Palace Pier, Brighton

Photo: Simon Brown Photo: Simon Brown Photo: Simon Brown

Brighton Marine Palace and Pier – known to locals as simply Palace Pier – carries all the trappings of a classic English seaside attraction. Few of the thousands of day-trippers bother to look under the pier, but the labyrinth of iron supports makes for a great shore dive and one with a novel entry and exit.

The dive starts with a stroll along the pier, past the candyfloss and fish and chips sellers, the video-game arcades and the stalls promising soft-toy prizes for the lucky. At nearly 500m, it’s a fair walk with dive gear, but you do avoid a long surface swim, and it’s worth the effort just to see the look on the faces of the tourists, for whom a fully suited diver is even more interesting than the pier’s regular attractions. If you really dislike carrying dive gear, bring a kit trolley, as the walk is free of shingle or sand and there are no steps to negotiate. The only downside to this is having to secure the trolley before you enter the water – a bike lock will suffice.

The entrance to the underside of the pier is through an unmarked gate next to a kids’ fairground ride that is constantly blaring cheesy pop music through its PA system. There is a handy bench where you can rest and finish kitting up before escaping the fairground noise and descending a flight of iron steps that lead to the maintenance area under the pier. Then it’s simply a case of entering the water by doing a giant stride from the bottom of the steps. Conditions are variable here, but levels can be surprisingly low, even in the shallows – so a torch really makes sense if you want to see what is lurking here.

The pier sits on a sandy sea bed with patches of the bedrock chalk exposed; without the novelty of the structure, a dive here could be a little bland, but the pier legs and jumble of discarded ironwork make an excellent holdfast for common mussels. The mussel beds have, in turn, attracted common starfish, and during an early-season visit, the sea bed and pilings were carpeted with the five-armed predators devouring the mussels.

With so many people above, various items are inevitably dropped into the sea. During our dive, we turned up a child’s bracelet, a tap and three dodgem tokens.

The slight current from the incoming tide helped push us back towards the entry point, and we managed to navigate close to it before ascending – no mean feat when all the pier legs look the same. Jet skiers use the waters around the pier, so ascending next to a pier leg is recommended before climbing the steps back to the frenetic funland above.

DIRECTIONS

To Brighton Dive Centre: From the A23, take the A27 towards Lewes then take the B2123. At the first set of traffic lights, turn right, signposted for Brighton Town Centre, Racecourse and Marina Village. Turn left at the second set of traffic lights, go past the racecourse and follow the signs for the Marina Village. To Palace Pier: Travel south on the A23 and follow signs for the pier/seafront. The A23 ends at Grand Junction Road on the seafront opposite the pier.

TIDAL/WEATHER CONSIDERATIONS
Any wind above force 4 from the south, east or west puts the pier out of bounds for divers. The pier must be dived on an incoming tide, as ebb tide currents are strong and drag divers away from the pier and shore, but there is usually a five-hour window to dive. Maximum depth under the pier is 12m.

EQUIPMENT CONSIDERATIONS
The walk to the entry/exit near the end of the pier is long, so carry the absolute minimum kit, but do include a torch and SMB. It’s quite gloomy under the pier, and if you decide to explore the barge or drift off the pier, an SMB helps others keep track of your position. Below high water, the pier is covered in barnacles, so gloves are recommended.

AIR FILLS
Brighton Dive Centre, 37 The Waterfront, Brighton Marina, BN2 5WA (tel: 01273 606068). A guided dive costs £20 per person and pier fees are £10. This includes shore cover (including O2 kit) plus transport and parking at the pier.

PARKING
There’s no on-street parking close to the pier. Brighton Dive Centre has arranged access and parking in the loading bays opposite the pier entrance. There is four hours’ free parking near the dive shop.