Alternative Names: Ali’s reef
Type of Dive: Conger alley shore dive on Loch Long is a boulder slope to 30m with lots of sea life.
Suggested experience: Trainees to master divers
Travel directions: Take the A82 up Loch Lomondside to Tarbet. Take the LH fork onto the A83 and pass through Arrochar driving around the head of Loch Long. Two miles out of Arrochar is a long straight with a long tarmac lay-by for 15+cars opposite the loch about 100m north of Lochside Cottage.
Parking directions: There is a lay-bye 200m from the path to the water but there is room for a few cars opposite the path. This is a dangerous road as the cars here travel very fast. Stay alert Google
From Glasgow: 29 miles; 30 to 45 minutes
Lat & Long: 56.191568, -4.776853 Postcode G83 7AR Google
Tides: Tide Tables
Depth: 30m max
Site entry/exit: Kit up in the lay bye or across the road on the pavement, walk 200m south from lay-by and step over a low fence opposite the white house. A path takes you to the site entry/exit by a cleared path running into the water. There is a large rock on your left as you enter the water. If the viz is not too good after a lot of rain it usually gets better at 8-10m and deeper.
Underwater directions: Head out at 90 deg to the shore to the bottom at 30m and turn up the loch approx 30 deg keeping to the edge of the slope. After a 1 min fin you come to the bottom of the bottom reef. Zigzag up the reef to the top. This area is usually very silty so don't fin to hard as other divers will be caught in the clouds. At the top of the bottom reef continue up from 23m to 17m and you will come to the bottom of the top reef. Stay here as long as your computer or air lets you and then back to the small reef and then back 15m and out at the big rock. If you head down to 12-15m turn left and fin to the middle of the top reef; you miss out the bottom reef completely. Few divers even look at the small reef at all. If you venture out on the muddy flat at 30m use a compass as it’s very easy to get lost. Come back to the reef on 315 deg.
Here you will see congers and goldsinny by the score. In February there are usually a lot of dogfish in the shallows (6-10m).
Site Hazards: Fast cars and bikes on A83, Silt can cause poor visibility.
Nearest Public phone: Phone at the entrance to Ardgarten campsite and the Esso petrol station at the head of the Loch.
Mobile Network service: Orange/Vodaphone
- Other comments: Other dive sites near here are the Torpedo station Twin piers and the Torpedos Don't forget to use the comments at the bottom of the page to let other divers know what its like to dive here.
Pub: The Village Inn
Cafe Pit Stop Diner Left after the Arrochar hotel heading north and 150m back down the Loch. Google Three Villages Cafe, Arrochar Tea Room
Air & Nitrox: Aquatron Splashsports
Date: 5/5/08
Revision: 8
Created by: John Nicolson
Links:
Underwater Photos: By John Nicolson
Underwater video: Utube
Dive Map: By John Nicolson
Dive Report: Claire 3/11/11 Just had a fantastic night dive at Conger Alley. Beryl the seal followed us around the whole dive. She was using the light of our torches to hunt. At one point she brushed past me while chasing a fish and then munched it right in front of me. She then managed to get her flippers in my face when pushing past me to get into a hole to get a fish!
Dive Report: Stevie 1262 Feb 07 I was there on Sunday. it was very busy with Divers so went in opp the lay-by and turned right...vis was crap down to 12m like warm soup...it looked like fresh water or plankton very odd. Below this vis was really good 6-10m gin clear with ambient light at 19m, lots of life and some not bad pics although my camera had been knocked onto the wrong setting....dogfish, one big conger, shoals of mackerel and not another Diver on the reef, maybe the shallow bad vis...(well it was almost zero vis).. had put them off.
Dive Report: Comment in the box below.