“I have just about had enough” said Rick, my Ashford Dive Club dive buddy before this dive….. for which he got a lot of stick from me!

We had been on the road for four days diving in Berwickshire and Yorkshire and earlier we’d had a disappointing dive at nearby Treaddur Bay. We should then have driven back to our homes in Kent. But wanting to finish our mini diving trip on a more positive note I surprised Rick by detouring to Padron Country Park at the foot of Mount Snowdon and the Vivian Dive Centre, a former slate quarry last worked in 1958. There, in almost continuous precipitation, we were greeted by John Bushell, the centre owner, and his friendly squirrels and birdlife. Passing through the unusual archway entrance next to his dive centre, we discovered that the former quarry is surrounded by steep granite cliff faces interspersed with trees and ferns right up to its waters edge.

The underwater visibility at 8 metres was good but the light quickly faded as we dropped down and it was very dark at the 17.4 metres bottom. There Rick and I found numerous quirky items lying around which Rick happily posed with as I photographed him. Twice we disturbed common eels but they quickly hid in debris on the bottom before I could photograph them.

After a very enjoyable dive we surfaced to steady drizzle. We were almost tempted to stay in the water.