Plymouth Sound Drop Off (west-east along about 50° 18 ’N)

The submerged cliff line off Plymouth Sound is just that– where the sea came to over 10,000 years ago. Dive anywhere along the 30m depth contour and you find it. But depths can be well in excess of 40m, so not for novices.

Plymouth Sound Dive club usually drives the RIB over the cliff line, turns back towards Plymouth and drops a shot when just inshore of the slope. You will be amazed at the dense forests of sea fans at the top of the cliff but don’t idle there, go south over cliffs up to 4 m high standing out like buttresses guarding the canyons leading back inshore.

At the base of the cliff are large boulders providing homes for congers but sparsely colonized by attached marine life especially when compared with the gaudy and bizarre species attached to the cliffs. Here be spectacular scenery, nationally rare sunset corals, football sea squirts, yellow and white cluster anemones and all sorts else.