Fenella Beach
From ManxWiki
Fenella beach is a man created sand amd shingle beach in Peel, formed by the creation of the causeway that carries the road from East Quay to Peel Castle and named after the 1870's Fenella Hotel which used to stand on the rocks infront of the current car park.
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Brief History
It is believed that St. Patrick's Isle was connected to the mainland in prehistoric times. At some point in history the island was formed and remained seperate, being washed by the tidal flow and outflow of the River Neb. Improvements to the harbour entrance resulted with the causeway being built and then it just a matter of time until sand and shingle build up resulted in what we now know as Fenella Beach.
The hotel's name Fenella was taken from the heroine in Sir Walter Scott's 1823 novel, Peveril of the Peak.
Location Map
Diving
Peel Castle provides a fantastic back-drop for this dive, as you circle around the castle grounds, in depths touching on 10 metres. As a loop, there is no need to double back, so you can spend all the dive exploring new areas.
Starting behind the food kiosk out on the Breakwater, you can clamber in over the rocks - it gets very tricky when there is some swell, and a long way to go over the rocks at low tide, so always take this into consideration. Once you are in, it's as simple as keeping the rocks on your left all the way around. On your way around the Castle to Fenella Beach, you'll head past a variety of backdrops, starting with a Kelp Forest, before hitting a few caves, and then around the corner to the rocky sides of the cliff face.
Peel is home to a number of Seals, which can be very playful - we've spent a whole hour with Seals playing hide-and-seek and having them nibble our fins! Just give them time to warm to you, and then they won't want to leave you alone!
You can easily spend an hour to navigate around the route - anything less than 45 minutes is powering it, and won't give you a chance to admire the view.
The dive can always be done in the opposite direction, starting at Fenella and exiting at the back of the Breakwater - bear in mind however, entry here is difficult - exit can be even harder. If the rocks at the breakwater are too dangerous, you can always start & finish at Fenella. Also remember that the Breakwater toilets flush straight into the sea behind the breakwater - just be careful you avoid the outlet!
The South side of Fenella Beach also provides an easy dive, just following the rocks out in a straight line. There's a number of rock channels around here which make exploring good fun
