North Norfolk Shore Dives:

 

Weybourne (The Rosalie shipwreck): The Rosalie was torpedoed in 1915 and now sits just off the beach in a depth of approx. 8 metres.  She is a lovely dive and covered in life such as crabs, anemones, sponges and fish.  It is easiest to do the dive at Low Tide slack water as part of the wreckage sticks out of the water around low tide  so you can see it to swim to.  How  to do the dive:  Park in Weybourne beach car park (NR25 7AH) and walk west (left) along the beach for about 600 metres until you are a short way along the low cliffs.   Then walk diagonally towards the waters edge and surface swim diagonally out to the wreckage.   On Low Tide slack the tide will still be running east to west a bit so walk in east of the wreck.

 

Cley (The Vera shipwreck): Torpedoed in 1914 she now sits just off the beach in approx. 6 metres of water.  Another lovely dive which is easiest to find at Low Tide slack, as follows:  Park in Cley beach car park (almost opposite the Cley Marshes visitor centre, NR25 7SA) and walk east (right) along the beach for 400 metres until you are level, or to the right of the wreckage that sticks out of the water around low tide. Swim out to it and drop down.  The LT runs east to west so enter a bit right of the wreck.

 

Sheringham gullies: Part of the famous chalk reef the gullies are shallow ridges in the sea bed that are home to lots of marine life including crabs, lobsters, scorpionfish etc.  Park on the Esplanade and head straight down to the beach. Surface swim out for a while then drop down and swim out north, then turn around and swim back in.

​

Other chalk reefs:  You can also dive other locations such as East Runton or the chalk reef off Weybourne.  Follow the same procedures as for Sheringham, ie surface swim for 5 or 10 minutes and then drop down, swim north then turn around and head back south back to the beach.

 

These dives are not guided, but we can put you in touch with others wanting to do them. Contact us and join our 'Buddy List' so you can contact people directly.  Please note that these dives involve a long walk in full dive kit to access the water and then a 10 minute surface swim to the wrecks.  If you find diving physically challenging these are not the dives for you.     

 

The tides off the Norfolk coast are very strong and these dives must be carried out at slack water (when the water has least movement).  Also as they are accessed by a steeply shelving beach you need calm seas in order to get a safe entry and exit.   You can calculate slack water as the centre of slack water is approx.  2 hours after low tide at Cromer or 2 and a half hours after high tide.  Slack water lasts for about 1 hour so you can therefore enter the water approx. one and a half hours after low tide or 2 hours after high tide.   View Cromer tide times on these website   Cromer Tide Times    

 

The gullies can be dived at low or high tide but the wrecks are most easily done at low tide slack when the tips of the wrecks stick out of the water.  There is some great information on the two wrecks and how best to dive them on the Seasearch East website, see Rosalie and Vera dives.

They have also posted a great one-take video of The Rosalie dive which is great to watch to get your bearings.  Also see their great report on the North Norfolk Chalk Reef.   and their information about the chalk reef dives.    Also see Bernards great video of the Rosalie Dive September 2016   

 

You can check wave and surf conditions via the  Surfline website.   And Surf Report   And see the Sheringham webcam for on the day  views.

 

As with many UK diving locations, all dives on the North Norfolk coast are very weather dependent - please check the weather or call the day before to be sure that they are going ahead.  Please always use a delayed SMB when surfacing so you are visible to boat traffic that may be in the area and do not tamper with any lobster and crab pots in place.  Please respect the marine life and  leave the free-moving crabs or lobsters alone..

​

Please also respect any fishermen on the beach  and stay well away from their lines in the water.

​

Remember to call your dive in with the local Coastguard and let them know when you are you out again.   Humber Coastguard are on 01262 672317 and will record that you are in and where you are diving and can also give advice on the weather and tides.

​

And take someone to do surface cover to watch for you and be familiar with the Emergency plans.   In case of emergency call 999 and ask for the Coastguard.

​

Do also read see the RNLI website for some great information about their Diver Sea Survival course which has been designed by the RNLI in conjunction with all training agencies plus the HSE, MOD and the Coastguard to enable divers to be better prepared and skilled for diving in UK waters.  

 

North Norfolk Shore Dive dates.  The Word document below has some slack water times that could be suitable for diving.  Please contact us if you need help arranging a buddy to go out on any of these.  Other dates and times can be easily calculated and planned by calculating Slack Water times as described above.

​

​

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Norfolk Coast Boat Dives

​

 Our local BSAC club, EAB11, run boat dives off the Norfolk coast for BSAC members.  See their website for contact details.

​