20th July 2003 - The Capernwray Quarry is tucked away in the Lancashire countryside about 1/2 hours drive from Maldives home town. On arrival existing members show their cards and pay the £6 entry fee. Non-members pay £8 and are given a blank membership card which must be taken to the shop for completion - there is no extra cost and you are now a member and qualify for cheaper entry. After the long drive we decided to go to the Coffee bar for a drink. Given that you are overlooking a quarry, the view is quite amazing. There is food and drink available at very reasonable cost. The big question of course is 'Is it worth it?' The answer is a very definite 'yes'. It is bigger than Dosthill, but maybe not quite the size of Stoney Cove. It does, however have several significant advantages over the others. It is cleaner than Dosthill - Gullet is cleaner than Dosthill! The walk from the car-park to the water is much flatter and easier than both. I found the staff much friendlier, both at the gate and in the well-stocked shop than either of the other two. There are more attractions for the diver and the maps are accurate, there are even photos to help with identification! Why does Stoney Cove not update theirs and why does Dosthill not produce one?

Entry into the water can be achieved by either wading or stride, though wading is, in my opinion, easier. Our first dive was planned to explore The Cave (actually an old container), featuring a helicopter atop, followed by The Podsnap, an old WW2 minesweeper and finally The African Queen. The dive started well enough and we soon found the cave. A quick tour in and out and we were off to The Podsnap. This was well worth it. It is at an angle of about 40 degrees so one has to swim up and over to see the deck. Several minutes were spent exploring before we set off. Due to a slight navigation problem by Mark (who I promised I would not name), we missed The African Queen and ended up in the training area at 6m. There was nothing else to do but surface. An excellent dive and one well worth repeating.

The Surface Interval was spent refilling the cylinders and having food and drink in the cafe. Before long it was time to dive again. The second dive was in the 6m area to see the horses, Shergar and Lord Lucan. They are great fun and almost certainly unique. We also visited the Gypsy Moth which was good. Further exploration along the shelf yielded very little so we turned back to the stables again. As we reached the exit area and started our 3m safety stop, dozens of fish 'buzzed' us, presumably looking for food. In the event we spent 5 minutes or so just watching them before exiting. A fine day out, enjoyed by all. On the way home I couldn't help thinking 'Why not make a weekend of it and go walking in the Lake District or the Howgills on Saturday, then dive on the Sunday'. Why not indeed?