National Marine Aquarium
National Marine Aquarium
Rope Walk, Coxside
Plymouth PL4 0LF
Tel: 01752 600 301
About National Marine Aquarium
The National Marine Aquarium, located at Coxside, not far from Plymouth, is the country’s most extensive and impressive aquarium, ensuring a great family day out with its mix of stunning species and educational but fun displays, all in a weather-proof environment. The perennial family attraction boasts upwards of 4000 fish in 50 displays. Just the ticket for those who want something special to sea.
The National Marine Aquarium features no fewer than 10 shark species in Britain’s deepest man-made water tank – plunging 10.5 metres. It houses the biggest sharks that the Mediterranean Sea has to offer, Sand Tiger Sharks, of which there are four on view. In the four years since their transfer to the family attraction, they have thrived, growing to twice the size at 120 kilos, the biggest being 2.8 metres from snout to tail fin. They’re just one of the many high points of a bewitching family attraction.
By contrast, and equally captivating, the National Marine Aquarium boasts fleets of seahorses, starfish and some amazing underwater flora, bedded in at the unorthodox Maritime Garden. With views over Plymouth Sound from its Barbican promontory, the National Marine Aquarium has proven an immensely popular family attraction since opening the floodgates in 1998. The National Marine Aquarium was the first in the UK established specifically to nurture Education, Conservation and Research, while additionally ensuring a top family day out.
National Marine Aquarium ticket holders can take in three colossal tanks, the premier example holding 2.5 million litres of water. The National Marine Aquarium tanks boast more than 4000 animals and 400 species, and their re-created natural scenery includes local shorelines and exotic coral reefs, contributing to a spellbinding family day out. In addition to its hands-on technology zone, Explorocean is a family attraction in its own right, detailing with ocean exploration through its many interactive displays.
Divers at the National Marine Aquarium take to its tanks to feed some of the exhibits and clean the environment on a daily basis. Demonstrations in diving techniques have the added advantage of ushering the animals to the viewing windows so that ticket holders can experience face to face contact with them, which is not something that occurs on just any family day out. Health and Safety procedures require that no fewer than two divers enter the tank at a time, while colleagues monitor their progress from the surface. They are careful not to make any sudden motion among the fish, and then proceed to feed the National Marine Aquarium residents some 36 lettuces, 20 kilos of prawns, 30 kilos of squid, 30 kilos of mackerel, 15 kilos of mussels, 15 kilos of pellet food and vitamins, along with millions of live brine and mysid shrimps.
One of the more recent additions to the National Marine Aquarium is the Mediterranean area, which contains some 3.3 million litres of water and is a dedicated zone for the nurturing of everything from sharks to eels within its acrylic windowed tanks, designed for their combined sturdiness and visibility, and affording great views of the animals from three directions, thereby enhancing a super family day out.
Within the tanks are a series of artificially constructed rocks made of concrete that are carved and moulded to provide a series of caves and passageways in which the animals can settle and thrive. The family attraction additionally has another breathtaking feature in the shape of the Atlantic Reef, the biggest cold water area at the National Maritime Aquarium. Inside it, ozone and UV light are infused as a method of clearing out microbes, while particle filters and protein skimmers suck out flotsam and jetsam produced each day by the residents. With fluctuations of temperature in the sea mimicked by that in the tank, National Marine Aquarium ticket holders can watch as seawater is pumped in from a borehole at Sutton Harbour’s lock gates to holding reservoirs. Some 100 tonnes is introduced each week, then discharged from the family attraction, recycling its overall capacity of more than 4 million litres.
The National Marine Aquarium charitable trust backs leading educational and international conservation programmes, its stated intent being to inspire everyone to enjoy, learn and care about the high seas via spellbinding experiences on a multifaceted family day out.
The National Marine Aquarium has a café and Horizons coffee bar open to ticket holders, providing with the grandest view of Plymouth, further bolstering a family day out. In the first six years that it was open, the family attraction welcomed two million ticket holders, establishing itself as one of the country’s leading family day out desinations.
Furthermore, the National Marine Aquarium provides information and assistance to the media, which has included contributing to the BBC TV series, Blue Planet. The Waterfront Gallery also hosts regular art exhibitions, often of local artists working on a maritime theme. This is hardly surprising, given that Plymouth has one of the finest natural harbours on Earth and is the main city on the south coast. A ticket to the National Marine Aquarium is just most recent of Plymouth’s marine exploits, which began with the voyages of Francis Drake, Walter Raleigh, the Mayflower, Captain Cook, Charles Darwin and Scott of the Antarctic. The National Marine Aquarium brings the natural heritage that these venturers explored into the realm of the ordinary landlubber, while the nearby naval base and ships can be viewed from The National Marine Aquarium, adding to the family attraction’s worth.
The National Marine Aquarium also follows in the tradition of past marine scientists, from the Victorian Plymouth Navigation School to the 1888 Marine Biological Association laboratory, the Plymouth Marine Laboratories and the Sir Alister Hardy Foundation for Ocean Science.
A ticket to the National Marine Aquarium opens up a door to this maritime heritage, while the waterfront gallery, Ocean View Cafè and maritime garden allow those on a family day out to watch the water taxis make for Mountbatten and the site of the Scylla wreck.
The National Marine Aquarium has wheelchair-friendly walkways, disabled parking, drop off points and some free wheelchairs, making it a family attraction for everyone and a worry-free family day out.