Deep Sea World, Edinburgh

Deep sea world

We decided to visit deep sea world for a day out for our children and after a recommendation by one of our friends this is where we headed. The deep sea world is located under the forth rail bridge and is about an hour’s drive from us and so we set off nice and early. It was very easy to find once we hit Edinburgh it was sign posted fairly well so there was no need for our sat nav and passing over the fourth bridge was a highlight for my children so they were excited before we even arrived. Once we arrived we found there was plenty of free parking available and it was not difficult at all to find a space and then we headed into the centre itself.

We found it was not too busy at all maybe because it was one of the hottest days we have had in summer this year but this meant there was only two people before us in the queue and we were able to go in almost instantly. We paid £42 for a family pass which is for two adults and two children between 3 and 15 which saved us around £2 on buying the tickets separately. As children under three and free we did not need to pay for our two youngest children. We were offered a guide book for £2.50 a book but we were sure we would be able to find our way around without one so decided not to purchase it. You can get a discount on line if you book ahead but as we did not decide until last minute where we were going we did not have the chance.

As you enter the centre you notice straight away how dark it is and although the tanks are lit up my children were a little scared at first especially as they could hear the sounds effects coming from the Amazon area but after five minutes this they began enjoying their visit and forgot about the darkness. There is a chance to get your picture taken by one of the staff members when you enter which you can purchase at the end of your trip.

Tanks

The main area of tanks are situated right at the entrance as you enter the deep sea world there are open top tanks and these are where little ones can touch the creatures if there is a guide their and there are also a number of tanks with sea horses , crabs and of course fish. They also have different sections around the centre some of them are a little small but it is great to visit the amphibian areas and gaze at the frogs of all different colours and watch my children try and find the lizard that is hiding somewhere.

There is also an Amazon area which has sound and light effects which was rather interesting and my children loved the illusion of a thunder storm after they got over how loud the noise was. This is only a tiny area with three tanks but again there were information boards telling us all about the fishes we were able to see inside.
There are of course many different types of fish throughout the centre and there are information points explaining all about what the fish are, where they originate from and what they like in their tank and my children became really interested in the fish after originally only wanting to see the sharks.

Shark tunnel and shark class room

One of the best parts about the deep sea world for us was the shark tank although we did have to leave our pushchair at the opening as you cannot take them around the tunnel so it had to be left unattended at our own risk but this was not too much of a problem. The shark tank is rather impressive although a little small in width there are two different ways to view what’s on offer. There is a conveyor belt to stand on which my children loved it added a little more excitement being guided around the tank but there is also a normal walk way if you wish to step off and inspect one area a little more closely or become sea sick from the moving conveyor belt and water around you.

As you make your way around the tunnel there is a voice over telling the children about all the sea creatures they see around them and we managed to see a few sharks swimming above us which my children loved after they realised there was no way of them getting through the glass. At the opposite side of the centre away from the sharks is a small room with a pull down projector with a film about sharks. This was open for us to go and have a look inside however I think during the school terms it is used for school trips. It was great for my children to sit and learn about the sharks but in all honesty after five minutes they became bored and wanted to go and see the seals.

Demonstrations

For the hour we were there we managed to see two different demonstrations one when we first walked in with the interactive pools. This was great there was a diver I the pool telling us all about the different creatures and giving the children a chance to touch star fish but unfortunately I think every person that was visiting at the same time was there and we were right at the back of the group as we had just entered. We could still hear the staff and my children loved hearing about what the sea creatures liked to eat and their habitats.

As we decided to walk round for a second time there was a demonstration in the shark tank which promised divers feeding the sharks and generally entertaining the children so we made our way down with 10 minutes to go thinking we could get right at the front and actually get to see this time. We were wrong when we reached the tank the queue was leading out of the walkway and there was no way we could even get close so we gave up and left.

Seals

When you walk to the far end of the centre you can go out and see the seals in their very own pool it was rather quiet outside despite it being a lovely warm day and this meant we could get right to the front of the platform and watch the seals. My children thought it was amazing one was on the bank of the pool sunbathing and enjoyed watching the other seal swim around in the pool lifting his head up every now and again but they were a little worried about all the seal poop. There was rather a lot of it and this led to me having a twenty minute conversation with my son and daughter about how seals could poop in the water. The platform to view the seals is a little small and if it had been busier I am sure we would have struggled to get a decent view of them so if you went at peak time I suspect there would be a wait.

Git shop cafe and extras

When you exit the centre there is only one way out and this was accessed by the gift shop with a small pathway only big enough for a pushchair of course this meant everywhere little one turns there are toys. We allowed our children to have £5 each to choose a toy from the very large range available to limit the damage from our bank a little. Two of my children choose to purchase a little tub of sea related creatures with a play mat and in my opinion these were fairly reasonable at £3.99 each. My eldest son however took a lifetime to choose what he wanted jumping between different toys and ended up with a toy snake at £3.89 and it did seemed a little over priced for what he got but he was happy with it so that is all that matters.

As you finally get out of the gift shop you are then greeted by the cafe and although we did originally think we were going to eat here as it had large windows with views out to the forth bridge once we saw what was on offer we decided against it. There were sandwiches, rolls and crisps and lots of other cold food items but none of it seemed appetising and were definitely overpriced so we decided we would find somewhere else to eat instead.

Then finally as we left the cafe we were greeted by a nice lady who asked would we like to buy the picture that was taken as we entered the centre. This was presented in a little book which had three photos of us standing with sharks, fishes and under the forth rail bridge along with lots of information about the creatures we had just seen. We agreed to purchase the book and this cost us another £12 on top of everything else we had spent.

Summary

We found it fairly easy to walk around there were times when it was a little difficult with a pushchair and we did have to leave it unattended to pass through the shark tunnel but other than that it was fairly accessible. My children did enjoy the different areas and I like the information boards meaning you do not need to take part in a tour to understand the creatures a little better and my children loved hearing all about them.

The thing is it seemed very small, the walkways were small and although there were two sides of a barrier it just felt a little claustrophobic in there. My children ran into other children over and over again as there was not much space for excited minds to explore. We did find ourselves walking backwards and forwards trying to find something new to see and after an hour we had been around the whole place twice and there was nothing else to do. The staff were very helpful although there were not many around as you walk around the centre in general when we did come across them they were happy to help and tell the children all about the tanks around them.

Maybe we were expecting a little too much and we had a recommendation from our friend but overall we were disappointed. My son told me he wants to go back today and I thought oh good at least the children enjoyed it but then he informed me it was not to see the fishes that are boring as we have seen them all lots of times but I didn’t have enough time in the gift shop.... I think that sums it up really my children were more excited about the forth bridge and gift shop than any other part of the centre and after an hour inside and nearly £70 later we will not be visiting again.

Deep Sea World
Battery Quarry
North Queensferry
Fife
KY11 1JR
t: 01383 411 880
f: 01383 410 514

Adult (15+) £13.00 Child (age 3-14 years, under 3s go free) £8.75 Concession (OAPs, students, Carers) £11.00 Family (2 adults and 2 children) £42.00 Groovy Grandparents (2 concessions + 2 children) £38.00