Dive trip to Anglesey - 23rd - 25th May 2026
Phil and Tim prepped Cheshire Cat midweek. The journey to Anglesey on Friday evening was relatively smooth, given that it was a bank holiday weekend. We arrived at 9.15pm.
Saturday
We met Loz at the Holyhead slip at 6.45am to load our kit and the BRUV onto Top Cat.
We dropped the BRUV in the Church Bay area and then headed out to The Skerries. We hit lumpy seas as we left the coast due to tide, submerged rocks and overfalls. We reached East Skerry Cliffs Bay with its iconic red and white lighthouse, to be greeted by rafts of Puffin and Razorbill, the odd Gannet, gulls and a large colony of Arctic Tern. The shot was deployed and we waited for slack water.
Dive 1. East Skerry Cliffs:
The plankton bloom had started therefore the water was slightly green. Viz was around 5 metres and the water temperature 10C. We descended to explore the short walls, and the sand/ pebble seabed. A back eddy reminded us how tidal The Skerries are. There was a dense covering of short red turf. The walls were peppered with Deadmens Fingers and a variety of sponges-encrusting yellow and orange, Golf Ball, Hedgehog, Sea Orange and Crumpled Duster. Feathery hydroids were covered in nudibranch eggs. We managed to identify Violet, Crystal Tips, Fjordia browni and Fjordia Lineata nudibranchs. The walls were covered in Club Sea Squirts and White Striped Anemones. Cracks and crevices housed Crevice Sea Cucumber and Velvet Swimming Crabs. Gobies and Dragonets darted across the pebbles. The sand was covered in Burrowing Anemones and was home to a pair of Spider Crabs.
We spent a delightful hour in the lagoon, watching the terns lifting, circling and settling. A colony of seals hauled themselves in and out of the water and a very curious pup surfaced next to Cheshire Cat.
Dive 2. unknown wreck with a cargo of slate:
We descended to explore an underwater valley. The marine life was as varied and colourful as dive 1. Additional finds of note were large Common Lobster, Edible Crabs, Double Spiral Worms and Leopard Spotted Gobies.
We returned to Church Bay to lift the BRUV and then motored to Holyhead Slipway to recover and unload Cheshire Cat.
As Phil parked the boat later that evening he was greeted by Tony Crewe, who was on the very first ECSAC dive trip with Cheshire Cat. Tony took several photographs to send to Charles Dias, the founder and chairman of Delta Marine.
Sunday
We met Loz and Alison at Holyhead slip at 9.45am. We loaded Cheshire Cat and then headed out to North Stack to dive Parliament Cave, dropping the BRUV in on the way. The geology of the cliffs was a fantastic backdrop.
Dive 1 Parliament Cave. (a new site for us)
The vis was around 4m and the water temperature 10C. The site was a shallow boulder field and a pebble seabed. The boulders were covered in short red seaweed, pink algae and Crisia. There were a wide variety of sponges– encrusting yellow and orange, Elephant Hide, Black Tar, Boring and Goose Bump. The boulders were covered in feathery hydroids, patches of White Striped Anemones and dense clusters of Baked Bean Sea Squirts. We spotted Edible and Velvet Swimming Crabs, Pollack and a shoal of Mackerel.
We returned to Holyhead for a quick break.
Dive 2 South Stack North Cliffs
Another new site. We were treated to the sight and sound of hundreds of nesting Razorbills, Guillemots and Puffins. Seals surfaced near the cliffs. The dive site was a series of large boulders and gulleys, interspersed with a rippled sand, gravel and pebble seabed. The boulder tops were covered in short red seaweed and pink algae There was a variety of sponges– encrusting yellow and orange, Elephant Hide, Crater, Hedgehog, Golf Ball. Club Sea Squirts were abundant. We also spotted several large Ballan Wrasse, the occasional Gold Sinny and Velvet Swimming Crabs. We picked up the BRUV on the return to Holyhead. Cheshire Cat was recovered and unloaded.
Monday
Phil towed Cheshire Cat back to the club. We met Alison and Loz to wash the boat, ropes shot and Bruv and to return all the boat accessories to their correct places. An impromptu litter pick of the car park and road rounded off the day.
Thanks to Phil for planning and organising the dive sites (especially The Skerries as they are so tide dependent), towing and coxing Cheshire Cat. Thanks to Loz and Alison for joining us on a super dive weekend.
Trip report – Pat
