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Saturday 26 February 2011

The Deep-Kingston upon Hull

Sunday the 20th of February.
It's another miserable overcast day in Grimsby,so we decide we'll go over the Humber Bridge to 'The Deep' in Hull.
Arriving at the carpark,it looks like the whole of East Yorkshire's had the same idea,we're directed into the overflow carpark.

The rest of the family have been here a few times,but this is my first visit.
Here's their home page.
The Deep

Jack and Charlotte have brought along Nemo and friends.

It's billed as the worlds first 'Submarium'.I can only imagine the name comes from the depth of the whole centre.
You begin the tour by descending several floors with interactive displays at regular intervals.
Much of it deals with evolution,science and the progress of species.

Photographs and video are allowed,but flash photography is banned.
Throughout the visit I took lots of photographs and film with varying results.
I've compiled all my video clips into one musically accompanied video.It's further down the post.
The octopodes (the plural of Octopus) section is currently undergoing reconstruction,so these were the only sea creatures in the centre we didn't see.

We saw sea creatures of many shapes,sizes and species.I won't try to identify them.The link to the home page is above.

Below are a selection of my pictures and video clip.

A bright beginning three floors down with many colourful fish in a shallow tank.

Plenty of interactive displays.

To absorb all the information,tanks displays etc would require quite a few visits.




We'd arrived at the upper tank just as feeding was beginning.The attendant gave a running commentary as she fed the fish.


One of the larger tanks further below also had a microphoned attendant giving a running commentary.



Above are Jack and Charlotte in the display area known as the 'Twilight Zone".


I didn't video the jellyfish although in retrospect I wished I had.They're fascinating to watch as they glide through the water.

Here's my video compilation.



Time for a break at the play area.
These kids are growing up at a phenomenal rate...or is that something to do with my ageing ?

This display is of an imaginary undersea research station.Looking up "undersea research station" on the internet turns up what is claimed to be the worlds only undersea research station.It's known as Aquarius is an underwater ocean laboratory located in the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary. Here's the link.
Aquarius Reef Base


Looks like we've a future deep sea diver here.

Living coral.

Once at the lowest level there are two ways to ascend.The most popular method is via the see through  lift through the tank,or by the stairs.We opted for the stairs after seeing the queue for the lift.
We observed the lift a couple of times via the large observation windows on each level..It was moving fast enough.Climbing the stairs at your own pace seems the best idea.
There was lots of excitement as big rays and sawfish came close enough to kiss through the glass.


A pose in front of Jaws finished a very entertaining visit.Jack and Charlotte had a great time.

Prices are £9.95 for adults,£8.75 for seniors and £7.95 for kids.
It was initially to busy for my liking,but as we descended lower there was plenty of room.
Having been to one or two Sea Life Centres,I think the 'Deep' just edges it.

2 comments:

  1. I've been to the sea life centre in St Andrews (disappointing)and North Queensferry (better)but that one looks a good one. An a bronze shark outside too - but there again I'm a bit of an anorak for a good statue.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I agree Sandy.I must admit it's been a while since I visited the Sealife centres of Blackpool and Scarborough.A visit to North Queensferry was an improvement more recently.I saw some of the outdoor marine life of the the Sydney Aquarium,but never went in.That looked good.
    Comparing the prices of North Queensferry and Kingston upon Hull,the DEEP is the best value.

    ReplyDelete

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