www.challengeddivers.com A simple resource for UK Shore Divers Where to go, what to see So you want to go somewhere, the odds are that someone has done it before, got the t-shirt, written a book or put it on a web site blog. Web sites are ok and the guys at Finstrokes have put together a great one for UK diving, but not so great for sitting on the beach or reading in the loo. Fortunately there are also a couple of great books available that have done all the hard work for you. This doesn’t mean that the local dive centre for air fills hasn’t shut down and become a minicab office, or the beach hasn’t drifted away into the ocean, but it’s as good a place to start as any. One which stands out particularly is Anita Sherwood’s Top 100 British Shore Dives. Absolutely packed full of useful information, and at under fifteen quids a real bargain, and guess what, you can buy one right now, here. Trefor pier is a lovely shallow shore dive, with a maximum depth of 8m at the end of the pier on high tides, but is usually round about 5m. The wooden pier is built at the end of a stone breakwater and is about 70m long. It has an absolute wealth of wildlife, particularly during the summer months and usually enjoys reasonable vis, but is worth a dive even when the vis is poor (usually because of south westerly winds) especially if you are prepared to look for small stuff. There are always edible crabs, plenty of purple swimming crabs, the occasional huge spider crab, shrimps, squat lobster, and plenty of fish life. The nesting ballan wrasse are very brave and will defend their nests by nibbling your fingers if you’re not too threatening and if you look closely in the weed towards the end of the pier, you can usually find two species of pipefish. Also occasionally seen are octopus but they are usually very well hidden at the base of the pier legs. There are also plenty of sea-scorpions, and the odd dogfish or two (quite often caught on old angling hooks, so go armed with a small pair of pliers!), tompot blennies and, along the breakwater, millions of small gobies. Because of the abundant wildlife, anglers flock here, so stay under the pier at all times and enjoy the schools of sand eels, the occasional Pollock and the flat fish from a distance! Trefor Pier is a photographers heaven when the vis is good, particularly if you enjoy some macro photography, the pier supports and the rocky floor under the pier are covered with dead men’s fingers, plumrose anemones, snake locks anemones, all manner of small crustaceans and shallow enough to be covered with dozens of different kelp varieties and the light that filters through, particularly on sunny days, is lovely. Information courtesy of the guys at www.finstrokes.com Trefor Pier North Wales | Tide Table Links | Reference Books | Weather Prediction Links |