UKDIVING TWOSOPHIES
PHOTO: DAN BOLT
Bobtail squid, an A-list night critter
Skelton shrimp
At night, under white light, the reds and oranges of dead man’ s fingers, anemones and jewel anemones absolutely pop.
The real magic is bioluminescence. Switch your torch off for a moment( once you’ re confident and settled) and wave a hand through the water- in the right conditions you’ ll see the plankton spark and glow. It’ s one of those experiences that makes people love UK diving even more.
Where to go
The Crack, near Oban- a lovely Scottish west-coast site and a real reward at night. The topography is dramatic, and the wall and gully life comes alive after dark. Being sea diving, it demands more of your planning: tidal windows, boat or shore logistics, and a proper surface plan. But for atmosphere it’ s hard to beat, and the marine life on the Argyll coast is superb.
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Loch Long – a classic sheltered sea loch shore dive and, in my view, one of the best places in the UK to try night diving for the first time around the shallow pier in Arrochar. Easy shore entry, protected water, and a gently shelving profile mean you can build confidence without a boat or a demanding tidal plan. The muddy and rocky bottom is full of the sort of critter life – nudibranchs, crabs, the occasional octopus – that really rewards a slow, torchlit bimble. Swanage Pier, Dorset- probably the finest easy night dive in England. The pier pilings are encrusted with life and act as a natural aggregation point, so it’ s rich and you never stray far from a fixed reference. Expect tompot blennies sitting boldly in their holes, spider crabs, big shoals of fish, and pipefish among the weed. Shallow throughout, sheltered, and easy shore
Tompot blenny at Swanage
access- it’ s where a lot of divers do their very first night dive. Babbacombe and Torbay, Devon- sheltered south Devon coves that come into their own after dark. Cuttlefish are the star here, and they’ re mesmerising under torchlight- colour-shifting and unbothered by divers. Add nudibranchs, John Dory hanging in the water, and the occasional small-spotted catshark on the sandy patches. Gentle shelving profiles make it easy to keep it shallow. Porthkerris, Cornwall- a superb shore dive with a rich reef running out from the entry, and one of the more reliable Cornish sites for a settled evening dive. Crawfish and lobster out hunting, conger eels, and a real chance of colourful nudibranch life. You can get everything you want from the dive, well within recreational shallow depths. St Abbs and Eyemouth, Scottish Borders- a marine reserve on the east coast with wonderfully rich rock and gully life. At night the wolf-fish and large edible crabs are more active, and the anemone-covered rock comes alive under white light. It’ s more exposed than a sheltered cove, so it demands a settled night and honest conditions assessment, but the density of life is exceptional. Kimmeridge Bay, Dorset- a shallow ledged bay that’ s ideal for night diving precisely because it’ s so shallow. Very easy to stay in a few metres of water while still finding octopus, crabs, blennies and the ledges full of critter life. A gentle, forgiving introduction.