We’re a friendly, enjoyment orientated, scuba diving club. We love scuba diving and we want you to love diving too by learning to dive safely in a fun way.
Our club has a long history. We formed under the BSAC banner back in 1987. The 27th January to be exact. Our name came from the pub that the club met at beside St Helens’ Parr swimming pool where we trained. ‘The Northern Union’.
The pub, unlike the club, is no longer there anymore but the memories still linger with two of the original 4 committee members, Anne Halliwell and Bob Roberts still with us as honorary members (although no longer diving). At least 6 members have been with the branch over 30 years.
We have moved pubs several times since the Northern Union closed. First to the Hen and Chickens, imagine what we could have called ourselves there! to most recently, The Cowley Vaults on Cooper Street where we you can find us for a friendly chat on a Tuesday from 9pm.
We have a core of 15 regular divers including 3 full instructors, male and female, and another four on the route to full accreditation. Pool training and instruction is on a Wednesday at 9pm in the Nye Bevan pool in Skelmersdale. Necessary as the Parr pool in St Helens, our original haunt, is out of action. Roofless sadly.
Once you progress from learning the scuba basics (it doesn’t take long but it doesn’t take 5 minutes) we introduce you to the real open water experience in either Eccleston Delph diving centre (usually a Sunday) or somewhere else where you can feel the true diving environment without being in the wild.
The wild is the open sea! We have our own Rigidised Inflatable Boat (RIB) and are able to take it out to search wrecks, look for seals and dolphins or just observe the natural marine environment. Remember, UK diving prepares you for your holiday diving. So, you don’t just get out there and waste a day learning the ropes and being shown the barest features in your holiday resort. You can develop your skills with us and use every available minute under the water to see marine life and maybe video it! (That’s a whole other story).
So, you can see, we have all the capacity to bring newcomers into the fold of safe fun diving and prepare you for experiencing the wild. Also, getting together and diving together as a club can get you access to discounts for group holidays. We’ve been to the red sea , the Maldives and in the past Cuba. UK diving regularly includes Isle of Man, east and west coast of Scotland and Wales.
So, come and meet us. Diving with friends is fun as well as safe.
