1. Lundy Island, Devon
Whereas the Red Sea sites are all about variety and colour, at Lundy there is only one species. Friendly, awesome, graceful, magnificent Seals.
2. Lamorna Cove, Cornwall
Turning right out of the harbour, and following a wall of kelp, we saw more fish than on any other UK dive, including Pollack and Mackerel.
3. Kynance Cove, Cornwall
Incredibly beautiful cove. Judge the tides carefully, and circumnavigate Asparagus Island. Along with Sand Eels and fish, we met Spider Crabs and an inquisitive Seal.
4. Pagham, West Sussex
A boat dive a mile out to sea, at the sunken Mulberry. Lots of duck dives, a pretty cool crab, and tea and butties at the yacht club. Snorkelling inside the Mulberry was pretty special
5. St. Bride's Haven, Pembrokeshire, Wales
A sheltered cove in an idyllic spot. Lots of kelp forest, interesting rocks, more than a few crabs, shoals of jellyfish, and some fish
6. Mullion Cove, Cornwall
Turning right out of the harbour, a long stretch of interesting rocks, vegetation and sealife.
7. Prussia Cove, Cornwall
One of Cornwall's prettiest coves. Even on a cool day, with choppy seas (as it was when we were there), a very good dive in clear visibility. On a warm, calm day, it must be
something really special
8. Martin's Haven, Pembrokeshire, Wales
Very close to, and very similar to, St. Bride's. Another beautiful spot, with a sheltered bay, and plenty to see
9. Newquay, Cornwall
Better known for surfing rather than snorkelling - yet exploring the coves and caves between the harbour and Fistral beach by kayak was one of the
best organised trips we have done. Plenty of mussels, sand eels, and sea grass, in good viz
10. Lough Owel, County Westmeath, Ireland
Lovely setting, with good access and very good visibility. Interesting rocky bottom to the lake and - after some searching - freshwater Crayfish
11. Church Cove, Cornwall
Popular sandy beach, but with decent snorkelling along the rocks south of the beach.
12. Wraysbury Dive Centre
Interesting. Quite a few Carp - including a few large fat chaps - a big Pike, and a Bus. You don't see that every day. Actually, you probably do - just not underwater
13. Skokholm Island, Pembrokeshire, Wales
Poor-ish visibility. A couple of seal encounters, but nowhere near Lundy-esque proportions
14. Divers Cove, Godstone, Surrey
Lovely, and tranquil, spot. There's an eerie feel underwater amidst the dead trees, but we also saw some big Carp, and a Moorhen swimming
for it's lunch in front of us, which was pretty cool. Visibility is not great, but wins extra points for being only 10 minutes from home!
15. Man o' War Cove, Dorset
Beautiful location. Interesting seaweed (yes, really), but quite a hike back up the hill afterwards.
16. Barcombe, East Sussex
Something completely different. Hire a boat from the Anchor Inn, paddle downstream a bit, and snorkel for a while. It is wild
swimming really, in a truly beautiful area. You may not see anything underwater (viz is rubbish) but lovely scenery along the
riverbanks. And of course there is a pub at the end, which always helps
17. Porthcurno, Cornwall
Yet another pretty Cornish Cove. A sandy beach ideal for a day out with the kids. Snorkel-wise, though, there is not a lot to see.
18. Selsey, Sussex
Potentially a very good site. Easy access from the beach, to under the pier and Lifeboat Station. Apparently
there is plenty of sealife including Pollack, Crabs and Wrasse to be found. However the day we went, visibility was very poor.
All we saw were lots of barnacles, a few mussels, and nothing that actually moved
19. Skomer Island, Pembrokeshire, Wales
Poor visibility, and a quite scary current that took us some way from where we wanted to be. A huge spider crab
redeemed it a little
20. Ilfracome, Devon
Another potentially very good site. Easy access from the beach, plenty of rocks around, and enough fishermen to suggest there's quite a bit of
sealife. However the day we went, the day after a storm, visibility was very poor. We may just been unlucky on this one
21. Lough Ree, Ireland
Large shallow lough. Sadly the water is very brown and visibility not good. A little like snorkelling in French Onion Soup. If there
were fewer particles it might be consomme
22. Studland Bay, Dorset
Home to a colony of seahorses, but sadly on the day we went, visibility was so poor it was hard enough to spot your dive buddy
two feet away, let alone well-camouflaged creatures hiding in the sea grass
Unclassified: Raen Rhydd Bog, Llanwrtyd Wells, Powys
A foul, dirty, disgusting trench cut into a welsh bog. So from a strictly snorkelling point of view, terrible. However, as the home of the
World Bog Snorkelling Championships, great fun
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