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Diving
UK
Well personally, I don't want to go diving in the UK, I'm
strictly a warm weather diver. Living in the UK is fine in summer but come
October I would rather be somewhere well away from the UK for my diving.
However if you searched for 'DIVING UK' or 'DIVING
in the UK' then I have to assume you do actually intend to go diving UK
style so here are some basic facts for those of you that aren't UK based
and want to know about diving here.
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What is the water temperature like
in the UK? 5°C (41°F) in winter to 18°C (64°F) in summer
(southern England), 4°C (39°F) in winter to 13°C (55°F) in summer (Scotland)
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What do I wear for diving in the
UK? Wear a dry-suit for most of the year if diving UK, but a
semi-dry is OK from June to October if you are a hardy diver.
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How good is the Visibility for
Diving in UK? Varies enormously but roughly 1 to 25 metres (3 -
80 feet). I guess that doesn't help much. UK Diving can be very
poor visibility due to greenery in summer in sheltered waters.
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What type of Diving can I expect in
the UK? Wrecks, caves, reefs, walls, piers, caverns, kelp
forests
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How about UK Marine life? Basking
sharks, seals, cuttlefish, octopus, conger eels, lobsters, crabs, seahorses,
bib, pollack, bass, wrasse, blennies, gobies and much more.
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When is best to go diving in the
UK? Some divers in the UK dive throughout the year, as there are many
inland diving sites. Diving in the sea is possible from April through to
October and indeed all year round with caution. It has to be said
though, that July and August are best when temperatures are warmer and the
sea is calmer.
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How to get there for UK diving?
Fly to one of the UK's many airports, London, Manchester, Birmingham are the
biggest and then make a journey by train, car, or bus to the coast. We
have an effective transport network here in the UK. For accommodation it is
best to logon to the BSAC Diving UK
forum and ask advise which will be plentiful.
For most divers, even keen divers, diving in the UK is not an
option they will consider. I can tell from the number of searches to this
site for "Diving UK", Diving in UK" and "Diving in the UK", that a great many
divers look, but at best it is wishful thinking, quickly discounted.
Wreck diving is one of the most popular pastimes of the average British diver.
The bulk of a ship that has laid undisturbed on the seafloor for years or
decades holds a certain thrill be it in the UK or abroad. Here in the UK
divers are blessed with more ship wrecks than any other country in the
world. We are even starting to sink some specifically for divers - crazy or
what! The number of ships lost in our coastal waters is estimated at over
a quarter of a million. Most of these shipwrecks are the result of collisions,
storms and poor navigation and added to that are many tragedies from the
First and Second World Wars. may 7000-80000.
Some say that sea life is no less prolific on some UK wrecks
than if you were diving in some tropical oasis.
Under the water in the UK it is as beautiful and varied as it is on the surface
with extensive cave systems, deep wall dives, picturesque sandy bays, piers,
fast flowing drifts, rocky chimneys, fissures and gulleys and cold water reefs.
We have sharks, seals, otters, conger eels, seahorses, octopus, cuttlefish and
shoals of fish in a multitude of varieties.
However, if you have done your diver training in warm water and have never dived
in the UK or other colder climes then consider this:
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Journeys out to our dive sites can be horrendous even in
summer time, most UK divers have been seasick at some time on such journeys.
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The visibility can be really bad, the water is cold -
sometimes close to freezing.
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They say that seasickness stops instantly as soon as you
get in the water? Not for me it doesn't or anyone else I've met.
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Many sites in the UK have good visibility towards
the end of the summer and Cornwall and Scotland are blessed with good
visibility for most of the year. They also have some of the best of
our UK heritage and it can often seem like going back in time for those of
us that live in the big cities in the UK.
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OK if I haven't put you off, there are dive centres all
over the UK that will be able to supply you with air, training and diving
kit. Just join the forums and ask around. You get plenty of help
for Diving UK!
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