We’re quite lucky to be relatively close to the Welsh coast and the splendid diving it offers. Here, Mark Hammond tells us about one of his favourite dives.
One of my favourite dive sites has to be
Trefor Pier on the North Wales coast near Caernarton. Gary first introduced it to me and I was keen to try it out, so in the wee hours one Saturday morning I set off for a tiny village I’d never heard of.
After several phone calls, I finally managed to find the elusive Pier. Gary and I waited for the tide to come in – for those who have not yet dived Trefor, it’s best dived on a high rising tide, otherwise it’s a long walk through the mud!
But don’t let that deter you. During the season this makes a fantastic dive site with good visibility. You can easily can spend 60-90 minutes bimbling around as there’s so much marine life to see – you could spot spider crabs, wrasse, skate, lobster, the list goes on.
Now, for those who like to get 23-30 meters under their belt – forget it. On a good day you’ll get about 8 meters, but it’s still well worth the trip – there’s also a beautiful unspoilt beach with fantastic walks along the cliff top.
Fishermen do fish from the end of the pier and on my second dive there, I managed to get myself tangled up in a line. I had a knife, but unfortunately it was in my BCD pocket where I couldn’t reach it, so Gary had to come to the rescue!
Three lessons were learned on that dive: 1) keep your dive knife where you can easily reach it, 2) stay close to your buddy and 3) wear a dry suit! As much as I enjoyed diving in a semi-dry, to spend any length of time in UK waters a dry suit was a must for me.
Last year, I dived Trefor five or six times with different people, novices and experienced divers alike who had not dived there before and were amazed at what they’d been missing – everyone commented what a relaxing and pleasurable dive Trefor Pier was.
For myself, each dive was as good as the next for different reasons – it’s one of those places where you’re always going to see something different, and I’m already looking forward to my next trip!
By Mark Hammond
