GOUREUX

Best months: Jul–Sep

Protected Area

Gouliot Caves and Headland, Sark

Why dive here

With 176+ marine species recorded in the area - including blue sharks, dolphins, dwarf minke whales, humpback whales and ocean sunfish (mola mola) - GOUREUX offers some of Cornwall & Devon's richest wreck diving. Water ranges 10-18°C, warmest July, August, September.

Best timeJul–Sep

WetsuitA 5mm wetsuit

Marine lifeBlue Sharks, Dolphins, Dwarf Minke Whales, Humpback Whales and Ocean Sunfish (Mola Mola) · 176+ species recorded

Water10-18°C · warmest July, August, September

CharacterWreck dive · max 20m

StandoutExceptional marine biodiversity

The Goureux is a proper old-school wreck, none of your modern steel hulks here. Lost back in 1892, she’s a fishing vessel, broken down over the decades, but what remains tells a story. We’re talking about a wreck that’s been part of the seabed for over a century, which means the marine life has really moved in. You’ll find lobster tucked into every crevice, conger eels peering from under plates of metal, and plumose anemones, soft and feathery, covering the exposed sections. It’s a shallow dive, around 20 metres, so you get decent bottom time to really snoop around. The visibility can be variable, as with much of Cornwall, but on a good day, the atmosphere is incredible – that greenish light filtering down onto history. It suits divers who appreciate history and the slow reclamation by nature, rather than those looking for an intact ship. Go on a slack tide, otherwise, you'll be fighting the current and miss all those shy critters.