North Hampshire Lifestyle Nov - Dec 2022

AN OCEANIC ADVENTURE
The SEA LIFE London Aquarium is perfect as part of a grand day out. Situated right on the banks
of the Thames at Westminster Bridge, it’s less than 5 minutes from the London Eye, Big Ben and the
Houses of Parliament and a short walk from the restaurants of South Bank. Lisa Rockliffe braved the
depths with her kids in tow to see why it makes for such a great family day out...
I’m trying to introduce my children (aged
5 & 9) to the big attractions of London -
so far we’ve been to the Natural History
Museum, the Science Museum and the
London Eye - but I know which attraction
has topped their wish list, so I decided
it was time to head to SEA LIFE London
Aquarium.
From the sharks and sea turtles to the
penguins and crocodiles, they were
both entranced from start to finish. Your
journey begins with the Shark Walk -
walking over a glass bottomed walkway
with views into the tanks below – we were
lucky enough to spot sharks swimming
just a few inches under our feet!
As we moved through we encountered
creatures from all over the globe, eels,
common octopus, rays and sharks – we
even spotted mermaid’s purses nestled in
the sand. One of the highlights of the trip
was the Ocean Tunnel where we walked
under the sea through an amazing glass
tunnel - my five year old did take some
convincing that we wouldn’t end up
swimming with the sharks!
Our favourite section was Open Ocean,
with its shoals of incredible tropical
fish, snappers, sharks and sea turtles,
closely followed by Coral Kingdom with
its clownfish, blue and yellow tangs,
cardinal fish and many more swimming
through the stunning reefs and taking
cover among the anemones. The children
loved to identify the fish they knew from
their favourite film Finding Nemo - seeing
Marlin, Nemo and Dory in person was
magical for them.
As well as ocean exhibits, the aquarium
also has areas dedicated to freshwater
species, including Red Bellied piranhas
and catfish, poison dart frogs, snapping
turtles and even Cuban crocodiles.
Another highlight of our visit was heading
into Penguin Point, which housed a
characterful family of Gentoo penguins!
Gentoos are the third largest species
of penguin in the world (after the
Emperor and Kings) and these amazing
creatures could be seen on land and also
swimming through their icy habitat. My
two were transfixed as they swooped
through the water as if they were flying.
As well as the marine attractions, SEA
LIFE London Aquarium also offered great
interactive moments with the option to
touch starfish with the help of expert
guides, virtual reality rides through
coral reefs and a touch screen jellyfish
game. There were also some powerful
messages about the conservation work
the Sea Life Trust is doing across the
world, including creating the world’s first
beluga whale sanctuary in Iceland.
We spent around 2 hours at the aquarium
in total, and this was just about perfect,
particularly for my youngest, making it an
ideal destination on a family day out in
the capital.
The entry price for SEA LIFE London
Aquarium is £29 for children (3 - 15 Years)
and £32 for adults.
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