Snorkelling spots in the UK

Babbacombe Beach: Ideal beginners snorkelling spot. Lots of life in the rock pools and seaweed. A bus ride from Torquay (or Teignmouth) station.

Cwmtydu: A quiet and sheltered cove. When I went, the visibility was great, and I saw plenty of sea life including crabs and jellyfish, though no seals that the beach is famous for. You can spend ages exploring the caves, rocks and kelp forests.

Mwnt: a lovely sandy cove and beach. Visibility was pretty bad when I went but the sea environment was just right for sand smelt, jellyfish and crabs. This a hotspot for sightings of bottlenose dolphins too.

Poppit Sands (cy: Traeth Poppit): gently sloping beach with a lot of shallow water even at high tide. Unpredictable currents on the south-eastern end but rock pools on the north-western end. Possible mini-snorkelling trip around the headland of Trwyn Careg-ddu to the west. Blue-flag clean and lifeguarded. Close to Cardigan (cy: Aberteifi) but has a branch of Crwst.

Other bits

There's a map of snorkelling spots at Snorkelology. You can check the tide times from the BBC or Admiralty EasyTide or the Met Office or WillyWeather or The UK Beach Guide.