Keith's trip report

Contrary to Jeremy's claim is does take only an hour and a half to get there.

Well, this is unless you're Bungle and Shandy who took 3 hours 10 minutes to do the same journey!

Even though we haven't got our membership cards yet they still let us in for the member's price after we said that they hadn't come through yet. This was good of them. The car park had some 20 or so cars in it when we arrived (8:40).

My first impression of the quarry was that it is only half full. From the car park you are still 50m or so above the water. No wonder they provide the taxi service up and down from the water.

While Jeremy was waiting for Bungle and Shandy to turn up Helen took Alex in and Ian and I went in. Ian and I went down to the deep and of the pontoon. There is a kitting-up table there which is very handy. From the pontoon is is an easy 30m swim to the 50m shotline.

We took it easy down the shot until we finally got to the bottom at 50m as promised. The viz here was a good 10 - 15m, the bottom being a steep boulder slope. We explored around 50ish m before following a road back up the slope towards the shallow area of the quarry. The viz stayed mostly good, although large silt trails showed where other divers had been.

Eventually we got back to the shallow section and followed the cliff face back beneath the pontoons in some 15 - 20m of water. The viz was not so good here, with obvious signs that other divers had already been here. There were large tyres along here but little else. After a bit we found a huge 1.5m diameter pipe at 14m, leading straight down. I was into stops and really shouldn't have descended again, but the temptation here was obviously too great :o)

The head went down and I plummetted head first down the pipe, wondering if it would be open at the bottom or whether I'd have to back out feet-first! The pipe finished at 21m and it was suspended a metre or so above the floor so getting out was easy. Ian followed me more or less straight away.

It was then back up to a shallower depth so I could swap to 80% to get rid of the pesky stops that had accummulated. We then surfaced at the other end of the pontoon to that where we had entered. The ladders here are not good - they are standard ones for yotties who've fallen off the pontoon and not really up to a fully kitted up diver, particularly one with twins and sidemount :o(

We then left our kit on the pontoon and Jeremy, Bungle and Shandy went in. Helen took her single back up to the compressor for filling.

It was now that the problem with this taxi-service up and down from the car park became obvious. We'd brought no water down with us, the sun had now come out and we started cooking down on the pontoons. It was too much faff to go back to the cars so we didn't bother. They really need to provide a fresh water tap down there.

Jeremy, Bungle and Shandy didn't seem to enjoy their dive as much as we had enjoyed ours. Shandy was particularly unimpressed: "it's a shithole" was his verdict.

After some more faff Helen and Alex went in again, and Ian and I also went in. Again, it was good viz at depth; but the shallower area was even more stirred up than previously.

This time we found the training platforms at the end of our dive, and we entertained ourselves by seeing whether we could squeeze ourselves beneath them.

Then it was back out and loading up kit onto the taxi to get back to the car park. Here we had a very pleasant snack, although Helen showed her inexperience in grown-up diving by eating a tomato rather than the required grease-burger. Sitting in the bright sunshine chatting after the diving was all very pleasant.

Verdict...
A handy place to go and get some depth. The best bit of the quarry was definitely the deep bit. I suspect it's a bit dull if you're limited to the shallow areas.
While the taxi-service up and down to the water works very well; it is a bit of extra faff. Given the layout there there's not really any alternative though.
The catering facilities are good :o)
I didn't get a gas fill there so can't comment on that.