Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
small fishing village of St Abbs, a gorgeous, peaceful little community with a picture-per-
fect harbour nestled below the cliffs.
Sights & Activities
MUSEUM
St Abbs Visitor Centre
(
www.stabbsvisitorcentre.co.uk
;
10am-5pm Tue-Sun Apr-Nov)
This shiny new exhibi-
tion in St Abbs has interesting interactive displays on the oft-stormy history of this har-
bour village. Spoken reminiscenses from locals like a fisherman and lighthouse keeper are
the highlight.
St Abb's Head National Nature Reserve
(
www.nts.org.uk
)
North of St Abbs, this 78-hectare reserve is an ornithologist's wonder-
land, with large colonies of guillemots, kittiwakes, herring gulls, fulmars, razorbills and
some puffins. You get to the reserve by following the 2-mile circular trail that begins be-
side the Northfield Farm car park (£2) on the road just west of St Abbs. The clifftop walks
here are spectacular, especially on sunny days. There's a good little
nature exhibition
(
11am-4pm Apr-Oct)
in the Old Smiddy complex alongside.
NATURE RESERVE
BEACH, SURFING
Coldingham Bay
In Coldingham, a signposted turn-off to the east leads just under a mile down to away-
from-it-all Coldingham Bay, which has a sandy beach and a clifftop walking trail to Eye-
mouth (3 miles). At
St Vedas Surf Shop
(
018907-71679;
www.stvedas.co.uk
)
you can
hire surfboards and snorkelling gear; there's a hotel here that serves cheap food. Surfing
lessons are also available.
Diving
The clear, clean waters around St Abbs form part of the
St Abbs & Eyemouth Voluntary
Marine Reserve
(
018907-71443;
www.marine-reserve.co.uk
)
, one of the best cold-wa-
ter diving sites in Europe. The reserve is home to a variety of marine life, including grey
seals, porpoises, and wolf-fish. Visibility is about 7m to 8m but has been recorded at 24m.
Beds of brown kelp form a hypnotically undulating forest on the seabed.
Four dive boats operate out of St Abbs, run by
Paul Crowe
(
018907-71945,
07710-961050;
www.divestabbs.com
)
,
Paul O'Callaghan
(
077 80-980179,
018907-71525;
www.stabbsdiving.com
)
,
Graeme Crowe
(
07803-608050,
