We asked on our Facebook page what people recommended us to do in Hull. We’d never been, but as it was only one and a half hours from Scarborough where we were based for some of the Summer Holidays, it was a short trip away. Several people put forward The Deep in Hull. If I’m totally honest a few years ago I’d heard it was good and wanted to go, but a few years on I felt like I’d seen everything an Aquarium could offer. I was wrong! The Deep is so much more than a standard Sea Life Aquarium.
The Deep is more than an Aquarium!
We started our Hull adventure by missing the turn off for The Deep and ended up on the other side of a bridge. Seeing the iconic building I spotted a car park and went straight for it as I didn’t want to get any further into a driving adventure. The car park was “The Fruit Market”, near to The Deep. There was no obvious fruit market there, but a fancy dockside office block with a huge pizza restaurant underneath.
We posed for a few photos and clambered onto a wall to photograph the iconic building before heading to the entrance. Which is lucky we did as from the other side the entrance is quite drab and looks like… nearly every other aquarium. The expectation had dropped by the time we hit the entrance kiosk.
The Deep Hull Prices For Entry.
On the day we visited in the Summer Hollidays (2019) Adults full price was £14, Children (3 – 15) £11 and under 3’s are Free. However, we booked our tickets online to save 10% and day ticket also entitles you to entry for 1 full year. So our full ticket’s cost… £45!
We headed up to the 3rd floor of The Deep to the attraction entrance. And at this point, it still felt like much of the same we’d seen before. However, once you pass by the ticket turnstile, it opens up into an educational experience. The set up reminded me of a cross between Disney’s Epcot centre and the Dinosaur attraction at Disney’s Animal Kingdom.
What does The Deep, Hull offer?
Obviously, there would be a great disappointment if there was no fish on display here. Which there is a huge selection on display to see. However, the displays are cleaner and clearer than I’ve ever seen. I’m not sure how they’ve achieved it, but there is no finger smudges or scratched graffiti on the glass separating us from the marine life. The tanks seem to be huge and the rear of them are not obvious at first. Apart from quality, this alone would make it the same as any aquarium.
The difference here is that there is an education element here. The start of the attraction takes you through evolution and marine life as dinosaurs and fossils. This is done along a huge ramped walkway (heading down luckily). A huge set of teeth (replica) from a Megalodon are on display, showing the open mouth of a shark that is now extinct, but would have grown to be around 20 metres long! This set up makes you start to think a little differently about what you’re about to see.
The Deep Aquarium in Hull.
Trying to pick the concept apart as we move through the exhibits, moves onto shallow water. A tank of mud skippers and frogs suggest shallow waters. Then a deeper tank that looks like a rainforest lagoon.
Crystal clear water and viewing angles. We could see everything that was going on and the tanks weren’t over stocked.
Imogen took a little time out and stook by a huge tank that didn’t have much happening in. Then this huge fish (possibly a cat fish – I’m not an expert) swam by her face followed by a turtle.
Near this tank was a hands-on section, for the “Shiny Shell Turtle Hospital”. Here you were given a plush turtle to clean up and examine to treat and return to the wild.
The tasks started with untangling the netting form the turtle. Measuring the shell, Listening for the heart beat and checking its eyes. We then flipped it over to check it’s stomach contents. It was full of plastic and rubbish. Finally, we bandaged up the wound on its flipper. Job done? Nearly it was then up to us as environmentally conscious society members to sign a pledge to use less single-use plastic and plastic straws.
I’m totally behind the education side of this. As a parent can guide a child so far, but it takes them to realise what the results are themselves to really sink in. They think we want them to drink tap water as it’s cheaper! (which it is!) But also it’s un necessary packaging!
As we headed deeper we passed an interactive game about guessing what equipment is needed to dive as deep as certain animals. Followed be a single-person submarine.
The highlights of the Deep in Hull
Aside from education, there is a penguin exhibition and a shark tank. Loads of visually exciting displays to look at. The grand finale is the lift.
You start the tour on floor 3, worm your way down to the groud floor pass under a shark tank/tunnel, then start your journey back up. WOW. The Lift is self filled which seemed to mean that it was 1 family at a time. The glass sides om the lift allow a fantastic view of the largest aquarium tank. Half way up the lift pauses for a minute to allow for the view before returning to the surface. Amazing.
Considering it was a Millenium Project that wasn’t expected to last long. We were amazed by the attraction… and Hull too.
Additional Information
Address: The DeepTower Street, Hull, HU1 4DP
Website: https://www.thedeep.co.uk
Opening times: Daily from 10am to 6pm
Prices: (Full Prices) Adults £14 Children £11 – online discounts are available.
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