Capernwray
by Paul Monro

Why go to Capernwray Inland Dive site? As someone whose personal preference is salt water diving, I guess the answer has to be "Because it's there!"

I'd heard about it, read about, but never been there. The main reason being the 400 mile round trip, after all, there is a lot of coast in a 200 radius of Milton Keynes to choose from.

When a group of friends who when sober call themselves "Sunk and Disorderly" booked a 4 day trip to Capernwray staying at a close by campsite I felt it was not an opportunity I wanted to miss.

So while this is not a normal club trip report, I put this together in case there was anyone who was thinking about going to Capernwray that might like someone else's opinion before they made their mind up whether to go or not..

So, what and where is Capernwray?

Capernwray is a flooded rock quarry with depths up to 22M about a mile from the Carnforth junction on the M6, in my case 201 miles from my front door.

If I described the site as the "Stoney Cove" of the North, then I am sure I would get deafened by the shouts of angry regulars from both camps. Yes, it is an inland quarry that has been flooded and various items placed in it for the benefit of divers, and so is Stoney Cove. After that the link becomes more detached.

There is a one off registration fee of £7.50 payable on the first visit and a daily diving charge of ££10.00. The registration document includes a voucher for 1 free visit valid on any subsequent visit.

Arriving midweek we found the car park stayed fairly empty all through the day, but I understand it does get busy weekends.

Before looking at the underwater attractions, the centre itself must be commented upon. A very modern looking building with the first impression on entering the shop was as to how light and airy it seemed. Certainly enough stock to get anyone out of trouble having broken something and any new diver undertaking their Open Water/Ocean Diver course would be able to fully kit themselves out and then beyond that. The staff that I had dealings with were without exception very friendly.

A flight of steps led down to a clean café bar area with access to a veranda overlooking the lake.

While I couldn't comment on the Ladies loo's & shower (Honest!) the Gents was clean with FREE showers that actually worked. Seriously though, I understand that the Ladies were also to the same high standard. Guildenberg - take a lesson!

And then we got wet!

Rather than try to describe the under water topography, take a look Here and click on the link "Dive Site" from the home page.

Our entry was a giant stride from a short pontoon, but there is the option to shuffle in on either side via a slipway. Immediately we were mobbed by a large shoal of trout. I'm not sure exactly how many different types there are there but I recognised both common and rainbow. With no predators and the dive shop selling fish food these have grown to become very large. My mind wandered to This Site but then I thought "Bad diver" and carried on admiring them for their beauty.

Rather than describe each dive in detail and bore the pants off of everyone I would refer you to the descriptions and pictures on Capernwray's own site mentioned previously.

To try to summarise Capernwray I would say that if I lived halfway between Stoney Cove and Capernwray I doubt if I would visit Stoney again. Yes, Stoney does have more and larger items to visit underwater and greater depths, but if you stop and think about how much of the total time spent at an inland site is actually spent underwater you have to consider the topside facilities, and on this front, Capernwray wins hands down.

While there, I saw a diver surface on the far side in distress. The rescue boat, with a crew of two, was on its way in a blink and before they had returned to the pontoon two more staff had set up both an O2 kit and a first aid kit and were waiting ready for the boat. Fortunately, I understand that the diver in question was in difficulties due to cramp and nothing more serious. However it did me a practical opportunity to see their rescue team in action and fill me with confidence in their emergency plans.

I guess the acid test is would I visit Capernwray again? Well, probably not. Not because there is anything wrong with the site, but simply because as I mentioned earlier, it's a long way to go to dive a lake. There are a lot more (salty) sites around the country that I haven't visited yet that I want to dive.

Would I recommend Capernwray to anybody - certainly. It is an interesting site in a great location that has to be worth at least one visit. Trying to be objective, I would say that I noticed two downsides. The first being that we were there at a quiet time and yet the air fills were done too quickly with the tanks being returned hot and therefore an obvious underfill as soon as they hit cold water. I did not complain so the staff didn't get a chance to rectify the problem or comment on it. The second downside I noticed was that while the food was piping hot and well presented and of high quality, the time between placing an order and it actually turning up was a tad on the slow side. Again I didn't complain so there is no response from the staff and I would hope that at busy times they have more kitchen staff on duty.

Finally I would like to thank Rachael for organising the trip, and the rest of the Sunk and Disorderly mob, for being a great bunch of buddies both under and over the water. A quick credit, Here will take you to their site.