England

United Kingdom

A very useful dive site for everyone but especially new divers wanting to learn in a safe environment. Quite warm in the summer months.

Gildenburgh inland dive site near Peterborough, great for training and recreation dives.

Gildenburgh is also known as Gildy.

Gildenburgh

An old quarry, which is floded by a fresh water spring, giving the perfekt place to try out new kit.
Plenty of strange wrecks have been sunk there, including boats, airplanes, helicopters, buses, cars, etc...
There are also some fishes and crayfish in the cove.

A nice day out at an easily dived dive site.

Address: Stoney Cove, Sapcote Rd, Stoney Stanton, Leicester LE9, UK

Park the car, kit up and jump in... There are ladders for getting up.

Stoney Cove

Basic facilities,  24m of depth with 3m, 6m and 20m scaffold shelfs near jump in.  Objects include several vans, cruiser, hydroplane,  several barges, caravan, blockhouse, and a few cars.  Swimming back shallow (6m) on west side usually guarantees an encounter with large pike in clear visibility.  Viz can be poor on entry area but the south end and sides have good viz 6-10m generally.  Can be used for rescue training although the slipway is a series of scaffolded steps and not too easy to navigate (slippy).  Best dived on Thurs or Friday at about 5pm.

South of Tamworth city, near Birmingham

Dosthill Quarry is also known as Dozzi.

Dosthill Quarry

The dive site is open lake with a few cargo containers and a subway tube sunk for the deep section along with training platforms and the usual cars and boats as well, apparently a helicopter?

Dive site located close to the M25 and is quite easy to find from local roads good parking close to dive site

Wraysbury

Small section of a larger lake great for training and try dives. Silty bottom gets very stirred up when busy so vis is at times almost non existent. A couple of interesting surprises in the water.



Buckland Lake

Open all year 7 days a week from 10.00am. Lots to see - Puma Helicopter, 5 boats of various sizes, large swim through pipe, body from a reconnaissance vehicle and training platforms. The water is being filtered so visibility can be very good. However, the bottom composition is silt so visibility can be severely reduced by poor buoyancy control. Even then it is a good training experience. PADI courses available from Discover Scuba to Instructor. Good sociable feel all welcome regardless of experience or affiliation.

Access from Mires Lane, North Cave only. For sat nav enter Mires Lane, Everthorpe. This will take you to the top of the lane. Go straight to the bottom - do NOT turn right half way down.


Eight Acre Lake

Typical quarry with pretty poor vis. Dive site owner very amenable and helpful.

From the M62 dirt track off Mires Lane.

Eight Acres is also known as Eight Acres Quarry.

Eight Acres

A new dive site in easy reach of M20/M25. Vis is usually good for a UK lake. Small friendly team running site with free tea/coffee included in entry fee. a few attractions at the time of writing but I believe more are on the way.

Update June 2010 - underwater attractions include, 4 training platforms, large digger tyres for buoyancy practice, large boat with swim through suitable for wreck course, several smaller boats, statues, mopeds and more... They have male and female changing rooms and toilets on the lake edge. Entry to the lake is via a slipway or a floating jetty for deep water entry. Diving at this site is always enjoyable and the staff make you feel really welcome.

Access to the lake is just off the A228, behind the Jet petrol station (and wimpy). You need to travel through the construction site but the road is tarmac and there is parking on the waters edge. If you get lost phone the dive centre on 0750 762 4911 and they will direct you. During the week there is usually a security guard on the gate and you will need to sign in, if the gates are shut call the dive centre and they will open up for you.

Holborough Lake

Good site for practice and to look at the fishes there and also there a few objects to look at as well.

Dive site is accessed through the Leybourne Dive shop because is Key entry to the site it is then a little ledge to gain entry

Leybourne Inland dive site

A flooded quarry with a selection of training platforms. Attractions include a Howitzer Field Gun, Sabre Light Tank and a Hunter Plane.

Womersley, Nr Pontefract

Blue Lagoon is also known as Spring Lodge Lake.

Blue Lagoon

The Loanda was a 2702-ton, 253hp triple-expansion engines steamer, measuring 328ft x 39ft, built in 1891. The ship was travelling from Hamburg to West Africa, for the Elder Dempster Line, when she collided with the Russian steamer Junona.

The cargo was hundreds of cases of gin, rum, champagne and barrels of gunpowder. She was badly damaged on port side near engine room, an attempt was made to save her but she sank under tow on the 31 May, 1908.

Diving: Upright and 5m proud at a depth of 17-23m, the top is generally at 18m and if you drop into the holds you will be at 20m or so. Slack can be early so get to the site in plenty of time, must be dived on slack tide. Sweeping and collision damage have exposed the engines. The bell has been recovered. Bottles everywhere, mainly gin and champagne but contents undrinkable. Lots of clay pipes/perfume bottles and trading beads. Prop intact. Tales of thousands of newly minted shillings being carried by the Loanda are not borne out by the manifest.

Lots of Lobsters, Edible Crab and Conger's.

Information from Canterbury Divers website which is extremely informative for wrecks in and around the Dover area.



Gildenburgh

Snorkeling and Scuba Diving at Gildenburgh