I hope that it's a surprise to you that there are actually some pretty good dive sites in the centre of England. The Midlands is a pretty large area, but I wanted to highlight three of my favourite inland diving sites that you can check out in this area.
Stoney Cove - National Diving Centre
Like most inland dive sites Stoney Cove is a former quarry that was opened up at the beginning of the 19th Century, and now is a fantastic dive site, training centre and test ground for underwater tech and vehicles. The site is around 35 metres deep at the deepest point, and includes aircraft wrecks, fish, a bus and many more points of interest.
Dosthill Quarry - Oldest Inland Dive Site in the UK
Dosthill Quarry is a bit of a smaller and shallower site than Stoney Cove, at around 25 metres deep. There are also quite variable visibility levels due to a silty bottom which is easily disturbed. But for careful and well controlled divers, this can be a fantastic spot for a dive fix whilst you wait for warmer water adventures.
The Rez - Dark and Scary
The Rez is definitely a bit different, and instead of a nice open and light quarry or lake, this is an underwater reservoir. At less than three metres deep, you won't need to worry about decompression or running out of air quickly. On the other hand, with no natural light, you'll need to enjoy this dive site either with a torch, or in the pitch darkness.
Diving in the UK is certainly not for the faint-hearted, and most of the dive sites there will require a drysuit or maybe a 7mm wetsuit in summer at least. There are also very few tiger sharks or schools of colourful fish (none really) but if you need to fit in a dive whilst you are in the UK and can't find the sea, these sites will see you through.
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Joe Thorpe
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