Brixham, England, United Kingdom

Berry Head

Berry Head is the dramatic limestone headland that forms the southern arm of Tor Bay in south Devon, and the surrounding underwater cliffs and reefs offer some of the best wall and pinnacle dives on the South Devon coast. The headland drops in vertical limestone walls and stepped ledges to 25 metres on a clean rock and sand bottom, with offshore pinnacles such as Mew Stone and the Cod Rock providing additional sites. The walls are densely covered with plumose anemones, dead man's fingers, jewel anemones in patches, sponges, hydroids and pink coralline algae, with kelp forests of Laminaria hyperborea on the upper margins. Resident species include ballan wrasse, cuckoo wrasse, pollack, bib, conger eels, tompot blennies, lobsters, edible crabs and spider crabs, with occasional sunfish in late summer. Berry Head is part of a Marine Conservation Zone designated for its rocky reef habitat. Visibility ranges from 6 to 12 metres in summer and water temperature varies between 9 and 17 degrees Celsius. Currents are moderate. Dives run from Brixham charter boats around slack water.