The Blackpool Sealife Centre

The sealife centre Blackpool is one of our favourite places to go with our daughter Lauretta who is now 8 months old. She loves looking at the fish and taps her fingers on the glass trying to catch a fish then stares in amazement when she realises she can't. We used to take Lauretta when she was just a few months old and she didn't really get a lot out of it. Now however her little facial expressions are worth it. It costs a lot of money if you haven't ...
...pay £2.00 per adult whilst the offer was on. We have used the pass several times and it lets us in as many times as we want to go for free. This pass lasts a year and then we have to renew it.

We love the Sealife Centre, but there isn't that much to see and if your child is older the only thing they may enjoy is playing in the play area that has a ball pool and slide.

We were talking to a lady who had brought her Grandchildren ... more

The sealife centre Blackpool is one of our favourite places to go with our daughter Lauretta who is now 8 months old. She loves looking at the fish and taps her fingers on the glass trying to catch a fish then stares in amazement when she realises she can't. We used to take Lauretta when she was just a few months old and she didn't really get a lot out of it. Now however her little facial expressions are worth it. It costs a lot of money if you haven't got a pass so you could not go all the time. We are very fortunate that we got a pass by saving up Evening Gazette tokens and then going down to pay £2.00 per adult whilst the offer was on. We have used the pass several times and it lets us in as many times as we want to go for free. This pass lasts a year and then we have to renew it.

We love the Sealife Centre, but there isn't that much to see and if your child is older the only thing they may enjoy is playing in the play area that has a ball pool and slide.

We were talking to a lady who had brought her Grandchildren to the sealife centre and she was in the canteen. She told us that the only thing they could enjoy was the play area which isn't exactly a big area. Also she said that it is nothing compared with Florida's sealife centre.

We do enjoy going, but have to admit once you have seen the centre and been round once or twice there really isn't that much too it. We enjoy it because we love fish and sea life, but if you are not really a fond lover of sea life you may not enjoy visiting.

Last time we visited we saw the divers for the first time. We stood in the tunnel where the sharks and other fish swim over your head and the divers door was open then they were in the water. The sharks swim up to them as do the other fish. First the divers had to focus on some repairs and we were a bit wary whilst this was going on because it looked like they were looking for cracks in the wood. I had visions of the water coming through and drowning us. Fortunately this did not happen. I found it very hot whilst we were waiting in the tunnel. There were lots of people huddled together and sweat was dripping from me. It was so hot it was almost difficult to breathe. Some parts of the sealife centre are air conditioned, but the shark tunnel definitely isn't. Anyway after they had done repairs or checked for repairs as they had an underwater camera they then went to feed the sharks, but by this time I had, had enough of the heat and wanted to move on. It is also very difficult moving about in the tunnel as there are a lot of people and moving a pram about is like having to guide your way through an obstacle course.

The toilets are alright, but they could use some improvement especially the area outside the toilets which sometimes smells pretty nasty. It also looks like it hasn't seen a lick of paint for years. There is a men's toilet, ladies toilet and disabled toilet with baby changing facility. The toilets usually smell quite bad and the bins are often overflowing in the disabled toilets. There is usually liquid soap from a dispenser and also hand dryers and the actual toilets themselves are quite clean, but the smell is not very nice. It could have something to do with the sewerage. The ladies toilets have wallpaper with dolphins on which is a nice touch, but again they really could do with painting. Outside the toilet there is a piece of paper with names of who has cleaned the toilets and when they cleaned them last so if there is any problems then you can report them.

There is one floor to the sealife centre there are 2 other floors unused, but they would have to get planning permission to use these so they are not in use. Therefore there is only one floor which takes about an hour to walk around and look at the fish. For the price they charge regular customers I would say it isn't worth it unless you have never been before and really want to take a look around. Also if you have children under 1 it is worth it just to see their face light up.

There is a jelly fish section which is in the dark and your white clothes light up when you walk round it. There are different jelly fish including big one's and little one's. Amongst the jelly fish there are; native moon jellyfish, lagoon jellyfish, compass jellyfish, upside-down jellyfish and edible jellyfish. We even saw some rubber gloves the other day! Well… They had emptied the water in one of the tanks and put two rubber gloves there so they could test the current of the water. We looked at them and thought it was strange and my husband asked one of the workers why they had put two rubber gloves in an empty tank and whether it was some new sort of jelly fish. Apparently rubber gloves are the nearest thing you can get to a jelly fish.

Every day at the sealife centre they feed the fish, sharks and have talks which you can attend. They do run on a time schedule though so you have to be careful to look on the board just as you walk in the sealife centre to note when the talks and feeds are held. I must say that every speaker adds something different to the talk. A bit of their own element. Rather like when you read reviews at Ciao on the same subject everyone adds something different to it. Their own style and personality.

We love the seahorses part it is really good to see the seahorses they are one of my favourite sealife. You walk through the seahorse part in about 5 minutes. However, you can make it longer if you watch the video playing on the television screen. There are no seats so you have to stand up whilst you watch it. Then you can look through the tanks and watch the seahorses swimming depending on how long you want to look at them this would take a while. However, if you want to take a quick glance then move on it would only take a few minutes as there is only about 10 small tanks in the room. Some of the tanks are bubble shaped and magnify the seahorses and that is a nice element. There is also a tank with bigger fish and no seahorses even though it is in the seahorse bit.

If you have come to see the sea snakes then you might as well not have bothered. Since they advertise that there are sea snakes, but the jelly fish have taken over the part where the sea snakes used to be.

There is a café that sells cold and hot drinks as well as snacks and meal deals. In the café section you will also find the play area and the gift shop in the same department. The café's meals are not marvellous you can get things like burgers and chips, fish and chips, sausage and chips or sandwiches. Crisps, chocolate and other snacks. Tea's, coffee's, cans of pop, ice lollies, ice cream and milk shakes. It all depends on what you fancy. The food is largely over priced for what you get and some of the hot meals tend to be quite dry. The milkshakes are nice though very thick and contain ice cream. There are only 2 flavours though chocolate and strawberry. There are a few kids rides in the café as well as arcade machines and a picture drawing machine.

The gift shop sells cuddly toys and souvenir's. The prices are relatively high though. You can get a 10 % discount at the shop and café if you fill in a quiz sheet which is aimed at children. It takes you through the zones of the sealife centre and asks you questions at various points throughout the zones. You can find the questions around the sealife centre and you have to scratch which answer off you think it is. If you fill it all in you can get your 10 % discount at the gift shop or café. You can use a credit card in the gift shop and the minimum priced spend is over £2.50 whereas in the café you have to spend over £5 to be able to use your card. Also if you want to pay by card in the café the member of staff which is on which is usually only 1 member has to take you to the cash terminal in the gift shop and you have to pay for your purchase there. This is because they haven't got a credit card till at the café and last time we were there the girl got shouted at in front of us because she had left the till unattended. There was no other way she could put the payment through because there was no other member of staff on with her. We thought this was really unfair and unprofessional that she should get shouted at owing to a fault that the sealife centre has because it won't pay for an extra credit card till in the café area. There are no cash machines around the sealife centre so if you want a drink it might be best to remember to take some cash with you rather than having to spend over £5 just because you want a drink and they won't accept credit card payment under £5.

There are several talks throughout the day, but you have to look at the board to get the right times for the talks. There is a different talk for each different section of the sealife centre. I find the shark talk the best especially feeding time when you get to see the divers swim down and feed the hungry sharks. I find it fascinating how they have given names to each shark and one is even called Wonka and the other Willy. It's quite funny really as well as finding their names out it is also nice to learn that Sharks have got a soft side and these sharks love to be hugged by the divers. It is really quite sweet.

I find when listening to the shark talk you have to sit on a wall that is part of the features, but is extremely uncomfortable and hurts your bum and back. The talks last from 15 minutes to half an hour depending on who is talking. Some of the staff are very passionate about their talks whilst others you can tell just want to get it over and done with.

There used to be an octopus too but, last time we went his tank was empty and he was gone. The Sealife Centre has for children and grown ups a special Sea Laboratory, where you are allowed to actually handle sturdy, crusty rock pool creatures including crabs and starfish. I think this is a really good area and gives you something positive to do. You have to wash your hands afterwards though because they live in salt water which if swallowed can give you a very bad stomach.

Other parts of the sealife centre include the hazardous zones with piranha fish and poisonous frogs. I like the part where you have to walk over a bridge and the bridge moves whilst at the side are tanks of piranha fish. This zone is called The Amazon and contains all different types of sea life and animals you would find in tropics. The climate is very humid in this zone which gives the feeling of the Amazon. Also there is a running water stream you can experience the sounds and atmosphere of this enchanting forest with running water, mist and over 80 different freshwater species including deadly poison dart frogs and Piranhas. Altogether in the sealife centre there is over 50 displays of marine and freshwater creatures including sharks, rays, seahorses and piranhas.

OPENING TIMES: 10am Daily

Venue information
Sea Life Centre, Promenade, Blackpool, Lancs, FY1 5AA
BR station: Blackpool North
By road: Follow the M55 onto Yeadon Way and into the Blackpool Central Car Park (pay & display) just behind the centre
This venue has friendly disabled access - gift shop, sea view cafe, children's play area and baby changing facilities are also available

 

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