ONWARD VENTURE

Protected Area

St Bees Head

Why dive here

With 118+ marine species recorded in the area - including dolphins, dwarf minke whales, humpback whales, ocean sunfish (mola mola) and orcas - ONWARD VENTURE offers some of Northumberland & Northeast's richest wreck diving.

Marine lifeDolphins, Dwarf Minke Whales, Humpback Whales, Ocean Sunfish (Mola Mola) and Orcas · 118+ species recorded

CharacterWreck dive

StandoutRich in charismatic marine life

The Onward Venture is a proper Northumberland wreck dive, a trawler that went down in '69 after catching fire. It’s not one of those intact museum pieces, mind you. She’s beached and broken, spread across the seabed, but that’s exactly what we love about it. You get a real sense of the forces that ripped her apart, with plates peeled back and ribs exposed like a skeleton. Dive the Onward Venture and you’re navigating through history, feeling the chill of the North Sea even in summer. The stern section is our favourite, with its props and rudder still defiantly upright. Look closely among the twisted metal; cod, wrasse, and lobsters have made a solid home here, tucked into every nook and cranny. Visibility can be hit or miss, typical for the region, so pick a calm day with a neap tide for the best chance of a decent view. It’s a dive for those who appreciate the raw beauty of a working vessel reclaimed by the sea.