wreck

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CHERYL LOUISE

The Cheryl Louise is our kind of wreck dive, particularly for those new to the UK’s chillier waters. It’s a trawler, nothing huge, just 11 metres of steel hull sitting upright at a comfortable 16 metres. We love that it’s intact enough to give you a real sense of its past life, without being so overwhelming you get lost. You can peer into the wheelhouse, imagine the skipper at the helm, and trace the deck lines where the nets would have been hauled. What really makes the Cheryl Louise special, though, is the life that’s taken over since it sank back in ’96. The steelwork is covered in dead man’s fingers, all those creamy white polyps swaying gently in the current, and you’ll find squat lobsters tucked into every nook and cranny. Ballan wrasse dart in and out of the superstructure, and if you take it slow, you might spot a ling lurking under a plate. Visibility here can be a bit variable, as it often is off Northumberland, but on a good day, the light filtering down gives the whole site an atmospheric, almost ghostly glow. It’s a perfect introductory wreck, letting you practise buoyancy and navigation without the pressure of strong currents or extreme depth.