Diving Deeper

For those who have never dived, it is difficult to imagine the attraction of diving in British waters, generally considered to be cold, murky and lifeless, but by now you should appreciate that this is far from the truth.

In fact there is an overwhelming number and variety of life forms to be found in our coastal waters. It would take a whole new website to describe all the underwater habitats, even in a small area. If you do dive, there are some excellent books available, and the marine centre wardens would be happy to offer suggestions in return for a report of your sightings.

Worbarrow Tout Underwater Trail

One popular dive site is the old underwater nature trail off Worbarrow Tout. Although often damaged by storms, parts of it remain intact and it ends at the wreck of a barge where shoals of fish shelter from the current. In late summer this is a likely place to find large shoals of grey triggerfish, a relative newcomer to British waters.

Diving Brittlestar Beds

A very 'different' dive can be had on the Brittlestar Beds straight out from Kimmeridge Bay. Here vast areas of seabed are completely carpeted in a writhing mass of brittlestars, almost to the exclusion of everything else. To avoid being swept away by the current, each brittlestar links arms with its neighbours, holding one or two arms up to the current to catch drifting plankton.

Diving the Deeper Reefs

Deeper reefs, like those running across the entrance to Worbarrow Bay, are home to a host of colourful creatures, including the legally protected pink seafan. This member of the coral family is a slow-growing colony of tiny anemone-like polyps arranged along an intricate network of branches. Growing at an average of only 1cm per year, seafans can reach a ripe old age of over 50 years if left undisturbed but can be easily knocked over and killed by fishing equipment.

Perhaps our most colourful British fish, the cuckoo wrasse, can also be found here. The neon blue and orange coloured male patrols his home territory and keeps his harem of plainer coloured females in check. When he dies, the dominant female will change sex and take over his position.

What You Will See

What you see depends on where you go - factors such as the depth of the water, the type of seabed and the strength of the water currents all affect what life will be found. Rocky reefs make for interesting diving. Generally speaking, the type of life you find changes as the depth increases. In the shallowest water the reefs and boulder tops are covered in kelp, often forming a dense 'forest'.

Small red seaweeds grow on the shaded rock beneath the kelp forest - in deeper, and therefore darker, water, where there is insufficient light for kelp to grow, only these small red seaweeds will be found. Deeper still, and in shaded areas in shallower water, all life covering the rock is animal life, a rich carpet of sponges, hydroids, bryozoans, anemones and corals.