On the last day of the summer hols I took my two kids to The Deep. First and foremost, there is no fishy smell in the areas of Hull that people are likely to visit for fun!
Now that that is out of the way, I'll describe my experience. The first thing we noticed was of course the car park. Three quid! I would have expected the car park to be free to visitors -- it's not like there was an attendant to look after your stuff! Living in Hull, I know the area and decided to park on one of the many multi-storey car parks in the town centre. Prices there start at something like £2 for a couple of hours, and go up bit by bit the longer you stay. I noticed that for £2.70 you can park for up to 6 hours. There is an "all day" price as well but I can't remember it -- sorry. If all you're doing is visiting The Deep, you need about two to two-and-a-half hours to go around it, plus walking from and to the carpark. It only takes about 10 mins maximum from the town centre.
There was no queue when I got there, but apparently that isn't always the case. I'd bought some tickets for my parents for their wedding anniversary, and the first time they went they queue was 2 hours long (there's a post with a notice on telling you how long to expect). They went back another day and were queuing for a few minutes. When I rang to book the tickets for them I was told that it's quieter after 2:30. That's
what time I went and as I said, no queue.
Prices are £6 for adults, £4 for concessions (including OAPs) or £18 for a family, which apparently is 2 adults and 3 concessions. So if you have two kids, you can take an elderly relative as well on the same family ticket.
It's all wheelchair friendly but is nearly all ramps, so if you're in one of those push-it-yourself-type chairs, be prepared. You start at the top of the building, so the ramps are nearly all downwards which is probably better, and the declines are very gradual.
There was a lot to see and do. A massive aquarium thing with all sorts of wierd and wonderful sea creatures. You can see in the same aquarium from all floor levels, it's that deep, and on the bottom floor (somewhere below the ground) there's a glass tunnel to walk through with the fish swimming at you, over you and sneaking up from behind. We had a shark swimming straight at our heads with it's mounth slightly open. WOW!
You have the chance to pilot a submarine (virtual of course!). My kids loved that bit because they got to sit in a big chair and pretend they were in charge. That room reminded me a bit of Star Trek's Voyager with things laid out in a circle and all the lights. There are touch screens giving information about all aspects of sea-life, and some where it gives you the type of problems you might come across if you were piloting the submarine. You choose the answers and see if you come out of it alive and with how many crew members left. There's even a touch screen thing which lets you design your own fish! You then send it off to fight another fish to see how good yours is! My kids loved that one.
It's a long walk around, so some people might like a rest half way. No probs, there are tables and chairs with snack and drinks machines. If on the other had you have an army of kids with you, you might not want them to notice the snack machines! No problem there either. While the tables and chairs are plainly visible, the machines are tucked away around the corner, so you can slip passed without the kids ever knowing they were there.
At the end of it there's a little cafe. I think it sell hot food, but there wasn't any on sale by the time we got there at 4:45pm, possibly so they could clean up in time for closing time at 6pm (the last admission is 5pm, by the way, but you'll only see half of it if you go in at that time). I did have a really nice chocomilk for £1. Tea and coffee come out of a machine and cost £1. There's also fizzy drinks and milkshakes, crisps (30p), biscuits and small snacks. The cafe was very very clean, but that's normal for a food-place in Hull, and the toilets were spotless. From the cafe there are lovely views of the Humber Bridge which looks great lit up at around twilight.
The grounds outside The Deep are all still pretty new-looking. Everything is a funny shape. The seats are oval with diagonal slits, the bins are a wierd shape, even the building itself is wierd, looking like a half-sunk ship. In fact you see people standing on Myton Bridge or at the marina, and they're just staring at it.
If you want to find out more, the website is www.thedeep.co.uk. If you're coming from out of town you may wish to pend the day in Hull. There's lots of other things to do and everything is well sign-posted. We have the Streetlife museum (transport, etc), Wilberforce House (where William Wilberforce lived), the Hull and East Riding museum (starting with fossils and working your way up through the different "ages" to modern day. It's got very little to do with Hull and East Riding and is very inappropriately named), the Town Docks museum and an art gallery. There is also the opportunity to go shopping on stilts! The indoor shopping centre in the town centre is actually built on stilts in the waters of what used to be a dock, but now has a couple of fountains and canoe races during the summer. On top of all that, stuff's cheap here. We won't give our businesses any more profit than they need to keep afloat.
So come to Hull, and get yourself to The Deep. I've been in other sea-life places, and this beats them all. I'm not saying that because I live in Hull, it really is a good place to go.
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I never really thought about visiting Hull, it's just not one of those places I thought... but I was wrong and your details here are interesting to me as someone who's never been. I love Aquariums and this one sounds great. Thanks!
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Advantages: Price, more environmentally friendly option, price Disadvantages: tent pitches quite close together, VERY big site, so not much of a retreat
Sep 11th, 2002
very helpful by (100%):
