Diving Strangford Lough & Ards Peninsula

About Northern Ireland – Strangford Lough & Ards Peninsula

Strangford Lough is a massive sea lough on the Ards Peninsula, famous for one of the world’s strongest tidal races at its narrows. The Dorn and the Narrows offer slack-water dives in deep channels where walls are covered in dead-men’s fingers, plumose anemones, massive spider crabs and scallops. The Ringhaddy Wall is a more sheltered drop-off with sponges and conger eels, and the Raindrop (SS Empire Tern) and Glennoe wrecks add history. Cloghy Rocks and Newcastle on the Mourne Coast bring boulder fields, kelp and the scattered SS Connemara. Sheltered, biodiverse and technically interesting, this region is a favourite for photographers and those who love tidal-flow diving.

Highlights

• ✓Strangford Narrows: one of the world’s strongest tidal races
• ✓The Ringhaddy Wall: a sheltered sponge and conger drop-off
• ✓Raindrop Wreck (SS Empire Tern): a WWII cargo wreck at 10-20 m
• ✓Portaferry Glennoe: a coastal steamer wreck with conger eels
• ✓Cloghy Rocks & Newcastle: boulder fields, kelp and rays

Getting There

Fly into Belfast (BFS) and drive the Ards Peninsula. The Strangford ferry links Portaferry and Strangford; dive boats launch from Portaferry, Kircubbin and Newcastle on the Mourne coast.