Shoalstone

Shoalstone is just along the coast ( 1/3mile to the east) from the more famous Brixham Breakwater, yet for me it is the much better dive and one that is not often used when compared to Breakwater Beach on a summer’s weekend. It still has easy parking, toilet facilities and a relatively easy entry point but the life you will encounter is much more varied than that you would encounter diving with everyone else off Breakwater Beach.

During the summer months there is also an open air swimming pool here and the usual snack kiosk to provide refreshments. And even in poor weather there is a nice big covered seating area to get changed in.

Unlike Breakwater Beach, you do have to be careful about the tidal current here, which on a dropping tide will pull you eastwards towards Berry Head, not where you want to be! Slack water is an hour either side of high tide, which also has the bonus of covering up the rocks you would otherwise have to scramble over to reach the water’s edge. That said; if you’re freediving or have boat/kayak cover it is fun just to go with the flow and have an easy ride as you cover lots of ground.

Should you be using scuba kit on a shore dive and you are taken too far eastwards, there is an easy exit point below the terrace of the Berry Head Hotel. From there it’s about a 250m walk back to the car park. As always an SMB is essential, especially if you intend on heading out towards the 5 knot buoy.

From the car park, head down the steps and back underneath the toilet block, off the concrete ledge down onto the rocks. From here you can take one of two directions, north (straight out) or east (along the coast); I’ll cover both dives in this guide.

Straight Out

From the rocky shore it’s probably best to surface swim the first 50 yards or so just to get you over the worst of the kelp before you descend. Heading north will take you out over a gradually descending reef of rocky outcrops with plenty of life to be seen. The usual array of Edible Crabs, Spiny Spider Crabs, Wrasse and Pollack will be around somewhere, and there’s always the chance of flatfish or Scallops in some of the sandy areas between the rocks.

The reef will come to an end in about 16m of water (which by a couple of meters makes it about the deepest [safe!] shore dive you can do in the bay) and you’ll be swimming over a sandy/muddy bottom with the usual critters hidden in it. At any point while heading north over the reef you can choose to turn left (west) or right (east) to follow it along the coast rather than heading out further over the mud. The deeper reef also has Boring Sponge, Plumose Anemones and Common Starfish dotted around.

For this dive that’s about it really. If your navigation is up to scratch you should have plenty of time to explore this reef system that actually has more life living on it than at first you might expect. Do take your time, and a torch, to really have a good look around the rocks and you’ll be amazed. Look out for small Squat Lobsters in the cracks of the reef with their bright red and blue bodies.

Along The Coast

Once you are down the steps and onto the rocks, don’t head straight out, but go further along the coast to the east (also head out just a little bit), towards a small bay below the Berry Head Hotel. This dive is a lot shallower, probably topping out at about 10m, and covers different terrain. Again, swim out the first 50 yards to miss the kelp, then drop down onto patchy sand between rocky outcrops.

The sand is a good scallop bed (though heavily fished by local divers) and at the right time of year a favoured haunt of Plaice. Take your time to look in the sand for Brittle Stars and quite often you’ll be amazed how many you have been swimming over without even noticing!

The rocks on this dive will have more in the way of weed on them that the deeper reef dive, but here there are small overhangs and vertical faces where you will find Sea Squirts and Dead Men’s Fingers. This is one of the few places in Torbay where you will see dense aggregations of Trumpet Anemones, which isn’t that common around the UK but seems to really like it in this spot.

It was on a freedive over the sand in a small gully in this area that I saw the one and only Poggue I have ever seen. It’s a small (and to some ugly) fish but one that isn’t that often spotted by divers. Keep your eyes peeled!

 Navigation on this dive is really up to you, if you are after more depth then you can always head north and out over the reef mentioned in the other dive. Where ever you go in spring and early summer this place can be awash with Nudibranchs and the odd Bootlace Worm too. Alternatively just mooch around in the sandy/rocky area seeing what you can spot. Occasionally look up and you many fund yourself surrounded by large shoals of Mullet in the summer months.

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