Photo credit: Jane Morgan
Looking for new ways to keep your diving exciting in 2026? You don’t need to travel far. The UK’s waters offer world-class diving, rich history and unforgettable underwater scenery — all ready for you, your buddies and your club to explore.
Here are five fun UK dives to spark your planning for the year ahead.
1. Dive a historic Protected Wreck
Few experiences connect you to Britain’s maritime past like exploring a protected wreck. From age-old wooden ships to wartime vessels, these sites offer a powerful sense of heritage and discovery.
Schemes such as Historic England’s Protected Wreck licensing and Scotland’s Historic Marine Protected Areas give divers the chance to experience these fascinating sites responsibly. The HMS Colossus (Scilly Isles), Klein Hollandia (East Sussex) and the Coronation (Plymouth) are just three examples where divers can combine history, conservation and adventure.
If your club hasn’t visited a protected wreck before, 2026 is the perfect time to plan one — with the right permissions, good preparation and a well-briefed team.
2. Try a river dive
River diving is an underrated UK gem. It’s a fantastic way to stretch your skills and experience freshwater environments that feel completely different from the coast.
Rivers like the Wye, Dee and some carefully chosen stretches of the Avon and Thames (with landowner permissions and appropriate planning) offer exciting diving with shifting currents, gravel beds and abundant fish life.
It’s a brilliant challenge for divers looking to develop buoyancy control, situational awareness and new dive techniques — and a great ‘something different’ for club training days.
3. Organise an expedition to somewhere remote
Expeditions are at the heart of BSAC’s adventure spirit. Planning one — even a modest, weekend trip — builds confidence, teamwork and leadership across your club.
Remote UK destinations such as the Outer Hebrides, Shetland, Orkney or Scotland’s west coast sea lochs offer incredible diving in truly wild locations. Whether you’re interested in wildlife surveys, wreck research or simply exploring new coastline, an expedition brings out the best in a club team.
Start early, involve your members, and make 2026 the year your club goes somewhere completely new.
4. Dive a high-altitude lake
Want to get high? For a peaceful, atmospheric and utterly memorable dive, head uphill. The UK’s higher-altitude lakes, lochs and tarns offer clear water, dramatic surroundings and a wonderful sense of adventure.
Llyn Padarn, Red Tarn and Scottish upland lochs are all excellent options — and ideal for a club day out. Just remember that altitude affects dive planning, so ensure your divers understand and apply BSAC’s safe diving guidance for altitude diving.
With the right preparation, these trips become stand-out club memories.
5. Explore spectacular underwater scenery
Not every great UK dive is a wreck. Some of our most awe-inspiring underwater experiences come from natural landscapes: towering kelp forests, anemone-covered walls, steep gullies and vibrant reefs.
Cornwall’s Porthkerris, Arran’s rocky bays, the chalk reefs of Sussex and many parts of the West Highlands offer scenery as good as anywhere in the world — and they’re right on our doorstep.
Challenge your club to revisit well-known sites with fresh eyes… or try somewhere entirely new.
Make 2026 your year of adventure
Why not set a goal to tick off all five of these dive types next year? Whether you’re planning club weekends, skills development days or full-blown expeditions, each of these dives offers something unique for BSAC members. Here’s to a year of exploration, learning and great diving with your buddies – and don’t forget to share the adventure with others by tagging @bsacdivers on social media!
Find a BSAC club
Whether you want to learn quickly, take your time or join a community of divers at a club, we can find the right way to get you started in scuba diving.
Need help? Call us on 0151 350 6203 (Mon-Fri, 09:00-17:00) or email for a chat!
