LA PLATA (POSSIBLY) - Northumberland & Northeast
The La Plata wreck, off the Northumberland coast, is one of those sites that just grabs you. We often find ourselves drawn back to its ghostly timbers, lying at 31 metres. It’s an old sailing vessel, gone down in 1863, and that age really adds to its character. You can feel the history down there. The real draw here is the structure itself. We love nosing around the collapsed sections, imagining what it looked like over a century ago. What’s left is a jumble of beams and frames, all beautifully encrusted. It’s a proper wreck dive, best for those comfortable with deeper water and limited visibility, which can drop quite quickly on a bad day. Our favourite part has to be the way crabs and lobsters have made homes in every nook and cranny. Keep an eye out for colourful anemones clinging to the wood. We’d suggest diving this on a slack tide, if you can time it right, to really take your time exploring.
- Location
- Northumberland & Northeast, United Kingdom, Mediterranean & Europe
- Coordinates
- 53.430350, -4.388933
- Type
- wreck
- Maximum Depth
- 31m
Marine Protected Area: North Anglesey Coast
Nearby Dive Sites in Northumberland & Northeast
- AARLA - 35m (wreck)
- ABBOTSFORD - 7m (wreck)
- ABYDOS - 8m (wreck)
- ACACIA - 11m (wreck)
- ACTION - 0m (wreck)
- ADC 527 - 60m (wreck)
- ADC 527 - 50m (wreck)
- ADC 527 (POSSIBLY) - 37m (wreck)
- ADGILLUS - 36m (wreck)
- AFTON - 22m (wreck)
- AFTON - 0m (wreck)
- AILSA - 1m (wreck)
- ALARM - 27m (wreck)
- ALASTOR - 13m (wreck)
- ALBANIAN - 35m (wreck)
Nearest Dive Centres to LA PLATA (POSSIBLY)
- Above & Below Dive Centre - ["PADI"]
- Academy Divers - ["PADI"]
- Aqua Adventurers Scuba Diving
- Aqualogistics
- Aquaventurers - ["PADI"]
- Barracuda Scuba Ltd
Marine Life in Northumberland & Northeast
Home to 132 recorded species including 53 reef fish, 15 whales & dolphins, 11 sharks & rays, 10 other, 10 seagrass & algae, 9 crabs & lobsters.
Notable Species
- Protestant (Clupea harengus) - Reef Fish
- whiting (Merlangius merlangus) - Reef Fish
- Cowfish (Tursiops truncatus) - Whales & Dolphins
- Haddock (Melanogrammus aeglefinus) - Reef Fish
- Common sea star (Asterias rubens) - Starfish
- Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua) - Reef Fish
- dab (Limanda limanda) - Reef Fish
- harbour porpoise (Phocoena phocoena) - Whales & Dolphins
- long rough dab (Hippoglossoides platessoides) - Reef Fish
- sprat (Sprattus sprattus) - Reef Fish
- Edible periwinkle (Littorina littorea) - Sea Snails & Nudibranchs
- Common lobster (Homarus gammarus) - Crabs & Lobsters
- Acorn barnacle (Semibalanus balanoides)
- Blue mussel (Mytilus edulis) - Clams & Mussels
- bladder wrack (Fucus vesiculosus) - Seagrass & Algae
- Dog whelk (Nucella lapillus) - Sea Snails & Nudibranchs
- Beadlet anemone (Actinia equina) - Hard Corals
- Common brittlestar (Ophiothrix fragilis)
- butterfish (Pholis gunnellus) - Reef Fish
- Common shore crab (Carcinus maenas) - Crabs & Lobsters