The London Aquarium - A great day out where the creatures won't keep socially distant - My London

Posted: 27 Oct 2020 05:00 AM PDT

Anything that keeps a three-year old rapt for more than 10 minutes is a rare and beautiful thing.

Anything that can capture their attention for two hours is otherworldly.

And that's kind of what SEA LIFE London Aquarium is. So often animal attractions are deeply disappointing.

We've all paid a visit to a zoo where we've found enclosures empty or struggled to spot the animals that are supposed to inhabit them. If they are there, the beasts are often taking a nap somewhere half out of sight.

Not so at the London Aquarium. Here the creatures are definitely not socially distanced - even during lockdown - and you'll be able to get right up close to them.

And best of all, you can visit this halt term by booking your tickets here despite the new Tier 2 Covod restrictions.

From the moment you enter through the grand entrance of the old County Hall building, you are up close and personal with an incredible array of sea creatures.

Very soon you walk across a glass floor beneath which you can see the grey shapes of huge fish, end even ... could they be ... sharks floating up beneath your feet. It's just enough to whet the appetite.

You continue through winding walkways to the Atlantic Coasts exhibition which features tanks filled with creatures you can, if you're very lucky, meet along the nation's coastlines.

There are slimy octopuses, strange purple dog fish who seem to like peeping out of old pottery jars, eels and countless other types of fish, all beautifully housed in colourfully lit tanks constructed in the image of native sea habitats.

There's nothing out of the ordinary so far.

But then you turn the corner and see a large pool open out before you. As you approach you realise its absolutely teeming with huge ray fish, the likes of which you'll never see at an ordinary day out at the seaside - or at any ordinary aquarium.

These beautiful creatures glide around the tank surfacing and diving gracefully.

Our two-year-old was transfixed peering through the glass sides of the tank to get a closer look and so amazed she was actually silent for once instead of the usual constant toddler chatter.

She'd seen all of these in books, but this was seriously for real.

The rays are all beautifully camouflaged and some can almost merge with the grey seabed at the bottom of the tank.

While we are there, friendly members of staff come along to help people feed the rays with plastic grabbers.

Some of these species are endangered.

For example, the undulate rays, which are so well camouflaged they can hide beneath the sand.

Over-fishing means there are now few of them left, so the examples you see here are truly precious.

Next up it's the rock pool area where you can literally go up and stroke a starfish after getting some instruction from a patient member of staff.

There are also beautiful swaying sea anemones which look like plants but are actually sea creatures.

One of the great features of these displays for kids are the little glass discovery domes built into the underside of the tanks throughout the aquarium so the kids can put their heads right in to where the action is. It makes them feel like little scuba divers.

There was even a little cave in the side of the rock pool exhibit our two-year-old wanted to crawl through.

The dancing light displays throughout the exhibits, mimicking the shifting of the oceans, also keep the kids amazed, as they follow the constantly moving patterns the lights make on the floor.

After this, some of the aquariums huge set-piece moments await you.

The massive Open Ocean display has the bones of a grey whale lying in the seabed with loads of amazing fish flitting around it.

There's purple tangs, triggerfish, snappers and hundreds more gorgeous tropical fish.

There are also amazing southern stingrays slowly moving along the sea floor.

The deep blue lighting makes you feel like you are right there under the sea. Again our two-year-old literally had her face pressed up against the glass.

Then if that's not enough to warm your cockles, you move onto the amazing shipwreck tank.

Here, just to set young imagination racing, are the sunken remains of a ghostly sailing ship lurking in the deep.

Around it swirl some beautiful gliding fish and just when you're not expecting it, sharks - yes, actual sharks - glide into view, their pointed snouts highlighting their superiority and their danger.

There are three or four of them here in full view, a truly spectacular site - particularly if your toddler has been loving the Baby Shark videos and pretending to be a shark for hours on end.

There's also a strangely shaped fish that looks a bit like a cross between a space ship and a Stealth fighter plane.

It is in fact a bowmouth guitarfish and its strange symmetrical shape has everyone watching it glide.

Then it's a question of preparing your senses for a barrage of colour with the huge 40ft tank filled with the UK's largest coral reef.

This is a mind-boggling display of colourful corals, the likes of which you will only have seen if you've been snorkelling somewhere really nice.

Glittering fish shimmer constantly in and out of the reefs and you get to see the full range of spiky shapes and bright shades you only really ever imagine exist on the other side of the world.

It's stunning and surprising.

After this there's a series of tanks dedicated to ethereal-looking jellyfish.

These really are something to behold with their delicate opaque skin and trailing tentacles.

Many of them are stunning pinks and blues and some even change colour.

As you move on, the species on display get bigger and bigger until you finish up with some massive varieties which would deliver a heck of a sting if you encountered them in a lagoon.

Just when you think your senses are full, the lights become dimmer and take on a green eerie tinge as you enter the tropical rain forest zone.

Here you can see fish weaving in between the roots and trunks of trees in scenes that depict the water world of a jungle river.

You turn one corner and there's a baby crocodile perching on a branch, its beady eyes staring fixedly at you along with a couple of turtles.

It definitely looks as though it owns the place.

Then there are tanks where deadly piranhas swim between the tree roots in a murky green soup.

You wouldn't want to get in the tank with them as their razor sharp teeth saw through flesh in an instant.

Plus there's a whole host of other jungle fish and reptiles including poison dart frogs, monster red tailed catfish and black pacu.

There's also more fun for the kids with a mock up of an explorer's jungle boat lost in a swamp which you can clamber aboard and a log walk where you fall off at your peril.

There's even a slightly terrifying challenge where you can pop your hand in a plastic piranha mouth and feel a swish of air as it "bites" you. This has the kids squealing.

Soon after this, the temperature changes and you can feel the cold of an "Arctic wind" on your skin.

The light becomes blueish-white and you enter the polar zone where the walls look as if they are made of ice.

Here there's an incredible display of tumbling penguins which you get to see right up close, diving off ledges, waddling along ice shelves and tumbling and turning in the freezing cold waters just for your benefit.

It's hard not to be amazed seeing so many of these slippery creatures having a bawl. It's a bit like an episode of Blue Planet coming to life in your living room.

And just as you're expecting to head towards the café and the gift shop, there is a truly amazing surprise which will have the youngsters giggling and wanting to "dive" into the icy ocean. I won't spoil it by revealing what it is!

Above all what's perhaps most vital about this attraction is the theme that you are constantly but gently reminded of as you walk around - the urgent need to reverse the hideous damage the human race has inflicted on the word's oceans.

This message isn't thrust at you, but here and there are explainer panels and video screens highlighting how species are declining and the impact of climate change on the oceans.

There's graphics explaining the shrinking of the ice sheets, the hideous pollution caused by plastics and the dangers of pollution for the coral reefs.

It means you come out of the aquarium amazed and awed by the wonders of ocean life, but also aware of our responsibility to try not to keep destroying it.

This makes it a vital, must-visit place for kids big and small and for jaded adults who might think they've seen all that life has to offer.

You come out feeling like you've taken a refreshing dip in a clean ocean and you want to go in again.

And - even more of a bonus - your toddler will probably be asleep.

Conservation

The aquarium is linked to numerous conservation programmes including a breeding programme for rays to help rescue endangered species, growing corals which are becoming damaged in the open oceans.

It is also linked to its partner charity the Sea Life Trust which develops and supports projects that protect marine wildlife and habitats across the world.

You can find out much more and get involved here.

What you need to know

If you buy a walk-in fast track ticket which gets you past the queues, it will cost you £40 per person on the day and £34 online, but there are much cheaper ways to get in.

An adult ticket booked in advance online will cost you £24. Family tickets are £22 per person if booked online.

There's also a whole raft of extras tickets including behind-the-scenes tours, shark experiences and school groups. For the full details go here.

Opening times are 10am to 5pm every day except Thursday when opening time is 11am.

The aquarium is situated just next to Westminster Bridge and Westminster is the nearest Tube station.

All the details on pre-booking your visit and coronavirus guidance can be found here

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