Sorcery wrote:Wreck diving in Scapa flow is vastly over-rated imho. The wrecks are all inside a lagoon (for want of a better word) formed by the surrounding islands. The lagoon is very silty and in summer gets a build up of plankton that doesn't get sufficiently flushed out by the tides. It makes for low visibility, deep diving (the shallowest wreck is from memory 30m). On the other hand, we persuaded the skipper to take us to a recent fishing boat wreck, outside the lagoon, a completely different experience with 25m visibilty. If I was to do it again, then I would arrange for diving outside the lagoon with a rib/boat and someone (the skipper) with local knowledge of the tides.
Colourful wildlife including curious seals would be my choice.
I am sure Skara Brae is on your list. It's an amazing place, much older than the pyramids and makes you realise why the the Adlantis legend has such resonance. A whole culture just turned up in the place for some unknown reason, quite possibly after fleeing rising sea levels after glacier melt.
People seem welcoming too, they seem pleased to have different company.
Hi. Yeah, I've read about the low viz, and needing a torch too. I must say that doesn't particularly appeal, and also, while I've done a few 30m wetsuit dives before and was quite comfortable with that, that was after quite a few dives at shallower depths, building up, and I think I'd prefer to do the same with a drysuit rather than going straight into 25m+ after qualification. But I don't have the time to do that and, TBH, I don't particularly have an interest in naval wrecks, prefer wildlife, so just the dive round the Churchill barriers will probably do me.
![Wink ;)](./images/smilies/icon_e_wink.gif)
Re Skara Brae, I signed up for a tour with this lot,
https://www.orkneyarchaeologytours.co.uk/, which hits all the major archaeological sites and historic buildings (except the Ness of Brodgar, which won't be open when I'm there).