Type of Dive:   Shore

Suggested experience: any

Distance from Plymouth: 80 miles 3 Hrs It’s really difficult to write directions for this as there are so many tiny roads It’s probably best if you just follow a map or use a sat nav    Post code  TR12 6QW    Google

Parking directions: Just park up on the beach but keep to the right hand side, as the locals use the left hand side for boats etc. At weekends it can busy with people training and despite the tiny steep road to get down to the bay there is a large shingle beach when you get there.

Lat & Long:    N50.055904, W-5.064802   Post code  TR12 6QP

Tides:    Tide tables

Depth: 15m

Site entry/exit:  You can dive to either side of the bay both have similar life but I tend to prefer the right hand side. Diving nearer to high tide will make your entry easier as there are some large rocks that become exposed at low tide.

Underwater directions:   Enter the water down the shingle beach and swim out to find the wall at the base of the quarry. As you swim over the rocks there are a lot of brightly coloured dahlia and snakelocks anemones. At the bottom of the quarry wall are some deep crevices which are home to tompots, common prawns and leopard spotted gobies while poor cod drift in and out of the larger cracks. As you work your way round the corner large sheets of metal lie discarded on the rocks. There is some kelp growing here but not a great deal so it’s easy to see the spiny and common sea stars making their way over the rocks. There is a slight slope down and you can go deeper but there is plenty to see around the rocks here and you need to be mindful of the strong tides from the manacles should you venture too far out.

The middle of the bay is mainly sandy and there is not a great deal to see but I am told there are quite a few flatties at night time.

Site Hazards:  There are boats that pull in to load up with stone from the quarry but you will hear them from some way off. They can only come in at high tide so they will often wait further out.

Nearest Public phone:   Old red phone box 100m from the beach on the road opposite the old lifeboat house.

Accommodation: Camping at Porthkerris where there is a shore dive (Drawna rocks) that is considered to be one of the best shore dives on the south coast so you could make a weekend of shore diving. They also do other B&B accommodation and there is a small dive shop there.  Porthkerris divers  1.6 miles from the divesite.

Mobile Network service:

Other comments:    Contact me

Pub:

Created By:   Jane Wilkinson

Cafe:   Porthkerris divers

Air & Nitrox fills:    Porthkerris divers

Date:  Dec 2011

Revision:

Thanks To:

Links:     Contact me

Surface Photos:    

Underwater Photos:

Live google map: