappoint—well, at least not entirely. While we all had high hopes of encountering these playful seadogs, it seems the seals had other plans. Despite our best efforts, only a few have been lucky enough to spot them underwater.
Seals or no seals, the diving was nothing short of spectacular. We kicked off our underwater adventure on Friday with a visit to Blue Cap at a depth of 20 metres, followed by a dive at Big Harcar at 15 metres. Both sites offered stunning visibility and an incredible variety of marine life. The reefs were teeming with the eerie beauty of dead man’s finger corals and swaying kelp forests. Lobsters were in abundance, many of them cunningly hiding near fisherman’s pots, and we also spotted plenty of crabs and colorful wrasse darting around the rocky crevices.
Big Harcar also holds a fascinating place in history as the site of the wrecking of the Forfarshire, a tragedy that gave rise to the legendary story of Grace Darling, although no remains of the wreck are visible today. You can read more about the Forfarshire and its story here.
Saturday brought us to Long Stone Head, a dive site at 13 metres, where the underwater landscape was just as mesmerising. In the afternoon, we explored Hopper Reef, another vibrant spot that offered a mix of rocky terrain and lush kelp, making it a perfect playground for the local marine life.
Our final day of diving on Sunday took us to North Wamsess at 17 metres, where we hoped to continue our streak of fantastic dives. However, as is often the case with British weather, it couldn’t all be smooth sailing. After a morning of exploring this site’s unique underwater features, the wind and waves picked up dramatically, forcing us to cancel the afternoon dive. It was a bit of a dampener to an otherwise stellar trip, but safety comes first, and we still have plenty of stories to tell from our earlier dives.
Our dive boat for the trip was the reliable Mara Mhor, a catamaran from Sovereign Diving charter service. The skipper, Ron, was fantastic, and the boat was the perfect base for our underwater adventures. Most of us managed to get in five dives over the course of the weekend, which was more than enough to satisfy our craving for the sea.
A huge thank you goes to Teresa from the club, who brilliantly organised the entire trip and arranged the boat charter. Without her meticulous planning and effort, we wouldn’t have had such a seamless and enjoyable experience.
All in all, our Farne Islands trip was a fantastic experience. Whether it was seal encounter for a few, the vibrant marine life, or simply the camaraderie shared on the Mara Mhor, we all came away with memories to cherish. We’ll be back to try our luck with the seals again—next time, maybe they won’t be so camera-shy!
