Scuba diving locations in United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland:

• In Northern Ireland, the sites range from the shelter of Strangford Lough with its wealth of marine life in an unspoilt environment, to Rathlin Island, famous for it's wall dives, to the more challenging, wreck-strewn Irish Sea.
• Scotland has wrecks of the German World War High Seas Fleet, scuttled at Scapa Flow in the Orkney Islands, and a large amount of wrecks in the islands around the Sound of Mull, Oban.
• In Wales, Pembrokeshire, Ceredigion and New Quay in Cardigan Bay have colonies of bottle nosed dolphins, and Pembrokeshire has its own Marine Nature Reserve at Skomer Island.
  
• North-East England has diing at the Farne Islands, in clear water with depths of around 20m, with numerous wrecks and curious Grey seal.
• Isle of Man is off the coast of North West England and has exceptional diving.
• In South West England, Cornwall is renowned for its wrecks, dive sites and prolific marine life at a variety of depths, especially off the Scilly Isles and at the Manacles.
• Not too far, Dorset's Lyme Bay, The Bay of a Thousand Wrecks, has numerous wrecks including submarines, fighting ships, cargo ships and passenger ships.

When to scuba dive in United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland:

• There are numerous sheltered bays where the diving is relatively unaffected by the currents and winds that would otherwise limit the season, but in general the best diving season is March to October, but with summer waters around 15°C dropping down to 4°C in winter, a dry or semi-dry suit is recommended at all times.
• In Wales, Newquay in Cardigan Bay hosts bottle nosed dolphins in summer.
• In early summer, basking sharks are attracted to the waters of Lundy Island by the plankton bloom.

Local standards for gear:

The best scuba diving spots in United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland:

• In Northern Ireland, United Kingdom, Strangford Lough holds the wreck of the MY Alastor and the Lochgarry Ferry at Rathlin Island, a passenger shipwhich went astray and hit rocks off Torr Point, finally anchoring and being abandoned half a mile east of Rathlin Island before sinking. The wreck is well preserved and sits upright in 32 metres.
• In Scotland, the Wallachia, the wreck of an 1883 British steamer, sits upright and intact at a depth of 34 metres. The cargo on board includes chloride (on deck in stone jars), glassware, coal, spirits, beer and building materials.
• Off Skomer Island, Wales, The Lucy Wreck was a a Dutch coaster which sank in 1967. Now its deck is at 32 metres, dropping down to 40 metres.
• The wreck of the Missouri, lying at a depth of 14 metres in Trearddur Bay, was a large iron screw steamer with four auxilliary masts.
• In North-East England lies the SS Somali Wreck, which sank in 1941 after taking a direct hit from a German Heinkel bomber. It is possible to rummage around in the wreck for artefacts.
• The 14,000 tonne battleship, HMS Montague, ran aground off Lundy Island](location://971) in 1906 and now rests at 7 to 12m.
• Off Cornwall, the HMS Scylla is a decommissioned frigate of the Royal Navy, with gun mounts, depth charge racks and missile launchers still in place. There are lots of swim-throughs which were cut into the ship before she sunk and others which were created by charges.
• The James Egan Layne Wreck was one of the Liberty ships built by the USA during te Second World War but was sunk by a torpedo from the U-1195 on her maiden voyage.

The best spots to snorkel in United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland:

Fun scuba facts:

Country data:

Administrative details

• Currency: pound sterling (GBP)
• Population: is about 62,300,000 (2010)
• Time Zone: (GMT), Summer BST (GMT+1)
• Main languages spoken: English, Irish, Ulster Scots, Scottish Gaelic, Scots, Welsh, Cornish ## Diveable overseas territories: Isle of Man, Anguilla, Bermuda, British Indian Ocean Territory, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Montserrat, Saint Helena, Turks and Caicos Islands.

British diving federations:

SUB-AQUA ASSOCIATION (SAA) is a member of Confédération Mondiale des Activités Subaquatiques (CMAS).

Local diving laws and regulations (and PADI-equivalent certifications):