Deep Sea World, Edinburgh

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***Location***
Deep Sea World is located in North Queensferry, Fife and is situated just beneath the Forth Rail Bridge. It is easily accessible by car at just a mile from the M90 and is a manageable 45-50 minute drive from Glasgow and roughly 25 minutes from Edinburgh.
***Opening Hours***
Monday to Friday – 10am to 5pm
Saturday and Sunday and bank holidays – 10am to 6pm

***Price***
Adults: ...
...at the foot of the Deep Sea World entrance or alternatively, if blessed with decent weather, bring a picnic to enjoy at one of the picnic tables at the centre entrance.

I stood in queue for 20 minutes while Rikki patiently entertained the three hungry boys. When I finally got to the front of the queue I found out there were no baguettes or sandwiches left, no baked potatoes and only two servings of the hot food option left – either ... more

It was another wet weekend and another 48 hours of the kid complaining they are bored despite the ridiculous mound of toys that surround them. BY Saturday night I could take no more and was trolling the internet in desperation looking for something we could do the following day. It was the picture of the seal that first captured my attention. Believe it or not, not all Canadians think Seals are only good for culling. The picture was sufficiently soppy enough to convince my other half that the trip was a good idea and so it was planned.

Our intention was to be out of the house by 09:30 at the latest, but as is the norm it was closer to 11:30 however, the five of us (me, my partner, our 3 year old son Kyle, his brother Jordan and their cousin Darren) finally managed to make it there with only one emergency toilet stop.

***Attractions***
All displays include descriptions of the animal, their habitat, feeding habits etc and include some very interesting trivia on each species.

*Main Hall *
When you enter the centre you find yourself in a dark hall with beautiful fish swimming in majestic tanks of all shapes and sizes, darting through the delicate coral as if dancing. Some of the fish you can expect to see include; Yellow Saffin Tang, Blue Damsel, Blue Spotted Humbug and French Angel Fish. We all agreed our favourite was the Finding Nemo Fish.

Also on display are tanks of angry looking Piranhas, a variety of crustations including bright blue crabs, star fish and a number of smaller shark species. A woman in a wet suit walked amongst the small sharks and held one for visitors to touch. My youngest was the only of the three boys brave enough to touch the angel shark and was very excited to tell his nursery friends all about it.

There is a great display of exotic frogs. Kyle was amazed by the bright colours, particularly the tiny, electric blue Poison Dart Frog.

*underwater tunnel*
The tunnel is what makes this place shine. It stretches almost 120 metres, with a moving floor that will carry you slowly under the watery home of the sharks, eels and other slippery creatures including the Tiger Shark and the Sand Shark. We were lucky enough to see two divers feeding the sharks while a guide explained what was happening and the feeding habits of the animals being fed. It was fantastic to see the sharks swarming only a couple feet in front of us and the divers were great about stopping, waving and interacting with the kids.

Incidentally, I am considering getting one of the acrylic tunnels built into my home. At 6.5cm thick and curved, it makes things behind it seem 30% smaller than they actually are - Who needs to diet!

*Seal enclosure*
I was unfortunately, disappointed by the fabulous seal enclosure the centre boasts if. All we found was one seal swimming around a small murky pool no bigger than my living room. It only peaked its head out once and although he was lovely, the boys were soon shifting from foot to foot wanting to move on. I suspect it is a hit or miss situation with the seals as they rear young pups to be released back into their natural habitat. If you go expecting a circus show of seals bouncing red balls on their noses, and flipping 10 feet out of the water (like I must admit I did) you will be disappointed.

*Dinomite exhibition*
This is an added feature from April through until October of this year. Basically, it is a port-a-cabin next to the parking lot with a few models of dinosaurs and fossils. There are interactive (button-pushing) fact boards for each display and some realistic sound effects to accompany them. The exhibit is thrown in as an extra and doesn’t cost anything. As a freebee it’s good, as a paid attraction, perhaps not.

***Location***
Deep Sea World is located in North Queensferry, Fife and is situated just beneath the Forth Rail Bridge. It is easily accessible by car at just a mile from the M90 and is a manageable 45-50 minute drive from Glasgow and roughly 25 minutes from Edinburgh.
***Opening Hours***
Monday to Friday – 10am to 5pm
Saturday and Sunday and bank holidays – 10am to 6pm

***Price***
Adults: £8.75
Children of 3 and above: £6.50
Family (2 adults, 2 Children) £29.50
Groovy Grandparents (2 concessions and 2 children): £26.50

***Accessibility***
The centre claims to be fully accessible to those with disabilities although I am not convinced a wheelchair could easily fit onto the rotating walkway in the underwater tunnel, however it could be that arrangements can be easily made with staff. I was impressed and encouraged to note that carers of those with disability are eligible for free entry.

***Restaurant***
The restaurant proved to be a very expensive waste of time and I would advise anyone to either plan on visiting one of the small cafes or pubs located in the village at the foot of the Deep Sea World entrance or alternatively, if blessed with decent weather, bring a picnic to enjoy at one of the picnic tables at the centre entrance.

I stood in queue for 20 minutes while Rikki patiently entertained the three hungry boys. When I finally got to the front of the queue I found out there were no baguettes or sandwiches left, no baked potatoes and only two servings of the hot food option left – either a soggy looking pizza or ironically, fish and chips. I ended up with a kids chicken nugget meal and the chicken was hard. I don’t mean, just a little over-cooked. I tapped the table with it and was amazed it didn’t collapse under the strain.

My stepson’s fish was inedible and he is a human rubbish bin. My son had one of the kid’s meals. It consisted of a hot dog roll with one slice of processed cheese, yoghurt that was on its last day of the best by date and looked dodgy enough for us to throw out, an orange juice and the only thing he went near, milky-way stars. This, along with a plate of chips, two fruit shoots and a pack of mini-pringles came to £17.85. Even more shocking, a man at the till ahead of me noticed the standard pack of Walkers Crisps he had bought being rung up on the till as £1.65. There appeared to be no one over 15 working there and when I mentioned that the serviette dispenser was empty I had thought they would have refilled it but they didn’t/ Tables were piled high with trays and left over food which was spilling onto the floor. I accept it was a busy day being a bank holiday weekend but there were plenty of employees standing around with a glazed look in their eyes doing nothing more than propping a wall up. I don’t expect silver service, but the seals outside could have provided better service!

***Was it worth it***
As I looked into the back seat of our car on our way home to find three boy sleeping soundly, I knew that, yes it had been worth it and the day had been a success. It is a constant struggle to find things that are entertaining for our 3 year old right up to our 1o year old and Deep Sea World seemed to hold their interest well. Who knows, they may have even learnt something! 

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