Dorset Underwater

26/08/2026

"Nature's Underwater Tornado"

Today was one of those unforgettable moments where everything moves at once. From birds feeding from above to thousands of fish twirling, twisting and turning with pollack darting through it all to snack.

Pure chaos, pure magic ☺️

21/08/2026

"Anyone Lost their Jack Daniel's"

Yesterday saw me head back to check my local bay for underwater litter. Yes, it looked spotless from above, but within minutes a pepper sachet came flying past me under Swanage Pier 😳

A quick check at Stone Quay saw me find some fishing line caught up in the seaweed, rehome a Peppa Pig Dummy 🤣 and just a few random bits of plastic, paper and just one crabbing bait bag 🙌. The hughest thank you to the young girl who said some lovely kind words to make me smile 🙌

It may only be a small, but just one of these could potentially injure our marine life 🐟🐠🦈🐋

Have a good day all of you x

20/08/2026

"Incredible Change Can Happen"

Today I was browsing one of my favourite Cornish dive sites at Porthkerris Divers and I came across this 🙌

I've had a few inspiring emails and chats this past week and seeing this and posts from divers saying how empty Dorset's shores are, inspires me that magic can happen for our seas if we all pull together🤞

The team of Sussex Underwater have also helped to create incredible change for their area 🙌

Let's join them 💙

For the past thirty years, spearfishing and angling have been restricted at Porthkerris in Cornwall.

This beautiful, secluded cove, tucked away on the Lizard Peninsula, is a brilliant example of what can happen when marine life is protected from human impacts.

Divers regularly report wild fish following them around on their dives, with ballan wrasse, pollack and bass swimming right up to their masks and cameras with no fear.

Today is Marine Protected Areas Day (MPA Day) – so it feels like a good time to remember that even a little protection can make a huge difference.

Although we have MPAs in Cornwall, the reality is that few of them have changed how we manage human activities. We have no areas where marine life is totally protected – through no-take zones or highly protected marine areas.

We know from examples around the world that marine life can thrive when given the chance. And Porthkerris gives us a glimpse of what’s possible when we give nature a little more space.

It’s time we asked for better marine protection in Cornish waters.

Search ‘Save Our Seas’ on the Cornwall Wildlife Trust website to find out how we’re campaigning for better marine protection – which will not only benefit our incredible marine life, but also help make our commercial and recreational fishing more sustainable.

19/08/2026

"World Photography Day"

From Dorset's Coastline to a completely different world beneath the waves - every snorkel adventure reveals a tiny creature or a beautiful scene worth cherishing 💕

It's been 8 years since I had the crazy idea of capturing Dorset's Coastline above and below the waves whilst I was working a night shift on one of the Emergency Units at Poole Hospital. This year's theme is home, and the ocean is my home 💙

Never ever did I believe that there was so much beauty to see just beneath the surface 💕

Thank you for joining me on the journey - Maria x

18/08/2026

"Mantas and Leaf Sheep Sea Slugs"

Happiness is when a 11 year old boy gets super excited to see my studio, hear that I love sea slugs too and runs home to share his favourite Leaf Sheep Nudibranch Plushie with me 💕

Today has been all about land chats to passing guests and divers about manta rays, Egypt, the Maldives and Malta.

And yes I was wearing my Manta Trust t-shirt today 🙌

Thanks so much for passing by Fin 🙌 x

17/08/2026

"Dorset Beneath the Waves Talks"

It won't be long before I head back to the lovely Blandford Camera Club to give another presentation on our amazing underwater world 🙌

Did you know that I give talks to schools as well as care homes and clubs? If you would like a talk then just drop me a message.

It can be as long or as short as you like but one thing's guaranteed, they're all full of fun, interesting facts and heaps of smiles.

Can't wait to see you all again Team Blandford 🙌 xx

16/08/2026

"Snorkelling Course Bliss"

What a dream of a week it's been helping neurodivergent children with Autism and ADHD, a deaf lady and help other ladies and girls overcome their fear of putting their faces in the sea so that they could enjoy the ocean with their families 💕

I always had a dream to help encourage everyone that they could fall in love with our Dorset Coast through snorkelling, learning about our incredible marine life at the same time.

Pinching myself to believe I helped them all fulfil their dreams at Swanage Pier this week, including Alfie the cutest daschund 💕

Just let me know if I can help you too. A 3 hr snorkelling course is just £40 pp - Maria x

15/08/2026

Happy National Relaxation Day 🙌

What if your escape was to be underwater? Imagine wanting to snorkel or dive, but being too afraid?

Today I was super proud to launch a brand new Virtual Reality Concept at Swanage's RNLI Lifeboat Fayre 💙

Last night I started to create a series of mini-movies to bring our underwater world to land to encourage more people to discover our seas. To help those who are afraid or unable to enter our seas due to disability or other accessibility issues and to help children eager to understand what our seas are like underwater ☺️

It was a beyond amazing day showcasing the work of all the conservation organisations I love Marine Conservation Society, Project Seagrass, Seasearch, The Shark Trust chatting all day long as well as snorkelling and even had some incredible overseas chats of sharks in South Africa and Utila, Honduras 🇭🇳

The hughest thank you to the brilliant Swanage RNLI Lifeboat Station for the most amazing day, to Wendy and Dave Corben for their patience, to Natasha for her support and being a perfect first VR bod! To Jo and Helen from I Can Be - Printing & Embroidery for their ongoing support on my journey and to all my amazing guests new and old, Ruby, Dylan, Helen and Andy who just kept visiting and coming to say hi even though I was wilting 😃

Feeling really grateful and so excited to inspire more people on land to our incredible coast 💙

13/08/2026

"Kind Heart, Brave Spirit, Fierce Mind"

Yesterday saw me stand up for fish and I've woken up this morning pretty shaken by yesterday's events.

It was fabulous chatting to Kay and her daughter Florence, seeing her so passionate about marine life and finding this little cushion star. Then last year's snorkelling course guests recognised me and it was amazing to see them again too using their skills.

Did you know that the UK has 377 Marine Protected Areas covering roughly 38% of our shores? These are designed to safeguard vulnerable habitats, rare species and geological features.

Yesterday I saw a spearfisher stroll in between all the families and children on the beach, then walk along the exposed rock, again passing lots of children. I didn't feel it was right and asked for guidance from the office where I was. I was told that they shouldn't be there and that there were signs to say they weren't, which were in force to protect children's safety.

On asking the person gently "Did you know that spear fishing isn't allowed here?" I received a short rude answer that "They knew." They went on to add that they were 3 miles away from the families. I won't go into further details, but whatever your view on spear fishing is, at the end of the day, children's safety always, always takes precedence 💯

And I will always stand up for them and the fish 🐟 🐠. Huge thank you to Dorset Wildlife Trust for their guidance yesterday 🙌

Hope you all have a lovely day xx