Wreck of Duchess Of Leinster - Northumberland & Northeast
The Duchess of Leinster is a moody dive, proper Northumberland stuff. We’d describe it as a big hunk of metal, well broken up now, but still very much a wreck, not just scattered debris. You’re descending into the gloom, often with a decent current pushing you along, and then this huge structure just appears. It’s sitting upright, which we love, making navigation a lot easier even with the lower visibility you usually get here. What really gets us about the Duchess are the colours. Amidst the rust and the shadows, the anemones and dead man’s fingers just explode with vibrancy – bright oranges, purples, and yellows that grab your torch beam. We’ve had some fantastic encounters here with massive conger eels, tucked deep into the boiler rooms, and pollack cruising the upper decks. It’s a site that rewards multiple visits; you always find a new piece of machinery or a different resident hidden amongst the plates. Dive this one on a slack tide, definitely. It’s best for experienced wreck divers comfortable with colder water and limited visibility, but what you find down there is worth the effort.
- Location
- Northumberland & Northeast, United Kingdom, Mediterranean & Europe
- Coordinates
- 54.812760, -4.071858
- Type
- wreck
Marine Protected Area: Shoulder o' Craig
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 Duchess Of Leinster
- 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