UK diving boasts wrecks, shores, reefs, seals and even sharks! There’s plenty to explore around the coast of England so we headed to Talland Bay in Cornwall to check out what the scuba diving was like there! Here’s what you need to know about diving at Talland Bay.
Talland Bay Scuba Diving
Talland Bay in Cornwall offers a great dive for beginners or those just wanting to dive from the shore. The inshore reefs are less than 10m deep and comprise of green, purple and grey coloured rocks and lots of seaweed and marinen life. It’s also a great place for snorkeling, especially with the tide in.
Theres also a wreck in Talland Bay; the Marguerite which lies in shallow water between the two main beaches. The wreck is a 220 ton steam trawler based in Boulogne that ran ashore in the bay in bad weather in 1922. The boiler can be seen at low tide lying in between the rocks and divers will find more wreckage stuck in gullies further out.
Two other wrecks in the bay, that of the Tregothic, which sank in 1786 and of the Austrian brig Ester which sank in 1885, are much harder to locate. Both are very broken up and very little can be seen.
Make sure you dive with a buddy and check the tides at Talland Bay when planning your dive.
Access to Talland Bay
To access Talland Bay you do need to drive down some small country lanes where a lot of stopping and starting happens when you meet other cars. Once you arrive at the central point of Talland Bay – the car park – you can park there all day for £5. There aren’t a huge amount of spaces but we didn’t have a problem on a summers day at the weekend.
There is a really nice cafe on site which serves hot drinks, sandwiches and cakes where you can pay in card or cash. They even have some snorkelling and beach equipment you can buy.
There are also public toilets for free, but they don’t offer any changing facilities.
Like most UK dive sites you will have to get changed in the car park and walk down to the shore from there. Read more about what you need for UK diving here.
Closest hyperbaric chamber: Derriford Plymouth Hospital (50 min drive away)
What you need to dive in Talland Bay
If you need to rent cylinder/gear contact Aquanauts in Plymouth who will be able to help you.
- 7mm wetsuit or dry suit (all year round)
- Hood and gloves
- Changing robe/changing mat
- somewhere to put your car keys
Take a look at our female equipment guide here for recommendations.