Diver’s Cove Godstone, 24 June 2013

As my Plymouth trip was blown out (for the second time this year), me and my hapless sidekick Carvall decided to pay a visit to the new Diver’s Cove in Godstone for a dive and a look about. The site is an old Thames Water property that has been developed for diving and has recently opened to the public so we thought we would check it’s use for the club and so Paul, who is currently apprentice gas-monkey in Amphibian Sports can let his punters know what it’s like.

The lake.

Diver’s Cove about 20mins from Croydon just past the one way system in Godstone and boasts changing facilities, a café, some small items of dive kit supplied by our friends Amphibian Sports, kitting up benches, kit trolleys and some nice outdoor seating with kitting-up benches. They are currently installing proper power (currently a generator provides the electric) and they will soon have a fully-functioning compressor on site. Parking is plentiful and access to the water is a few mins walk from the car down a gravel hill. They provide trolleys for getting kit up and down the hill, and whilst it’s a bit of a pain it’s not that bad really. Entrance to the water is from a nice scaffold and wood platform, getting out is via a gently sloping beach. The entrance fee is £9.

The owners have sunk a few training platforms and attractions to have a look at and all these are buoyed so are easy to find. Max depth is about 8m and visibility is variable depending on where in the lake you go. Whilst it would be good if it were deeper, Diver’s Cove is ideal for Ocean Diver level training or testing new kit and is certainly on a par with other places we’ve used (Wraysbury, Leybourne etc). Being so close to Croydon also means that it’s realistic to get there from Croydon after work or to be able to squeeze in a quick early or late training dive on a weekend without wasting a full day. This is certainly a facility that is of use to us as a club so worth building a relationship with them – instructor types, take note. Some pics below.

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Looking up the hill.

Looking down the hill to the exit point.

Jumping-in pontoon.

Kitting up area.

Paul C on the surface.

Paul Brown