Swanage pier in Dorset is one British dive site that is all things to all divers. It maintains a special niche in the affections of all who have dived there. Memories, perhaps, of training dives followed by fish and chip suppers, branch weekends when the sun shone and the vis was great (and of branch weekends when it lashed down).

I asked my wife Nikki to marry me underwater and under the pier. At first she thought I was just asking her to pose for another photo until I held up a slate with the fateful words on. So I’ll admit, maybe I am a bit biased about Swanage!

What is the continuing attraction of Swanage for divers? Why do generations of divers keep going back there for more?

The ‘‘new’’ pleasure pier was built in the 1890s on a site a mere hundred yards away from where the old pier had been. The old pier had been built ostensibly for commercial reasons: barges collecting the local Purbeck stone would moor there for loading.

Sadly, the old pier burnt down but, even now, divers searching for old pennies around what remains of it can still plainly see the layer of charcoal that the blaze deposited.

On a clear day you can see the Isle Of Wight from the new pier and, if the sea is calm, send the family on a day trip over there on one of the numerous pleasure boats while you go off diving. Swanage is the home of the Great British Seaside Family Holiday, and proud of it.

The harbour has a fine sandy beach that sweeps in a gigantic horseshoe over to the cliffs where Old Harry flocks sit; beckoning the RIB’s tethered to the pier wall.

The harbour has sadly become infested by a plague of jet-skiers in recent years; they ignore the five-knot speed limit, weaving perilously close to mooring buoys. You may not be able to hear boardsailers when you surface, but at least a windsurfing board didn’t smart too badly when it hit you on the hack of the head!

Since 1958 when Diver’s Down (Britain’s first diving school) opened on it, the new pier has acted as a focus for diving in the Purbeck area of Dorset, providing range of facilities that is sadly available at too few of our UK locations. It is owned now by Pete Williams who operates a hardboat and the UK’s biggest Diving RIB from there. I must plead guilty to teaching Pete to dive many moons ago (and unleashing his club hammer on the Kyarra). See http://www.diversdownswanage.co.uk for more info.

Swanage pier acts as a magnet to the clubs from London and the home counties- Early on in the season, usually Easter bank holiday, sees the annual invasion of the winter’s crop of pool trainees, all eager to do their Novice Diver initiation dives. However, early in the year the conditions are unpredictable and quite often the vis is so poor that you make sure you clean the inside of your mask thoroughly because every inch of vis counts!

When the sun comes out and the vis is good nothing can beat Swanage though. On peak weekends the cylinders for pumping stack up 20 deep at times - confirmation of the site’s popularity.

Diving here mid week assures you of a more personal attention from the otherwise hectic dive shop, a mute relaxed atmosphere generally, and a parking space a mere ten yards away from the compressor,

Even during busy weekends you can drive straight onto the pier if you get there early. Parking exists for a maximum of 40 vehicles — at a modest fee. Divers tend to monopolise the pier; on a busy day it becomes one long fashion parade of diving equipment, and bare bums, as they kit up.

As the season progresses, the Novices come to regard Swanage pier as merely a launching point for their inflammables. But for the underwater photographer the season is just beginning; many award-winning shots have been taken here.

The reasons for the pier’s popularity with photographers include its easy access, prolific marine life and ample light. Early in the morning the sun is in the best position to be captured streaming through the pilings.

There is also plenty here for those interested in marine biology. The pier allows many species of plants and animals the opportunity to attach themselves to a hard, stable surface.

As most of the creatures found here reproduce by floating or crawling spores and larvae, their distribution is governed by the tide and light levels.

Different species exist at different levels on the vertical pilings. Green and brown seaweed’s thrive on the well-lit upper levels, while further below the low-water mark, anemones and dead man’s fingers grow in profusion. Colonising animals such as sea squirts, sea mats, and tubeworms are abundant, as are other encrusting life forms.

Life also establishes its hold on the upper surfaces of horizontal spars but few seaweeds survive in the deeper shaded areas Juvenile plaice, distinguished by their bright orange spots, are plentiful over the sandy bottom just off the pier during the latter half of the season. Other visitors include cuttlefish and squid.

The pier acts as a natural SMB to ward off boat traffic, but you have to compete with inflatables picking up and mooring in between dives at the steps. For this reason, it is advisable to stay on the surface, thus remaining visible, until the triple pilings 2m along; you won’t miss much in any event, as the bottom is mostly sand.

Navigation under the pier is most easily achieved by a novel variation of pilotage: simply keep the shadow of the boardwalk over you and you can be certain of where you are.

The vis is usually of the order of 3m, allowing you to see the next piling along easily, but a compass bearing is useful in low via to orientate you to the way back should you become confused There is no depth gradient to speak of to indicate your direction.

Swanage pier is the ideal night dive. Even though the pier itself closes at dusk it remains easily accessible from the beach in front of the adjacent yacht club. The marine life on the night shift differs considerably from that found during the day. Even barren ground, such as the sand flats, plays host to flatfish, baby cuttle, and squid.

At night the wall where the hardboats moor is accessible with out the danger of a prop behind the ear, it comes alive with prawns squat lobsters, and tompot blennies.

On one night dive last year I was attracted by the frenetic swinging beam of my buddy’s torch and, upon investigating, discovered the object of his attentions was the largest conger eel I have ever seen! It was inhabiting a discarded drainage pipe that, on a dive earlier that day, I was poking my arm into!

Finding your way around at night is still relatively simple, as the pier is conveniently lit along its length, but it is possible to confuse the lights with those on the shore.

Facilities on the pier are basic but good; both ladies and gents toilets, a Portacabin for changing, and a newly opened kiosk selling teas and sandwiches. Check out the pier museum too.

No less than three hardboats operate from he pier now, mostly offering trips to the ever-popular Kyarra. Numerous other sites are a short hop by inflatable. Most opt to swing across the bay to Old Harry rocks, but the cliffs to the west provide equally interesting diving at such Sites as Dancing Ledges.

It’s still Swanage Pier that draws me back time after time however, providing a microcosm of Dorset’s superlative diving.

Photography and text by  Benny Sutton