The northeast coast of England is an area full of contradicting landscapes. Miles of rugged, attractive and unspoilt scenery are only a stones throw away from large thriving cities that grew up as the North Sea played a vital role in Britain’s economic and political growth.

Long recognised as being the hub of the Industrial Revolution, the likes of George Stephenson, father of the railways; Sir Joseph Swan, inventor of the light bulb and Sir Charles Parson, inventor of the steam turbine, all had roots here. In a modern context it is one of Britain’s liveliest regions for entertainment, events and the arts.

Of all sights in Newcastle, the most impressive view is that of the six bridges that cross the Tyne, the most famous - the Tyne Bridge being built between 1925 and 1928. Measuring half a mile in length it was the world’s largest span bridge until its design, was replicated in Sydney, Australia in 1932. The area has also been key to Britain’s maritime trade with both ship-building and freight playing a major role in the regions development. This was recognised during both World Wars as both U-boats (WW1) and the Luftwaffe (WW2) singled the east coast ports and the Tyne are in particular for “special attention”.

Numerous wrecks abound of this coastline, the result of action of both war and peace. Even after several visits the diving remains as varied and captivating as ever and far from exhausted. They are unquestionably among the most interesting to be found in UK waters.

Diving from Tynemouth is best achieved using an RIB and launching by four-wheel drive from one of the designated sandy beaches. Good teamwork keeps the trailer rolling and then it is a simple case of parking the vehicle before venturing out to sea. Another beauty of the diving in this area is that you do not need to journey too far offshore; many of the wrecks lie within convenient easy reach.

Unlike many other parts of the country were wrecks have almost been picked clean of artefacts by sport divers, these wrecks seem to enjoy more respect. The short season too, will account for reduced wreck attrition as divers’ only real chance of thoroughly exploring these former vessels is between April and August. There are some occasional settled periods outside the main season but nothing that can be guaranteed.

Other considerations are heavy and prolonged rainfall. This has a big effect on reducing underwater visibility, as the mainland feeds the River Tyne with water-borne sediment and delivers it in suspension into the North Sea. Thankfully on our visits in the summer months and during more settled periods, the diving has yielded visibility in excess of 6 metres and on occasions beyond 10 metres.

With a good weather forecast we were up for diving some of the most interesting wrecks to be found in the region and our first trip would be to the Dolphin.

The Dolphin (ex HMS Pandora) 1914 situated at N 55 06 085 W 00 12 72 82 one and a half miles SSE of Blyth. She was a submarine depot repair and supply steamship originally built to order by Sir Raylton Dixon & Co at the Cleveland Dockyard, Middlesborough, for James Moss & Co of Liverpool. Originally intended in 1902 for Egyptian trade, she was built to the highest specification. Weighing in at 3,700 tons, her steel decks were topped with wood. These included exotic Hungarian Ash that was used for elaborate panelling that extended to the ceiling.

The whole vessel was equipped with electric lights, electric bells and steam heating. Additional specification included a freshwater condenser, five watertight bulkheads, water ballast, as well as steam winches to aid the rapid unloading of cargo.

Power came from a three-cylinder triple expansion steam engine, supplied by three boilers developing 2200 horsepower and driving a single screw. On November 9, 1914, she was purchased by the Royal Navy and was initially HMS Pandora and was later changed to HMS Dolphin on October 3 1924. They say that it is unlucky to change a ships name and the Pandora had suffered this fate not once but twice. However she rode her luck and it seemed she had lived out her working career when she met her fate as an elderly ship on the way to being decommissioned.

She had been selected as a block ship for the River Clyde and was under-tow, from Blythe, when she detonated a German laid mine on 23 November 1939. Now resting at a general depth of 18 metres, she is well dispersed and broken; and already professionally salvaged.

Diving the Pandora began for us at the bow section where it rises 7 metres from the sandy seabed at 23 metres. Shoals of pout whiting circulated dreamily, seemingly oblivious to our presence. We passed a torch beam through the interior, which disturbed the shoaling fish, as they suddenly changed course, helping us to realise how easily they could be spooked. We were starting to enjoy the benefit of good underwater visibility, fixing our eyes on the next area of interest, 7 metres seemed good, but we were told later that fifteen metres is not unheard of during periods of dry calm weather.

Other areas of the wreck were more of a rummage as the sections presented themselves in tortured twisted forms, requiring a good deal of knowledge to work out their original function. However as with many of the wrecks of this coast, the Pandora lies in relatively shallow water so there isn’t any need to hurry; you can take your time and work out what you’re looking at …sometimes!

The remains of the propshaft extended away before us almost apparent for its entire length and the large variety of marine life maintained a hard to ignore presence. Our eyes were drawn to a very large solitary white plumose anemone, its presence all the more startling for being surrounded by so much seemingly inhospitable metal debris.

Our surface interval was spent on a sandy beach in Tynemouth, air cylinders are swapped over and a return to sea quickly ensues as we steamed out to our next dive - the Mars.

The Mars sank on 20th December 1939 at position N 55 03 819 W 00 1 24 192, situated one mile east of Blyth. The Mars was a steel 1877-ton Swedish steamship, registered in Stockholm with dimensions 80.97m length by 12.85m beam and 5.38m draught. She was built as the IDA by Bergen Mek Vaerks, Bergen in 1924 and owned at the time of loss by Reden A/B Iris. Her single steel screw propeller was powered by a three-cylinder triple expansion steam engine and developed 162 hp. The Mars had two boilers and one deck.

On 20th December 1939 the Mars was on a passage from Kopmanholmen for London with a cargo of rough wood pulp, when she detonated a German laid mine. After the explosions the vessel sank almost immediately taking with her all seven crew.

Diving the Mars was an eerie, almost ghostly experience. Following the outline of the wreck along the seabed was a haphazard affair with its crumpled hull occasionally appearing from the sand. She lies in an east/northeast to west/southwest direction and is a substantial wreck. The massive ship’s boilers were easily recognised, piercing the gloom like giant globes. Looking up into the mid water region presented a warm green glow which modulated in brightness as the sun was blotted out by frequent clouds. Nearby stood the remains of her two-cylinder steam engine and brass condenser - lengths of copper pipe, bronze valves, hollow masts and cogwheels littering the seabed.

Once again this was a wreck teeming with marine life, with an extraordinary profusion of scotch haddock, complete with stripy silver and brown scales, they filtered through the wreck, occupying every empty cavity, their bodies glinting in the torchlight as they constantly manoeuvred. The scene was more reminiscent of a fish farm pen than a wreck dive.

Moving our attention back to the wreck itself and the small groups of deadmens- fingers added a hint of softness to an otherwise machinery strewn debris field. The Mars is an interesting dive and spread over a large area (90mx30m). With shifting sands, new finds and new challenges in orientation await each visiting diver.

Our final dive was on the wreck of the Eston that sank around the 28th January 1940 at position 55.03.475 W 001.24.646 one mile east of Whitely Bay. The Eston was a steel 1,487 ton British steamship with hull dimensions 73.15m length by 10.97m beam and a draught of 4.80m. She was built by the Goole Ship Building and Repairing Co Ltd at Goole in 1919 and owned at the time of loss by the Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Co. She was powered by a single steel propeller and a triple expansion 3-cylinder engine that achieved 172hp. The Eston had two boilers and her cruising speed was around 11 knots. Earles of Hull had equipped the vessel with its machinery.

She left Hull on 26th January 1940 on passage for Blyth in Northumberland, two days later she was sighted at sea near too her destination, but then she just disappeared. Several days passed and a man’s body and one of the ship’s boats were found washed ashore near Tynemouth. It is believed the Eston hit an enemy mine and sank, although no positive proof is available. The Eston was identified in 1978, when divers recovered the ship’s bell from the bow section.

The Eston stands at its tallest at about 4m high. Her substantial construction has over the last decade especially been compromised by the action of the elements. Today, she lies in three sections; the bows to the north, whilst the engine and boilers lie 50m to the south. A further distance of about 60 metres to the southwest finds the stern.

Diving the Eston started with the shot line leading to the midships part of the vessel at 24 metres. At first the wreck seemed completely featureless, even with visibility at 6 metres, however after a few fin strokes a structure started to take shape as we reached the wheelhouse.

Once again the marine life was teeming inside the wreck, large eyes and silver scales flashed back and forth into our torch beams. Shifting our focus from the fish life to the wreck itself, it still retained much of its form, although more akin to an exploded diagram than a sea going vessel. It formed an interesting junction of rusting geometry; some sections had completely yielded to the sea, whilst others stubbornly refused to be rubbed out by the action of tide and time. Spikes stood menacingly in the least expected corners, ready to impale the unwary.

On the outside of the former accommodation, a short distance nearby lay the remains of the vessel’s former bow, broken clean away from the vessel. It still defiantly clung on to a length of iron anchor chain, which trailed over the rocky seabed. The energy that had been exerted to rip this apart was something to marvel at.

Very much like the dive on the Mars, which had been completed earlier on the same day, the changing light had a lot to do with how the wreck appeared. In the gloom, sinister and menacing, but with the muted rays passing through the columns of deadmens fingers, ethereal and serene; a remarkable dive and a must for anyone visiting the Newcastle region.

Diving the Tynemouth region of Newcastle upon Tyne is unreservedly superb and an absolute revelation to any visitor. There are of course a few things to be aware of; the area is exposed to easterly winds that can create stormy conditions, the tides like many parts of the UK are brisk and can cause underwater visibility to drop, a torch is essential. Nets too are a concern as these can tangle in the wrecks. Salmon nets are cast and left to drift in the tide during summer months. The stinging cells from Lions Mane jellyfish are a concern especially during July and August. Care should be taken when touching shot lines, as their stinging tentacles often become lodged in these.

Take the advice of the local divers, pay attention to your hosts and their local knowledge and you will have an undoubtedly brilliant wreck diving trip and the only question that will be left reverberating in anyone’s head is “how has it been kept a secret for so long?”