Menai Strait, Anglesey

Photo: Paul Kay Photo: PK Photo: PK Photo: PK

The setting: The Strait lies between the mountainous southern backdrop of the Snowdonia National Park and the more pastoral rolling landscape of the Isle of Anglesey to the north. It is spanned by two bridges, Stephenson’s Britannia rail (it now also carries a road) bridge of 1850, and Telford’s graceful suspension bridge of 1826. Both are engineering achievements from a bygone age and their limestone rockwork comes from Pemon quarries on the northeastern corner of the strait. The National Trust property of Plas Newydd sits on the northern shore of the Strait in as enviable location as it is possible to envisage.

When to go: North Wales is, as a whole, subject to the vagaries of British weather with a slight emphasis on rain (it is, after all, mountainous). That said, the Strait suffers from lower visibility than the surrounding seas but is diveable at almost any time as it is very sheltered. Mid-winter and times of heavy rain are probably best avoided though. And avoid spring tides in the Strait.

Diving highlights: The Strait offers some cracking shore dives. Once there was an underwater nature trail just to the east of the suspension bridge, which followed as part of its path the undersea cables which cross the Strait between the two large, yellow diamond signs.

The trail has long been lost but the cables offer an excellent guideline in themselves. The sea bed is covered with rich sponge growth, among which are beds of dahlia anemones and upon which you can find many scorpion spider crabs (also covered in sponge), red-eyed velvet swimming crabs, butterfish, and numerous other small animals. Dropping down the cables leads to small, rocky cliffs and shelly gravel, both equally packed with marine life.

Look harder and you can find small congers in some of the crevices and you might come across lots of edible crabs delicately breaking barnacles off the bedrock – a handy pre-packed snack. Occasionally you might bump into less common creatures such as lumpsuckers and bass.

To the west of the Suspension Bridge, on the south side of the Strait, lies the ‘Platters’ – a rocky plateau visible only on extreme low tides – scene of the sad loss of the last wooden warship built in Britain, the HMS Conway. The wreck can be dived and a few baulks of timber (pickled oak) still survive, but do it by boat unless you are very good at tides and navigation.

Pie and a pint: Eating out is not a problem in the area. The town of Menai Bridge has many hotels and pubs, as does the quainter town of Beaumaris a few miles to the east.

Useful contacts: Air is available from Anglesey Divers in Holyhead a 30-minute drive up the A5 dual carriageway (tel: 01407 764545 or see the website www.diveanglesey.co.uk). If you want to explore the Strait further, Scott Waterman runs the Endeavour dive boat from Menai Bridge (tel: 01248 716923 or see the website www.questdiving.co.uk).

Insider knowledge: The Strait is extremely tidal! Slack water at the Suspension Bridge is about two hours and 45 minutes before low water at Liverpool, but it’s worth being there well before this and watching the current drop. There is a ‘tidal shadow’ caused by the Bridge which can lengthen diving here, but as soon as the current picks up you need to get out. Generally speaking, neaps are diveable but springs give a very short window and are best avoided. Lastly, the Strait is a Special Area of Conservation and should be treated with respect for its marine life.