My First Dive at Gildenburgh Water

Hi everybody! Today I’m blogging about my first ever open water dive at Gildenburgh Water near Peterborough (it’s also called “Gildenburgh Water”  and it's about 6½ acres with depths down to 22 m) .

Early Morning & Feeling Nervous

We had a really long drive—we left super early so Mum, Dad, my little brother and I could get there. I felt scared and nervous because I’ve never done an open water dive before. My little brother watched from the side, and Mum and Dad kept telling me I could do it and helped me feel better.

When we got there, the lakes weren’t as big as I thought. It felt smaller when you stood at the edge.

Meeting Instructors & Gear Setup

I saw my two buddies at the shore and then our instructors Polly and Ian arrived. They were so kind! We set up all our gear: my BCD, tanks, and I put on my new birthday wetsuit and BCD—I didn’t have my fins yet because I was borrowing them later.

They helped me check everything and make sure I was okay.

First Try Underwater: With Ian

I went down with Ian first, but my ears wouldn’t equalise, and my hair was annoying me under my mask. Pro tip: don’t do bunches—do a low ponytail instead! I had to come up a few times because my ears hurt, but both Polly and Ian were super patient and kept me calm.

After a short break, I felt a bit braver.

Second Dive: With Polly

On my second attempt, I went down with Polly. Under the water, it was amazing! I saw a big fish, loads of crayfish, and one crayfish even tried to sit on my fin—I giggled so much! There was a sunken pool table, a red dog statue, and a rope that we used to go down and come back up—it felt like a secret elevator underwater.

Gildenburgh has all these cool underwater objects like a double-decker bus and a plane too, which lots of divers explore there .

How I Felt After

By the end, I had so much fun and was really happy because I completed the dive! I dove to 7.5m meters which my mum thought was really cool. Even though I was nervous at first, I did it with Mum and Dad cheering and Polly and Ian helping me all the way.