SHOREDIVING
Boom Bay Beach
A pier , removed
Underwater photographer Jason Gregory visits a little known but beautiful sea loch in the Scottish highlands
The British have a long and happy history of piers . Think of the classic Victorian iron piers of Brighton , or Clevedon , or Penarth or Cromer , or Blackpool ’ s North Pier – a long and impressive list , if you think about it . Take a stroll in your knotted hanky hat , roll your coins down the penny falls , enjoy the essential ice-cream and just take the air . Lovely .
But not all piers are intended for holiday fun in the sun . Some were and are more practical , functional , work-a-day . There are many of these ‘ industrial ’ piers , and almost all are off-limits to all but those engaged in whatever industries they are meant for .
And then there are piers that fall into an extra-special category – the piers that create their own dive sites . Piers that only we fortunate scuba folk have the opportunity to explore below the waterline ; to investigate the hidden communities that dwell below the wooden walk-boards just a few metres above , and surprisingly close to the shore .
Proper diving piers are a rarity . How many can you name ? How many have you dived ?
I suppose the best known has to be Swanage Pier in Dorset – perhaps rightfully . It boasts , after all , an ideal set of attributes – accessibility , safety and the promise of diverse marine life .
However , there is a lesser-known ‘ dive pier ’, with similar – possibly even superior – attributes , waiting to be explored . At the village of Mellon Charles on the shores of Loch Ewe in Achnasheen , Ross-shire , Scottish Highlands it stands as it has done for several decades , a northerly counterpart to its Dorset counterpart .
Loch Ewe is remote and beautiful , an ideal haven to moor a fleet . It was from this location that an anti-submarine boom
The site requires a surface swim
38