THRILL-seeking pensioners are shunning mundane fitness classes and swimming sessions for a more thrilling, adrenaline-pumping sport.
Plunging into dark, murky waters to explore the dingy depths is a buzz revered by thousands of daring scuba divers, and now an increasing number of older people aged up to 80 want in on the action.
Annually, about 15,000 adventurous people, many a
ged 60 to 80, visit Gildenburgh Water, a diving centre in Whittlesey, and their abilities range from beginner to instructor level.
Owners Ian and Pauline Forster have run the renowned diving centre for more than 25 years.
Ian (59) said: “Older people are often established in life and have that little bit more money available to be able to pursue something they’ve always wanted to do.
“Scuba diving is relaxing and very stress-relieving. It’s very quiet down there, and people can leave their humdrum lives and relax when they go underwater. It’s very therapeutic.”
The diving centre attracts more than 50,000 people each year from across the country, and it is the first UK centre of excellence for diving.
Its six-and-a-half acre lake reaches 22 metres deep and it has several platforms and a number of unusual wrecks for divers to explore, including a double decker and a single decker bus, two aircraft and a yacht.
Peter Stewart (55), of Lime Tree Close, in Yaxley, near Peterborough, has been an instructor at the diving centre since August.
He said: “I love the sights you see and I find it extremely relaxing.
“It’s great watching other people enjoying themselves, too. To take someone down for the first time and see them relax and enjoy themselves is a pleasure to watch.
“Many pensioners try scuba diving because they have a lot more time on their hands and they watch underwater programmes on TV and wonder what it’s like.
