Pembrokeshire & Skomer · United Kingdom · Reef · Sand slope
Stackpole Quay
Dogfish in numbers over sand cut by finger gullies
Photo: Humphrey Bolton · CC BY-SA 2.0
Stackpole Quay is a shore dive on the south side of Pembrokeshire, the fallback when strong northerly winds or swell close St Brides and Martins Haven. Past the boulders at the bay mouth, a flat sandy seabed runs out with finger gullies and reefs, home to large numbers of dogfish and beds of snakelocks anemones.
Where it is and how deep
51.6239° N, 4.9005° WApproximate position — the dashed circle shows where the site lies; your operator's briefing has the mooring.
The dive
Divers swim out on the surface until they pass the large boulders at the mouth of the bay, then descend to the seabed. It is flat and sandy, with finger gullies and reefs stretching as far as the eye can see, and reaches 14 m at its deepest. The gullies leave no set route, so the dive is an exploration. Large numbers of dogfish lie on the sand, and snakelocks anemones grow in beds.
Marine life and season
The sources we used don't single out particular species here.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Good | Good | Good | Good | Good | Good | Good | Good | Good | Good | Good | Good |
Season follows Pembrokeshire & Skomer: Diving runs all year round; storms and strong northerlies cut visibility, and northerlies can close St Brides and Martins Haven.
Know before you go
- Recreational anglers fish here, and loose weighted line and hooks lie on the reef and in the kelp.
- Southerly winds and the changing tide bring current and swell.
Dive videos
Wales Best of the West -Episode 4: Stackpole Quay · Dan Dŵr Cymru on YouTube
Sources
- Pembrokeshire Shore Diving — Haven Diving Services
Photo credits
- A narrow inlet between wooded rocky cliffs, a stone quay wall and a small boat on green-blue water with white surf by Humphrey Bolton, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
More dive sites in Pembrokeshire & Skomer
Wreck
An intact Dutch coaster draped in plumose anemones off Skomer
A pink sea fan growing above a lost lobster pot on the reef
Cuttlefish night dives in a kelp forest of hidden gullies
A First World War steamship wreck reached from a pebble beach
Similar dives elsewhere
Rock fissures near the end of the Tjørnuvík jetty
Reef
Birchy Head
Halifax & St Margaret's Bay · Canada
Three routes from one beach, including a ledge at 27 m (90 ft)
Reef
Axelsro
Gotland & Fårö · Sweden
The easy-to-reach Visby site of small passages and stone atolls
A shallow training site known for its lobsters