Selsey, England, United Kingdom

Selsey Lifeboat Station

The Selsey lifeboat station shore-dive site, on the West Sussex coast just east of the Pagham Harbour Local Nature Reserve, is one of the most accessible shore dives in the central English Channel. Easy entry from the lifeboat slipway or the adjacent shingle beach leads onto a low rocky reef known as Mixon Hole and the surrounding gullies in 5 to 12 metres of water, with mixed bottom of chalk, sand, shingle and small reef structures. The Mixon Hole itself is a notable underwater chalk feature dropping more sharply to over 25 metres further out. Marine life includes plumose anemones, dead man's fingers, snakelocks anemones, sponges, hydroids and kelp on the shallow reef edges, with ballan wrasse, corkwing wrasse, pollack, bib, tompot blennies, gobies, conger eels, edible crabs, spider crabs, lobsters and cuttlefish in summer. Visibility ranges from 3 to 6 metres because of the chalky sediment, and water temperatures vary between 10 and 18 degrees Celsius. Currents are weak inshore but stronger over the Mixon Hole. Suitable for entry-level shore divers and macro photographers.