Vobster Quay prides itself on being one of the premier inland diving
centres in the UK. Whether you're a recently certified diver taking
your first tentative fin kicks in the world of diving or your a
hardened technical diver, Vobster Quay has something to offer. With
36-acres of fresh water diving in depths ranging from 6m to 36m, divers
of all levels will find the heady mix of exciting underwater
attractions and a full range of diving support services hard to
resist...
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Can I dive at Vobster Quay?
A. You'd better believe it!
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Vobster Quay welcomes certified divers regardless of their training
background. Providing you hold a valid certification gained through a
recognised training agency - be it PADI, BSAC, SSI, GUE et all - we'll
try our best to make your day out a memoreable one. All we ask is that
you dive in a buddy pair, you dive within the limits of your training
and - most importantly - you have fun!
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Do I need to book?
A. Nope - we've got loads of room!
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Like any diving centre, Vobster Quay is at its busiest during the
weekends. Unlike some others, however, we've got more than enough
parking capacity and shear volume of water to cope with even the
businest periods! We like to think that Vobster Quay still has that
'exclusive' feel to it, avoiding the overcrowding and shear 'hustle and
bustle' that plagues other inland diving centres. Give us a try - we
think you'll be pleasantly surprised!
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How deep is the water?
A. As deep as you want it to be!
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Vobster Quay offers a range of depths to suit divers of all experience
and training levels. For the recently certified, we offer a large area
of the lake that is just 12m deep. More experienced divers can explore
the deeper 20m+ regions of the lake whilst the techies can lose
themselves (not literally, we hope!) in a small area of the lake that
descends down to a maximum depth of 36m.
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How cold is the water?
A. Depends!
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The water temperature at Vobster Quay varies dramatically depending
upon the time of the year and how deep you go. Whilst deeper areas of
the lake can be as cold as 4 degrees centigrade in the middle of
winter, other areas can be as warm as 18 degrees during the height of
summer!
Being
naturally spring fed helps to keep the water clean and pure but it does
keep the water temperature low in deeper parts of the quarry. Depending
upon the time of the year, the temperature can be as low as 4 degrees.
Even during the summer months, we recommend that
ALL divers use suitable thermal insulation - including a neoprene hood and gloves - for dives deeper than 16m.
For shallower areas, the water temperature varies greatly throughout
the season. In the winter months, the water temperature drops to around
8 degrees but can rise to a maximum of 18 degrees during the summer.
Although it is possible to dive these areas without a hood in gloves,
we still recommend their use.
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What is the visibility like?
A. Once again, it depends!
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Visbility at Vobster Quay can range from spectacularly good to
virtually zero depending upon a number of factors. One constant factor
is the water temperature - visit Vobster in the winter and the early
months of spring when the water temperature is lower and visibility can
be up to 20 metres in places! In the summer months, however, algae
growth in the warmer water can reduce visibility down to just a few
metres!
By
far the biggest factor that controls visibility at Vobster Quay,
however, is the divers themselves. Most of the lake bottom is covered
in a thin blanket of silt which can reduce visibility in the immediate
area to virtually zero if kicked up. Although it settles quite quickly,
we recommend that all divers take steps to reduce the amount of silt
they stir up - if using a conventional 'flutter' kick, for example, try
not to get too close to the quarry bottom. Better still, use one of
several anti-silting finning techniques such as a frog kick.
Visibility
is almost always at its worse on a Sunday due to the shear number of
divers in the water. Also, visibility tends to be reduced around the
more popular attractions - once again, due to the shear volume of
divers that visit those areas. If you wish to enjoy good visibility, we
recommend you visit Vobster Quay mid-week and dive in the more remote
areas of the lake - on the opposite bank, for example, visibility of
upto 20m isn't unheard of!
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Is my dive equipment suitable?
A. Probably - but it's best to be sure!
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Unfortunately for us, we don't live in a tropical climate so the
equipment you use to dive at Vobster will vary slightly from the
equipment you'd use on holiday. If you've never dived in the UK, we'd
strongly recommend you undertake an orientation dive before attempting
to dive unescorted. Our
dive school can provide this.
The main consideration that effects the suitability of equipment for diving at Vobster Quay is the lower
water temperatures
that are common with fresh water diving. We recommend that all the
equipment you use is suitable for cold water diving - this applies in
particular to regulators and the thermal protection you choose to wear.
It's important to realise that not all regulators are suitable for cold
water diving - if in doubt, contact the regulator manufacturer or
distributor for confirmation.
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What will I see underwater?
A. Prepare to be amazed!
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You'd better believe it! Submerged beneath the waters of Vobster Quay,
you'll find an exciting array of underwater attractions just waiting to
be discovered. From the wreck of a wooden
motor cruiser lying in 20m, the towering quarry
crushing works and even the complete wreck of an
aircraft
cut into three sections and submerged in various parts of the lake,
there's something here to please even the most jaded UK diver...
Click
HERE
to download a high resolution map of what's in the lake and where to
find it. In addition, a full list of navigational bearings can be
downloaded
HERE. In order to view this file, you'll need to install the Acrobat Reader available from
Adobe...
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Is there any life in the lake?
A. Yes - and it's friendly too!
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Vobster Quay is now home to a large community of extremely friendly
rainbow trout
that aren't as shy as you might imagine. Travelling around in large
groups, the trout often congregate near exit points and diving
attractions in search of an easy meal handed out by divers they meet.
Thankfully they haven't developed a taste for divers yet but you never
know... ;-)
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Can I get air & nitrox fills?
A. You name it - we pump it!
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Vobster Quay has its own
compressor station
offering cylinder fills to a maximum of 300-bar. For air divers, our
air panel offers double filtered air that's a cut above the rest -
regularly tested for quality, it's so good that it's of oxygen
compatible grade! With eight filling whips available, waiting times are
kept to a minimum.
For
enriched air divers, Vobster is home to a state of the art partial
pressure blending panel capable of delivering nitrox mixes from 22%
right up to pure O2! Whatever your mix, our skilled blending
technicians are on hand at all times to ensure you get the gas mix you
require. For rebreather divers, pure O2 is always available.
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Can I hire dive equipment?
A. Yes - anything from a snorkel to the full set!
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We understand that not everyone can afford to buy or justify the
expense of owning a full set of diving equipment. That doesn't mean you
can't dive, though - with our extensive range of high quality
rental equipment available for hire to certified divers, you can take the plunge without denting your wallet.
Dive equipment can be rented either individually - forget your fins?
Not a problem! - or as a complete 'package'. As you'd expect, all our
rental equipment is serviced regularly and is of the highest quality! A
full selection of semi-dry wet suits and - for divers with a suitable
certification - membrane drysuits are also available for hire.
