You can now go scuba diving in Princes Dock

Fancy taking on a new hobby? You can learn to scuba dive and discover what lurks beneath right here in Liverpool at a new experience at Princes Dock.

Palaemon Divers offers scuba diving lessons and PADI courses at Princes Dock for complete beginners right up to professional level. The start-up scuba business, founded by scuba diving instructor Leanne Clowes in April this year, has also taken two units in The Quay, No.12 Princes Dock, to facilitate a Five Star PADI diving centre and scuba shop, due to open in January 2022.

To celebrate its move to Princes Dock, Palaemon Divers has launched a Scuba in the City initiative to encourage those who live and work in Liverpool and have never dived before to give it a go and discover the abundant and amazing sea life that you might not expect to see lurking at the bottom of the dock.

Leanne’s other business, Scuba Escape, which she runs with diving partner and PADI Course Director Clare Dutton, is currently based at a private quarry in North Wales. But, in 2022, Leanne and Clare will launch the underwater escape experience at Princes Dock. Scuba Escape, recently previewed on BBC’s The One Show, is a world first and a concept that they both came up with during lockdown last year. Scuba Escape has recently been nominated for a Go North Wales Tourism Award.

Leanne said: “A year ago I was working for a recruitment firm in the city. Now, I have turned my hobby in to two brilliant businesses and I am spending every single day doing what I love. To top it all off, I can now share my passion for diving with others who live and work in the city and are looking for a new challenge and an escape into another world.

Looking down over Princes Dock.
Picture by By Rob Atherton

“I first dived in Princes Dock a couple of years ago and was completely shocked by how much life is in there. It is a very safe space to learn to dive and is a much more realistic than a swimming pool. There’s nothing better than diving in outside waters.

“Our Scuba in the City beginner diving sessions are already running in Princes Dock and, next year, once our diving centre is open and the weather warms up, we have plans to expand the number of courses and activities that we offer at Princes Dock. “Our beginner diving sessions also make great experience gifts if you’re struggling to find something for a loved one this Christmas.”

Liza Marco, Asset Manager at Peel L&P’s Liverpool Waters, said:

“It’s wonderful to have more business moving into Princes Dock and making use of the fantastic open water facilities that we have here at Liverpool Waters.

“Princes Dock is a unique urban location with hotels and apartments offering waterside views across the Mersey, where some of the world’s largest cruise ships dock. It’s a place where residents, visitors and city workers can kick back and enjoy a wide range of amenities and activities; from eating waffles at Moose and drinking coffee at Bean; to open water swimming with WeSwimRun and, now, scuba diving with Palaemon Divers, offering people to opportunity to discover life beneath the water.

“Palaemon Divers has made a real commitment to Liverpool Waters, and we are very proud to support them as they grow their business and help to attract more people to come and enjoy the outdoors in a safe, open water environment.”