The waters around Argyll and its islands are renowned in the UK for the rich and varied experiences they offer divers – wrecks, walls, sealife and scenic. This is borne out by the range of diving companies existing in the area to support the sport.

The area possibly offering the greatest variety is Oban and the Sound of Mull, running out to Ardnamurchan Point in the west. But there is good and challenging diving throughout the region, detailed in each of the area sections.

The area's underwater landscape is a museum of shipping history. The complex tidal flows around the islands, the prevailing southwest winds pushing shipping close to trouble on shoals and rocky shores are part of the story. So is Argyll’s position as a sort of maritime ‘Tricoteuse’, carrying on as normal while lurking hopefully beside the North Channel shipping route between the ports of Northern England and the Clyde and the Western Approaches.

Together these factors have harvested a vast collection of ships from the times of the Vikings, to the dispersed Spanish Armada, through the Jacobite rebellions and two world wars to the present day.