WILLIAM HANBURY

Protected Area

Langness

Why dive here

With 118+ marine species recorded in the area - including dolphins, dwarf minke whales, humpback whales, ocean sunfish (mola mola) and orcas - WILLIAM HANBURY 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

Alright, the William Hanbury. Forget your warm water, postcard-perfect dive sites for a minute. This is proper North Sea diving, and it’s brilliant for it. We’re talking about a trawler, a working vessel from a different era, sunk off Stanton Head in 1942. What you get here is a remarkably intact wreck. It’s not just a pile of scattered metal; you can still make out the shape, the deckhouse, even the bow pointing defiantly into the current. The visibility can be challenging, absolutely, but when it opens up, you’re rewarded with a ghostly silhouette, an industrial skeleton against the green-grey water. Our favourite part has to be the engine room, often penetrable for appropriately experienced divers, where the machinery is still recognisably ship-like. It’s been well and truly colonised, too. The metalwork is draped in dead man's fingers, and lobsters peer out from every crevice. You’ll often find conger eels lurking in the deeper, darker sections, their thick bodies like tree trunks. This isn't a deep dive, but it's cold, so bring the drysuit and plenty of undersuit insulation. We’d suggest timing your dive for slack water; the currents here can be a serious drag. This is a dive for wreck enthusiasts who appreciate history and don't mind a bit of a challenge.