When: 19th May – 18:15
Where: Millpool Centre
Speakers – Emma and Gordon Taylor
Title: Snorkelology – Snorkelling in Britain
Emma and Gordon Taylor are authors of Snorkelling Britain, a recently published guide that aims to promote snorkelling as a means to explore Britain’s wonderful marine environment. Their background is best described in the forward to the book:
“For as long as we can remember, the water has been a source of fascination, from childhood memories of spending hours on the bottom of swimming pools to snorkelling on family holidays and eventually learning to dive. We met on a SCUBA instructor course while at university, and for the next ten years diving consumed our lives as we travelled
extensively around the UK and abroad, instructing and supervising others, driving boats and freediving.
But as time passed and children appeared on the scene, diving took a back seat to the happy chaos of life with a young family. Nevertheless, our love for the seas remained, and we quickly had to find other ways to get our fix. Initially, these were brief dips in stolen moments during family beach days, but as the children grew older, they were keen to join in.
During this time, we were reminded of the more accessible ways to explore our coastline and meet its inhabitants – rock pooling, exploring larger tidal pools armed with a pair of goggles, and snorkelling. We rediscovered a love of the light, bright, busy shallow waters just beyond the tideline and realised we wanted to share the joy this has brought us, each
snorkelling adventure a peaceful yet invigorating experience.”
Emma and Gordon will talk about how they came to write Snorkelling Britain, as well as sharing some of the highlights and challenges involved with writing a book while working full time day-jobs, juggling family life with two young teens, and having to become proficient in underwater photography from zero knowledge! They will share some of their favourite sites and give some insight into “what next”, a question that has arisen many times since the book was published in May 2025.
