Poseidon's Parlour: Tea & Tiffin

With the weather forecast to be a bit miserable, myself, the Mermaid and Jester headed over to the Tea Rooms, Loch Fyne for a dive, shelter and tea!

Described by Jester as the diving equivalent of 'glamping', the Tea Rooms is a small spit and lagoon popular with fishermen and divers. It is also the site of a small garden centre and tearoom called the Quarry View Garden Centre. Now, if you want to dive or fish here do phone ahead and don't bring your own picnic! The owner, quite rightly, does not take too well to misbehaving divers or fishermen.

Anyway, back to diving. As it turned out the weather was bright and sunny and without the need for shelter. The day started well with a bacon roll before we kitted up and headed for the outside of the spit. We plopped into dark, but clear, water and made our way down to 19m.

We encountered a nice selection of fish - saith, wrasse, cod and a nervous catshark. There were some pretty critters too including:

Devonshire Cup Corals
Northern Sunstars
Bloody Henrys
Common Sunstars

As we came round the point and started to make for shallower waters we had a great encounter with a very curious Ballan Wrasse.

It was a nice dive that more than whiled away an hour.

Then it was time for lunch - toasties all round - before we headed along the road to Drishaig for some firework anemone action. It has to be said, the Mermaid was coming to grips with her new equipment, but we didn't expect her to also demonstrate a new form of site entry technique that effectively involved sliding down the small hill uncontrollably into the thorns and nettles at the bottom. Myself and Jester offered the appropriate level of faux sympathy before helping her to her feet.

The second dive was alright, but after a great first dive it was never going to be that spectacular.