England

It was third time lucky for Editorial Director Mark Evans on his quest to dive with the seals off Lundy Island, but it was more than worth the wait, as he explains

Photographs by Mark Evans and Colin Garrett

Lundy Island is a rugged granite outcrop lying off the coast

of North Devon. It measures just three miles in length, and half a mile wide, and while being a lovely unspoilt slice of countryside, it wouldn’t perhaps appear on any diver’s radar if it wasn’t for the hundreds of Atlantic grey seals which call the waters around it home.

Atlantic grey seals are protected by law under the Conservation of Seals Act 1970, and with this protection in place, numbers have swelled immensely. Recent studies believe there are more than 120,000 grey seals in British waters – that’s some 40 percent of the world’s population. So, UK waters might not be that warm, visibility can sometimes be a bit iffy, and weather conditions are known to be somewhat temperamental, but we’ve got seals - loads of seals.

The Atlantic grey seal, whose Latin name ‘Halichoerus grypus’ means the rather unflattering ‘hook-nosed sea pig’, is a large seal, which can reach nearly two-and-a-half metres in length, weigh over 300kg in UK waters, and live for up to 40 years. They feed on a wide variety of fish, but are not fussy, and have been known to eat octopus and even lobster.

Grey seals can be distinguished from the common seal by its larger size and longer head, with a sloping ‘Roman nose’ profile. Looking straight on, their nostrils are parallel, rather than V-shaped as in common seals.

LUCKY

Despite numbers dropping to only 500 in the early 20th century, it’s estimated that there are now more than 120,000 grey seals in Britain, representing 40% of the world’s population and 95% of the European population.

Common dolphins joined us on our way to and from Lundy

Bring on the big stuff

Now while I appreciate critters such as nudibranchs and the like, my heart is in the much bigger stuff – think sharks, rays, turtles, and so on – so diving with seals is right up there. Here in the UK, we are very lucky to have some of the best locations in the world to interact with these rather charismatic mammals, and I finally visited one of them, Lundy Island, in early June.

As you can imagine, trips to Lundy Island to dive with the seals book up months in advance, and alas, the weather can also throw a spanner in the works. I was due to dive Lundy with my son Luke in 2021, but our initial August date was canned due to storms, and then our secondary date in October also had to be postponed because of strong winds. However, third time lucky and all that saw our merry band, which included TV presenter Miranda Krestovnikoff and her son 13-year-old Oliver, board the Obsession II charter vessel bound for Lundy.

Leaving Ilfracombe harbour in stunning sunshine, we were treated to a very smooth crossing to Lundy, and were joined by several common dolphin, who played in the bow wave and frolicked in the wake behind the boat. Dolphins always bring a smile to your face, and so we all thought this bode well for the rest of the day.

Heading out of Ilfracombe Harbour

Expect some close encounters

The Farne Islands

Another hotspot for grey seal interactions is at the Farne Islands, a rugged group of islands just off the Northumberland coastline in the northeast of England, which are home to one of the largest grey seal colonies in the world. Around 1,000 seal pups are born here each autumn, which means there are plenty of inquisitive young seals happy to approach and interact with the divers and photographers that flock here to visit. The diving around the Farnes is excellent anyway, with nice reefs and some scenic wrecks, but the highlight is getting intimately close to these wonderful, playful creatures.

These mammals spend most of their time out at sea feeding on fish. They return to land to rest and can often be seen ‘hauled out’, lying on British beaches. Grey seals give birth to fluffy white pups in the autumn. Obsession II was designed to maximise the 30-metres-plus of gunnel space. The boat can accommodate 12 people easily, and has ample room to manoeuvre in a wheelchair. All dive kit safely stows out of the way underneath the wide benches, and via ingenious metal grills, you can leave all of your gear onboard overnight (if you are on a multi-day dive trip) and it is securely fastened away. There is plenty of room in the wheelhouse or on the front and rear decks, or you can sit up top on the flybridge and enjoy glorious 360 degree views. There is a marine head on board for comfort breaks, and a sturdy diver lift for getting back on board. There is a ladder for those more old-school among us! Expect endless cups of tea, coffee or hot chocolate and a flowing supply of tasty chocolate biscuits between dives. www.lundydiving.co.uk

Using the Ford Nugget shower to rinse the housing

Here in the UK, we are very lucky to have some of the best locations in the world to interact with these rather charismatic mammals

The seals will happily pose for photographs

This feeling proved correct, as arriving at Lundy, there were seal heads popping up everywhere, and everyone was keen to get in the water. Visibility was not fantastic unfortunately, but the seals were still up for some fun, and once they had accepted our presence in the water with them, they became increasingly bold, sneaking up behind you, nibbling on your fins, and generally being boisterous.

It is no good chasing after the seals – one, they are much quicker than you are, and two, it’s just not the done thing. It is better to get into a decent spot and stay there, and let the seals come to you. Once a seal, or seals, is actively showing an interest in you, then you just have to judge the individual animal. Some prefer you to remain relatively stationary and they will approach you, others want you to twist and turn and play with them.

Luke had his Force Fin Pro fins on, and these proved irresistible to one young male, who relentlessly followed him around nosing at his fin tips as Luke swam on his back, and twist-turned through the water.

The best dive depth to interact with the seals is just 3-4m, so any level of certification can do this dive. It is also possible to snorkel with the seals, and they will approach snorkellers just as closely as they do the divers.

Luke and I could have spent all day in the water with the seals, but as the second hour ticked away, we reluctantly made our way back to the dive boat, where after riding the diver lift back on board – so much easier than old-school ladders! - and taking off our gear, we were treated to fresh hot drinks and chocolate bars. Just what you need after a few hours in the water!

On our way back to Ilfracombe, we were buzzed by even more common dolphins, and at one point had some 20 or so riding the bow wave of the Obsession II. It made a spectacular ending to a fantastic day. It may have taken us three attempts to get to Lundy, but it was undoubtedly worth it, as this is one of the most-privileged wildlife encounters the UK has to offer. Our group is already planning for a return visit in 2023 – we just need the weather to cooperate this time! n

Miranda and Penney after some soul-nourishing seal interaction Seals are very inquisitive animals

The Ford Nugget made a great mobile office

Nugget is pure gold

We have done various camp ‘n’ dive trips over the year, utilising everything from tiny two-man tents to luxury tents and campervans, and for this jaunt down to the South Coast, we were making use of a Ford Transit Custom Nugget campervan. The Nugget makes for a comfortable long-distance cruiser, and it had more than enough room inside for two adults and a rapidly growing 15 year old! The kitchen is usefully contained in the back, leaving the middle for the seats and dining table, a layout we found very user-friendly and actually quite spacious. From a mobile diving base point of view, one feature we particularly liked was the little shower that plugs in at the rear – it is only cold water, but great for rinsing off camera housings, etc. www.ford.co.uk