Take the plunge on a wild coastal adventure

Hovering over the deep blue abyss below, I am offered some final words of wisdom by my instructor: “If you do fall, just make sure you fall the right way.”

There are ten metres separating me and the ravages of the North Sea. My closest previous scrape with such adventure was ziplining on a school trip. I’ll do this once, and only once, for the sake of journalistic curiosity.

Welcome to coasteering, exploring the liminal zone between land and sea on the East Lothian coast near Eyemouth. Unlike its outdoor peers — abseiling, bouldering or surfing — participants of coasteering are not tied to anything. Beyond a wetsuit, boots and helmet, there are no strings or harnesses. It’s basically wet free-for-all horizontal rock climbing, interspersed with challenging bursts of swimming.

Most choose to coasteer in Cornwall or Devon in the summer, a fun splash along the coast with all the family. Ocean Vertical’s Scottish mission feels a little more daring.

I’m here in one of the coldest areas of the North Sea — in February. The provided thick wetsuit keeps me snug, though, and I avoid even the early stages of a shiver.

All I see in front of me are some rocks poking out of the water, in what I imagine would be prime shipwreck territory.

The goal is to work with, not against, the currents

JACOB ALLEN ADVENTURE

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For Stevie Boyle, Ocean Vertical’s founder and my guide for the day, it is his favourite geological maze, every crevice and dip inscribed into his memory. “It’s such an ethereal place,” Boyle says, eyes aflame. “Everything changes, depending on the tides. We’re constantly told as a kid that you mustn’t go near coastal waters, that they’re dangerous. And yes, of course it can be dangerous, but if you navigate it properly, respectfully, coasteering is such a playful, energising thing. You’re fully immersed in an incredible environment — it’s kind of the last great wilderness.”

The team has taken dozens of trips alone to judge the best routes to bring intrepid tourists, and where to jump with confidence that there is nothing to harm you below the surface.

The obsession seems as much an academic exploration as a safety precaution. Boyle strikes me as an earth science professor who goes hard on the practical side. I learn about the layers of Devonian sedimentary rocks here, and the volcanic formations from more than 300 million years ago, charting the time Scotland drifted northwards across the Equator.

Every few minutes I am pushed inelegantly by a recurring swell onto the reddish boulder, and use the opportunity to clamber up, avoiding the slippery seaweed and looking like a giant spider escaping from a bathtub.

Boyle helps me up, noting helpfully that there are no style points in coasteering. Within 20 minutes I start to get the hang of it. The goal is to work with, not against, the currents. They know what they’re doing.

The team has taken dozens of research trips to find the best routes for intrepid tourists

JACOB ALLEN ADVENTURE

Stevie Boyle, Ocean Vertical’s founder, has every crevice and dip inscribed into his memory

JACOB ALLEN ADVENTURE

Max Kendix: “I feel totally disconnected from the real world, with only the odd moment to break the spell”

JACOB ALLEN ADVENTURE

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The waves are harsh but fair. The buoyant wetsuit can keep you floating as the tide turns against you but within seconds it pushes you on, pointing out another stone to step onto and make the brief journey back to land.

For two gripping hours I scale, slip, swim and jump along the coast, literally and figuratively up to my eyeballs in an otherworldly miasma of North Sea sights, sounds and smells. I feel totally disconnected from the real world, with only the odd moment to break the spell. At one point a curious dog walker on the cliff above elicits a reluctant wave. At another I find a golf ball squeezed between two of the rocks, no doubt an escapee from the adjacent course.

But before arriving back in one piece to thick towels and a comforting hot drink at Ocean Vertical HQ (a converted Victorian-era stables), there is still that jump to overcome. What was it Boyle had said? If you do fall, just make sure you fall the right way.

I step onto the final rock before the cliff edge, clench my stomach, spread my arms and look firmly at the horizon as instructed. And then I’m jumping. The few seconds that pass take an age, but then the water envelops me and pushes me back up. Exhilarating. Only one thing for it — climb back up and jump again.
Max Kendix was a guest of Ocean Vertical (oceanvertical.com). Three-hour coasteering sessions cost £75, open to anyone aged 12 plus; meet in Dunbar