Stoney Cove
| Stoney Cove | ||
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| Geographical location | Leicestershire , England | |
| Tributaries | no | |
| Drain | none | |
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| Coordinates | 52 ° 32 '32 " N , 1 ° 16' 27" W | |
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Stoney Cove is a flooded quarry in the English county of Leicestershire . In the 1970s, the site was developed for diving tourism and has been offering diving opportunities for sport and tech divers ever since .
History of the quarry
At the beginning of the 19th century, England decided to use granite from local quarries to rehabilitate the ailing streets. This is also where the Stoney Cove quarry was built. Due to the high demand for stones, it was decided in 1850 to build a railway line to make it easier to transport the granite from the upper pit to the center of the nearby village of Stoney Stanton. The railway line connected the place with the commercial center of Birmingham .
A constant problem with the quarry was spring water , so pumps had to be used to keep the quarry from flooding. After the granite mining ended in 1958 and the pumps were turned off, the spring water flooded the entire quarry within a few months.
Development of diving
From 1963, the first divers and water ski pioneers used the flooded quarry for themselves. In the 1960s and 70s, professional divers were prepared here for use on the North Sea oil fields and underwater equipment for crude oil extraction was tested.
In 1978 the Stoney Cove Marine Trials Ltd. founded to use and expand Stoney Cove as commercial diving water. Since then, the infrastructure - in the form of parking lots, sanitary facilities and catering facilities, diving base with filling station and affiliated diving school - has been continuously improved. The construction of a new access road in September 1999, underlaid with a drainage system, made it possible to improve visibility under water during rainy periods, as rainwater, along with dirt and sediment, can no longer flow unhindered into the quarry.
By bringing in attractions such as For example, in 2000 the “Stanegarth”, the largest British inland waterway shipwreck, or the “Nautilus” submarine, an “underwater playground” was created to attract more diving tourists to Stoney Cove. Stoney Cove has various options for diving training and fun dives with depths of up to 36 meters. A heated teaching pool is also available for diving training.
Various underwater objects
In addition to a variety of other diving objects, the following special objects can be found in Stoney Cove:
- Viscount Aircraft Cockpit
The cockpit of the former Vickers Viscount airliner was placed at a depth of around 8 m in 1967 as part of a rescue exercise.
- nautilus
The approximately 10 m long submarine Nautilus lies on a plateau at a depth of about 7 meters.
- The Wessex
The Wessex HU 5 helicopter lies at a depth of 18 to 21 meters. It was bought by the RAF . During the Gulf War, the Wessex was cannibalized underwater.
- The bus
In the 1980s a bus was sunk by the local Hinckley Dive Club. It is located about 30 meters from the edge of a cliff that drops steeply down to about 36 meters.
- The Galleon
At a depth of 6 m in the southeastern corner of Stoney Cove, there are remains of wood that are supposed to recreate the wreck of an old ship. The shipwreck was the Midlands underwater archeology group according to the plans of a galleon built in the 17th century and served for the teaching of underwater archaeological skills like drawing and measuring.
- Aircraft wreck
The small plane rests next to a wooden boat at about 20 meters in the southwest corner of Stoney Cove. It lies with the hull down and touches a rock face at a depth of approx. 18 meters with the stern.
- Deep hydrobox
The Deep Hydrobox is a cube-shaped steel structure with an edge length of 5 meters. The inside of the box is dark and a flashlight is essential. The box was designed to create a dry working environment for welding and other underwater tasks.
- Blow-Off Preventer (BOP)
The Blowout Preverter is a device that was used for drilling for oil. It enables the pressure of fluids to be controlled during an oil well and prevents the oil from leaking out of the well in an uncontrolled manner.
- 4-meter block house
The log cabin 4m is on the eastern wall of the quarry and is a small building with only one door on the south side and 2 small square windows on the north and west side. At a depth of 4 to 5 meters, it sits on a ledge that drops steeply to about 22 m on the southwest side.
- Wooden boat
The wooden cabin cruiser is an old wooden boat, which lies in the western corner of Stoney Cove on the bow side on a sloping slate-like south wall, near the Aircraft Wreck.
- Stanegarth
Built in 1910 by Lytham Shipbuilding Company for Rea Transport Co Ltd. Liverpool, the Stanegarth was a steam tug that was mainly used on the Gloucester Canal. Although tons of steel scrap including gearboxes and engines were removed before it was sunk, it still weighed just over 80 tons. The Stanegarth sits upright in 22 meters of water.
- FV 432 APC
The FV 432 APC is a small British armored personnel carrier that was exhibited in the tank museum in Bovington for a number of years after its use as a service vehicle. Now it lies in shallow water at a depth of 3 to 4 m. Its hatches and tailgate were locked.
- Winch
The winch is an old crane winch from the days when granite was still mined in this quarry. Located on the eastern wall of the quarry at a depth of 5 to 6 m, it is partly heavily covered with aquatic plants and sediment. The drums that contained the crane cables are clearly visible.
- Tug Boat Defiant
The Dutch tug "Defiant" was sunk on September 16, 2009 as part of a ceremony in Stoney Cove. Oral tradition says that two Germans managed to flee to England during the Second World War. At 14 m in length and around 20 tons, the Defiant is slightly smaller than the Stanegarth and lies northeast of her at a depth of around 20 m.
- MV Belinda trawler
Sunk in front of hundreds of onlookers, it sits between the Defiant and the FV 432 APC.
