Stoney Cove

Diving at Stoney Cove

Stoney Cove is a large flooded quarry which is a popular inland scuba diving site. It is between Stoney Stanton and Sapcote in Leicestershire in England. There is a diving shop, a pub selling beer and hot food and a diving training facility there.

Background

The Stoney Cove quarry was originally a granite mine dating back to the beginning of the 19th century. In 1850 a train line was added to move the granite more easily from the Top Pit to the centre of Stoney Stanton. Spring water was a perennial problem for the quarry, but was a boon in 1958 when quarrying at the site ceased. By 1963 diving pioneers were using the quarry to practise their hobby. Over the next fifteen years Stoney Cove was used to train North Sea oil divers and in 1978 Stoney Cove Marine Trials Ltd was formed to fully exploit the site on a commercial basis.

Scuba facilities

Stoney Cove is used for scuba diving training as well as pleasure dives. It has a range of depths from only a few metres to around 36 metres. Stoney Cove has a large dive shop, gas filling station and scuba diving school all on site. There is also a complete pub (Nemo's) on site along with a function room for private events.

Diving attractions

The floor of the dive site has the following attractions for divers to explore:

• Viscount aircraft cockpit
• Nautilus submarine
• Archways beneath the pub
• A Wessex helicopter
• The bus
• The monster (location unknown)
• The galleon
• Small aircraft wreck
• Deep hydrobox
• Submerged trees
• Tower
• Blow-off preventer
• 4-metre block house
• Wooden boat
• Stanegarth (the largest inland wreck in the UK)
• APC

External links

• http://www.stoneycove.com