Wreck of Dorothea - Northumberland & Northeast
The Dorothea, off the Northumberland coast, is one of those wrecks we keep coming back to. She’s not some pristine, upright ghost ship, but a proper working wreck, broken up yet full of character. You drop down onto a scattering of boiler sections, propeller blades, and hull plates, all beautifully encrusted with dead man's fingers and anemones. We love how the light filters through the green water here, casting moving shadows across the twisted metal. It feels like you’re exploring a forgotten industrial graveyard. Navigation is straightforward – just follow the debris field. Look closely and you’ll spot velvet swimming crabs scuttling amongst the plates, and often a grumpy wolfish peering out from a dark crevice. The current can pick up, especially around the exposed sections, so we’d suggest timing your dive for slack water. That way you can really take your time, poke around the nooks, and enjoy the quiet solitude of it all. It’s a dive for those who appreciate history and the way the sea reclaims its own, rather than big pelagics.
- Location
- Northumberland & Northeast, United Kingdom, Mediterranean & Europe
- Coordinates
- 54.743320, -3.679573
- Type
- wreck
Marine Protected Area: Allonby Bay Highly Protected Marine Area
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 Wreck of Dorothea
- 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