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HMS PICTON CASTLE

The HMS Picton Castle, resting at 33 metres, is a proper chunk of maritime history and one of our favourite deeper wrecks off the Cornish coast. She was a trawler pressed into service by the Royal Navy, and her demise in 1917, likely by a U-boat mine, feels present when you’re down there. The bow is particularly striking, rising from the seabed, and we’ve spent many a dive just tracing the outline of her deck, imagining her working life before the war. The wreck is now heavily colonised, a testament to the North Atlantic’s resilience. We often spot conger eels in the deeper sections, their heads poking out from crevices. Look for lobsters tucked into the plating and the constant movement of bib and pollock around the superstructure. It’s a site that suits experienced divers comfortable with depth and who appreciate exploring a wreck with a real story. The visibility can be fickle, as is common in these waters, but on a good day, the Picton Castle delivers a genuinely atmospheric dive. We’d suggest timing your dive for slack water; the currents here can be robust.