Dive Sites in Orkney
The F2 is a WWI-era concrete blockship in Burra Sound, one of the most accessible and colourful dives in Scapa Flow at just 10 m depth. The entire hull is festooned with jewel anemones, starfish, and edible crabs, making it a perfect shallow dive for beginners and a macro photographer's paradise.
The SMS Brummer is widely regarded as Scapa Flow's most photogenic wreck — a WWI German minelaying cruiser sitting upright and remarkably intact at 36 m. Its guns, torpedo tubes, and encrusted superstructure provide an extraordinary window into naval history, with excellent visibility common at this site.
The SMS Cöln is a German WWI light cruiser lying in pieces at 36–38 m in Scapa Flow, having been more heavily salvaged than her sister ships but still offering a fascinating dive across scattered machinery, armour plating, and superstructure. The scattered debris field is rich with marine life including wolf fish and large edible crabs.
The SMS Dresden is a German WWI light cruiser resting at 36 m in Scapa Flow, famous for two intact large deck guns still in position and excellent penetration opportunities. The wreck sits upright with good visibility and is covered in colourful plumose anemones, dead man's fingers, and a wealth of fish life.
The SMS König is another magnificent WWI German battleship lying upside-down in Scapa Flow, with its keel at around 15 m and its main deck at 42 m. The scale of this vessel is awe-inspiring, and divers can explore propellers, gun turrets, and hull plates teeming with plumose anemones and wrasse.
The SMS Markgraf is one of the crown jewels of Scapa Flow diving — a German WWI König-class battleship scuttled in 1919, resting upside-down at up to 45 m. Its massive hull, gun turrets, and propellers are now encrusted with soft corals and anemones, making it one of the most impressive wreck dives in the world.
Dive Schools in Orkney
Orkney Diving runs daily liveaboard and day-boat charters to all the major Scapa Flow wrecks, with BSAC-qualified divemasters who know every rivet of the sunken German fleet. They offer technical diving support including trimix fills for the deepest wrecks, as well as beginner-friendly shallow blockship dives.
Scapa Flow Dive Centre is Orkney's leading PADI dive centre, specialising in guided dives to the famous WWI German fleet wrecks including the SMS Markgraf, Brummer, and Dresden. With years of experience navigating Scapa Flow's tidal conditions, they offer tailor-made wreck dive packages for all levels from Open Water to Tec divers.