Day 6 – Dosthill Quarry, Tamworth

7th November

Our dive site today was Dosthill Quarry, which didn’t open until 1 p.m. on the day that we visited, so we spent the morning catching up on admin, editing photos, writing notes, booking ahead, and planning the next stages of our adventure. It felt good to slow down for a few hours before getting back on the road for the short drive to Tamworth. As we followed the sat nav, things started to look a little strange, instead of a quarry, we seemed to be driving through a housing estate, with a church right ahead. We were convinced something had gone wrong, but we decided to keep following the directions. And then, as if by magic, there it was a hidden lake surrounded by steep, tree-covered sides full of autumn colour. It felt like stepping through the wardrobe into Narnia; a peaceful, enchanting world tucked right in the middle of suburbia.

Dosthill is considered the oldest inland dive site in the UK. It’s been operating since the late 1950s, when granite quarrying stopped and the pit gradually filled with crystal-clear spring water. The site is smaller than some of the others we’ve visited, and the facilities less extensive, but honestly, that only added to its charm. What it lacked in size, it more than made up for in breathtaking natural beauty and a wonderfully warm welcome from the team.

We even had our first real taste of the power of social media today. Shortly after we arrived, a fellow diver and underwater photographer, Andy Kent, came over and introduced himself. He told us he’d been following The Great Scuba Drive online and recognised us! We were completely blown away. Dosthill is Andy’s local dive site, and he very kindly offered to show us around, a generous gesture that made all the difference, especially since the later start meant we only had time for one dive.Thanks to Andy’s guidance, we spent an incredible hour and twenty minutes underwater, our longest dive of the trip so far. Even better, we had the whole lake to ourselves that afternoon, though fifty divers were booked to visit the next day!

From the moment we descended, we could tell Dosthill was something special. There was far more aquatic life here than in the other quarries we’ve dived so far, pike, carp, sturgeon, and native crayfish all made appearances, adding constant movement and life to the scene. The water was alive in every sense. The quarry itself reaches a depth of 26 metres and has several training platforms at different levels, surrounded by long pondweed and the skeletal remains of sunken trees draped in mussels. Like the other sites we’ve visited, there are also a few quirky submerged relics, such as a plane, some cars and vans.

But the thing that truly took our breath away today wasn’t the wrecks or the fish, it was the beauty of the autumn leaves floating on the surface. Looking up at them from the shallow water, sunlight filtering through the canopy above, was absolutely magical. The rippling reflections, the colours, the sense of stillness it was other worldly. Every exhaled bubble sent tiny ripples across the leaves, making them shimmer and dance. It was unlike anything we’ve ever experienced while diving, a moment of pure calm and wonder that neither of us will forget.

Visibility was good, around six metres, and the water was cool and clear. To top it all off, we fell completely in love with Beatrice, the site dog, beautiful, friendly, and clearly the real boss of the quarry!

Dosthill may be smaller and simpler than the other sites we’ve visited so far on The Great Scuba Drive, but it’s every bit as memorable with its natural beauty, peaceful surroundings, and the richness of its underwater world. It’s a place with heart and history, serene, magical, and teeming with life. For us, Dosthill Quarry is a truly special dive location, and we think that it should be on every divers dream dives

list.