NANSET

Best months: Jul–Sep

Protected Area

Great Tor (Three Cliff Bay)

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) - NANSET 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 1m

StandoutExceptional marine biodiversity

Nanset, off the Cornish coast, is one of those sites we keep coming back to, despite its shallow depth. It’s a steamship, gone down in 1916, and what remains is wonderfully broken up. You’re not getting grand intact structures here; instead, it's a scatter of plates, ribs, and machinery parts, all jumbled together on a sandy seabed just a meter or so deep. We love Nanset for its accessibility and the way it shows marine life reclaiming history. You can spend a good hour just finning slowly over the debris, spotting blennies peeking from rust holes, crabs scuttling under bent metal, and often schools of juvenile pollock darting through the clearer patches. The light penetration is always fantastic, even on an overcast day, turning the rusted browns and greens of the wreck into a surprisingly colourful tapestry. Our favourite time to dive it is around high slack tide, when the surge drops off and visibility really opens up, letting you appreciate the delicate sponges and anemones that have taken hold. It’s a perfect site for photographers wanting to practice macro work in natural light, or for newer divers looking for a relaxed wreck experience without the pressures of depth or strong currents. Just watch out for stray fishing lines; it’s a working coast, after all.