Normandy Coast - Northumberland & Northeast
The Normandy Coast, lying off the Northumberland coast, is one of those wrecks that really sticks with you. She's a big old steamship, torpedoed back in 1945, and sits upright in a hefty 44 metres of water. We love the sheer scale of her down there. Dropping onto the bridge area, you can feel the history, imagining the chaos of her final moments. The visibility can be a bit hit-or-miss, typical for the Northeast, but on a good day, the wreck reveals so much. We often find the stern to be our favourite section; the prop is still there, a massive, silent sentinel. Look closely for the wolfish lurking in the gloom of the holds – they seem to favour the deeper, darker sections. Conger eels are always a given, coiled within the engine room, and you’ll inevitably spook a decent-sized cod as you poke around. It's a proper British wreck dive, rugged and atmospheric, best suited for experienced divers comfortable with deeper, colder water and variable conditions. We'd suggest aiming for slack water, otherwise, that current can really make for a taxing dive.
- Location
- Northumberland & Northeast, United Kingdom, Mediterranean & Europe
- Coordinates
- 53.240260, -4.818897
- Type
- wreck
- Maximum Depth
- 44m
Marine Protected Area: Holyhead Mountain
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 Normandy Coast
- 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