DOROTHEA QUARRY - Snowdonia
Nantle
nr Penygroes
Caernarfon
Wales

Entry fee: N/A
Membership: N/A
Opening times: N/A
Night dives: N/A

Dorothea quarry is situated about a half hours drive south of Mount Snowdon in Wales. This old slate quarry set within the beautiful landscape of Snowdonia has a maximum depth of 108 metres. Dorothea is only suitable for diving by very experienced divers.
There is plenty to see when under the water including many old quarry buildings, an old crane, many cars and vans and a few swimthroughs. In the usually fantastic visibility the bottom topography is quite startelling with many pinnacles and shear drop offs.
Due to the shear depth of Dorothea the water temperature stays pretty cold all year round rarely reaching above 8 degrees. When diving here you must use cold water rated regulators and must have a redundant air source, either a pony or a twinset.
Obviously because of the depth, this quarry lends itself to some good decompression diving practice and anyone doing so must be aware that the drive back home through Snowdonia takes you to altitude so you may want to consider taking the longer coastal route back through Bangor.
There are no out of water facilities here. No public phones, toilets, burger vans etc. Air fills can be obtained at Vivian Quarry Dive Centre located in Llanberris.
To finish off Dorothea is a fantastic inland dive with spectacular views but you must be careful diving here as freeflows at depth have caused many deaths here in the past.