HEN AND CHICKS

Photo: Richard Trevithick

Distance from Little Haven: 1.6 nautical miles (nM). Slack water: any state of the tide.

This is a very special dive. Hen and Chicks is a rocky outcrop on the northern coastline, inshore of Stack Rocks. This site often has excellent visibility, the result of the clean, scooped-out rocks. From July to September, triggerfish can sometimes be found sheltering among the rocks. Depths are 5m to 16m. There is usually lots of life on view, including nudibranchs, prawns, ballan and cuckoo wrasse, pollack, velvet swimming and spider crabs. The western side and the end of the rocks themselves are the most interesting areas to explore and where the light penetration is brightest. The eastern side of Hen and Chicks, although perhaps less interesting, is also worth a visit. On one dive here we came across literally hundreds of spider crabs covering the sea bed - they habitually shake off their armour and take the opportunity to mate. The site is best avoided in any swell, as the turbulence underwater can make diving uncomfortable, and recovering divers at the surface interesting! However, where one side is exposed to the prevailing weather, the other side is usually more sheltered.