First things first – I know The Deep is in Hull and not technically in Yorkshire, but it is included as part of Yorkshire and The Humber, so I think we get to count it! Also, it only took an hour from our home in Halifax so it is close enough for a pretty easy day out. We went along in February this year for our first visit with Olivia and had an amazing time, there is a lot to see and do for young children.
Planning your visit to The Deep in Hull
The Deep is based on the river Humber near the centre of Hull and is a sealife centre with huge aquariums, housing over 3000 sea creatures. It takes just over an hour to drive to from Halifax, and they have a big car park which is free to park in. We went early in the morning and there was plenty of space. By train it takes under 2 hours from Halifax, so still manageable as a day trip, and there are lots of bargain hotels, including a Premier Inn, near by if you did want to make a short break of it. If you prefer to avoid the crowds then definitely go first thing. We arrived at 9.45 and they let us straight tin and there were no queues. Until about 11.30 it was very quiet and Olivia was able to go right up to all the tanks and take her time looking at the exhibits and the creatures. By 12 noon it was VERY busy so we were glad to have had some time to explore by then. We were delighted that the tickets we paid for are valid for 12 months – so we can come back as many times as we like this year, making it really good value.
Checking out the aquariums at The Deep
One of the most amazing things about the Deep is the sheer scale of their tanks – they are full of the most beautiful array of sea creatures and also a really impressive range of underwater plants. It was brilliant to see Olivia pressing her face up against the glass and asking questions about it all. She loved seeing the huge turtles swimming by and watched them for ages. In one of the larger tanks there was a particularly large fish which she followed round and round watching it pop up to the surface and dive all the way down again.
Not just fish to see at The Deep
As well as the beautiful fish there were some great chances to get up close with some of the creatures. There is a penguin area where you can see the penguins swimming under water and, at scheduled times, where you can listen to a talk about them and watch them have their lunch. There is also a small area at the beginning where children can learn about different rock pool creatures and even get the chance to touch some. Olivia was really excited to have a good look at an anemone, which she named a ‘pink sea hedgehog’, and she bravely gave it a stroke and said it was very spiky!
Lunch and snack time at The Deep
We took a picnic and found a small picnic area on one of the lower floors. Unfortunately, it was only when we stood up to leave the very crowded picnic area that we spotted a much bigger seating area round the corner! Moral of the story – scope out the area properly before you choose your picnic spot! The bigger seating area looked lovely with big windows to look out of and a counter to buy drinks and snacks. There is also a cafe at the top floor, and a small soft play area on the very bottom floor to run off some steam after lunch.
Toddlebeast rating: 5/5
We had a brilliant time exploring the sea creatures at The Deep and will definitely be making the most of our annual tickets to come back again this year. It is great to know that we can get to Hull so easily for a day trip out – do you have any favourite places you like to take children in Hull?
yorkshiretoddlebeast 