June 2025 Swanage Trip Report by Fiona McCrindle
If you’ve ever wondered what happens when you mix a group of enthusiastic divers, a handful of yurt-style tents, and the British coastline at its finest, then look no further than our recent three-day adventure to Swanage. This trip had it all: glorious weather, underwater critters galore, a healthy dose of “diving with purpose”, and—just to keep things interesting—a dramatic medical incident that proved our club’s first aid skills are as sharp as our underwater photography.
Glamping, Campfires, and Marshmallow Toasting
Our home base for the weekend was Herston Caravan and Camping, where we traded the usual soggy tents for yurt-style glamping. If you’ve never tried glamping, imagine all the fun of camping but with a little less mud in your sleeping bag and a lot more room to swing a cat (not that we brought one, but you get the idea). Evenings were spent around the campfire, where we honed our marshmallow toasting technique to near-professional levels, watched the sun set and the moon rise, and swapped stories that grew more heroic with each passing hour (and each passing beverage).
Photo by Fiona McCrindle
Friday: Sea Search and the Art of Noticing the Small Stuff
Friday saw a select group of us don our thinking caps for the Sea Search Course. For those unfamiliar, Sea Search is all about learning to spot and record the fish and plant life that call our waters home. It turns out there’s a lot more going on beneath the surface than just the odd crab and the occasional lost welly. The course was both informative and entertaining—who knew that filling in forms could be so satisfying when you’re doing it for science? We left with a new appreciation for the smaller critters and their habitat and a burning desire to contribute to marine conservation. This is exactly the kind of “diving with purpose” we want to do more of this season—because if we’re going to spend our weekends underwater, we might as well help out the planet while we’re at it.
Saturday: Wrecks, Wildlife, and Underwater Paparazzi
Saturday dawned bright and sunny, with blue skies and calm seas that made us wonder if we’d accidentally booked a trip to the Mediterranean. First up was a dive under Swanage Pier, where the visibility was so good you could almost read the serial numbers on the fish. Cameras were out in force, and the pier’s resident wildlife did not disappoint.
Then it was time for the main event: two hard boat dives on the wrecks of the Black Hawk and Fleur de Lys. For those who like a bit of history with their diving, the Black Hawk is a WWII Liberty ship that was torpedoed in 1944. She now lies in about 18 metres of water, her remains home to a thriving community of marine life. The Fleur de Lys, meanwhile, is a smaller fishing vessel that met her end in the 1960s. Both wrecks are teeming with life—on our dives, we spotted conger eels lurking in the pipes, spider crabs the size of dinner plates, lobsters giving us the side-eye, and more nudibranchs than you could shake a stick at (not that you should, they’re delicate little things). The wrecks themselves are atmospheric, with plenty of nooks and crannies for curious divers and even more curious sea creatures.
Sunday: Crystal Clear Waters and the Great British Fish Parade
Sunday saw us back under Swanage Pier, where the water was so clear it felt like diving in a giant aquarium. The conditions were perfect for underwater photography, and our cameras got a serious workout. Highlights included:
• Tompot blennies posing like they were auditioning for Britain’s Next Top Model
• Shoals of pollock shimmering in the sunlight
• Ballan wrasse showing off their colours
• Flounder and other flatfish doing their best to blend in (with mixed results)
• Mullet, bass, and the occasional John Dory making cameo appearances
• Edible crabs, spider crabs, and velvet swimming crabs all vying for the title of “most photogenic crustacean”
• Anemones waving gently in the current and we were lucky enough to spot their hidden crabs
• Lobsters lurking in their lairs
• Pipefish doing their best impression of underwater spaghetti
• Sunlight streaming through the pier legs, creating a magical, almost cathedral-like effect
If anyone ever tells you UK waters aren’t worth photographing, just show them our haul of pictures from this trip. The only thing missing was a mermaid, and we’re pretty sure we saw one out of the corner of our eye (or maybe that was just Beatrice back in the water after a break).
Photo by Nick Allibone
A Slight Hiccup: The Knee Incident
Of course, no club trip would be complete without a bit of drama, and this time it was my turn to provide the entertainment. Just as we were congratulating ourselves on being ahead of schedule for the drive back to London, I managed to twist and dislocate my knee. Cue an impromptu demonstration of the club’s legendary first aid skills. Within seconds, I was surrounded by a crack team of divers-turned-paramedics, who kept me calm, comfortable, and (most importantly) distracted with a steady stream of terrible jokes while we waited for the ambulance.
The ambulance team arrived (all female, and all absolute legends), administered some much-appreciated entonox, and managed to remove my drysuit without resorting to scissors—a small miracle in itself. Sadly, the knee refused to cooperate, so it was off to Poole Hospital for me, where I spent a leisurely 11 hours waiting to be put under general anaesthetic. Special thanks to Ollie, who stayed by my side until I woke up and then drove back to London, proving once again that club members are made of sterner stuff.
Reflections: Diving with Purpose, First Aid Heroes, and the Beauty of British Waters
Despite the unexpected detour to A&E, the weekend was a resounding success. We learned new skills, contributed to marine conservation, and proved that UK waters are a paradise for underwater photographers. Most importantly, we looked out for each other—whether that meant sharing marshmallows, spotting rare nudibranchs, or springing into action when things went sideways.
As we look ahead to the rest of the season, let’s keep up the momentum with more “diving with purpose”. Sea Search has shown us how rewarding it can be to combine our love of diving with a bit of citizen science, and I can’t wait to see what we discover next. And if anyone else fancies a go at the “most dramatic injury” award, just remember: the bar has been set pretty high.
See you all at the next dive—knee brace optional!
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