Tips for… Quarry Diving
Quarry diving…. The UK has some of the best inland diving sites (including Vivian Quarry – the only one listed as a UNESCO site!). There are many, many quarries to dive in the UK and whilst quarry diving may not seem appealing to some of you reading this, have you given it a go?
Granted the appeal of jumping into a dark hole doesn’t sound great, but we can assure you that it is not like that, and there are many reasons to explore quarries.
Firstly, the history. The quarries weren’t just dug out for the diving community to head to during the winter months when the sea is off the table. They were once working areas and in most cases still have a lot of history flooded and encapsulated in time. Take Vivian for example: an old slate mine with the houses still standing under the water, the mine carts still in position as they were when the era stopped, and these treasures can only be visited by us divers… pretty cool, no? Being on the surface means not being able to see down into the lost history, but once under the water you can even touch it and be right there in the moment with it.
Training – quarries are a perfect place to train. The lack of external conditions such as currents and unpredictability can make training in quarries perfect for some courses… probably will have to give boat diving and drift a miss at these sites! But there is a time and a place for their use, in some cases even making the training schedule a little easier, not having to travel all the way to the coastline to find that the shore site is blown out when that student wants to finish their course ready for their holiday.
To practise your own skills and have fun, quarries can be great to meet up with dive buddies, and there are many quarries to visit within the UK alone. All with their own underwater features, some even with airplanes and tanks dropped in for your entertainment… with another plus side of usually having a cafe on site to jump straight out for a hot chocolate and cake on exit!
So, if you are yet to take to the UK quarry waters, why not add it on your list to give it a go. A completely new experience for you warm water divers reading this… but that’s what diving is about, right? Trying and exploring new places!
Find out more at www.duttonsdivers.com
