If the idea of standing underneath a shark as it swims overhead sounds exciting, then Deep Sea World North Queensferry is for you! This wonderful underwater attraction sits underneath the iconic Forth Rail Bridge and is a great family day out in Scotland.
North Queensferry isn’t remarkable for many things. However, for fans of Cbeebies’ Molly and Mack, it will be instantly familiar as Bridgetown. As filming locations go, it’s rather pretty and you can even skip up the street as they do on the show!
But it’s Deep Sea World that we’re looking at and as a day out with the kids go, it’s really rather good. We’ve been twice in the last few years, which in itself is a sign that we enjoy it.
Inside Deep Sea World North Queensferry
Upon entry, you are immediately confronted with shallow water with glass sides so even the smallest can see the fish. Here are the rock pools, which contain the likes of crabs and flatfish. To the side is a dreamlike tank holding a herd of seahorses. And yes, ‘herd’ is definitely the correct term! I could spend ages watching these creatures bob around in the water. So very relaxing.
There’s also an Amazon section which contains loads of terrifying piranha fish! You can get your face right up close and be exceptionally thankful that there is glass in between you! These creatures might look scary, but they are also fascinating. You’ll also find snakes in this area too. This is something to note as you go around the exhibits – it’s not exclusively deep sea creatures you will see, which is great.
For example, there’s an amphibian section where you can see, amongst other things, poison-arrow frogs. They are officially called poison dart frogs, and each one holds enough poison to kill 20 adult humans! Here there is also an alligator snapping turtle, and is the kind of beast that puts you off dipping toes into rivers…!
Up close and personal
There are regular opportunities to get close to animals at Deep Sea World. There are scheduled displays with the resident seals, who seem very happy to eat their fish with an audience! The staff are great at explaining who they are, and why they are here and not in the wild.
Kids can also touch creatures like lizards and reptiles, gaining an interest in these animals. Adults can touch them too – it’s really cool!
The Shark Tank
This is the reason people come here. It’s the attraction’s USP. An underground tank which you can travel along a moving walkway (longest in Europe, you know). All around you are fish and lobsters and crabs and SHARK!!! When one swims out of the depth and over your head, it’s such a great experience! Make sure you have your cameras ready. You can really see them up close, and when they make eye contact with you, it’s a rather unsettling feeling.
But it’s not scary. It’s cool. Our kids loved it, and were all “wow!”. It’s such a good experience, we went around it four or five times, maybe more. You can go around it as often as you want. You can even dive with the sharks by booking ahead. Don’t think I’m that brave though…
To sum up
I really enjoyed Deep Sea World North Queensferry. The kids did too. There’s a cafe where you can get pizzas, burgers and other food, and a gift shop too, of course. It’s not a huge place, but if you spend time at each section and get invested in the animals and want to admire them, you can spend many hours here. And if the kids need to run around afterwards and let off some steam, there’s plenty of parks near Edinburgh that might be perfect. I’ll definitely recommend this attraction to other families.