Exploring The Deep

Helen Dolphin MBE spent the day discovering a fascinating attraction in East Yorkshire.

Arrival

Housed in Sir Terry Farrell’s £45m glass and aluminium building The Deep overlooks the Humber estuary. I visited during the school holidays and so it was very busy. However, I was still able to find an accessible bay in the car park, free to Blue Badge holders. There’s an entrance for disabled visitors on the far left of the building, adjacent to the disabled parking area. The queue here was considerably shorter than the main line. Admission for a carer is free and assistance dogs are also welcome. Should you require any mobility equipment, wheelchairs and rollators are available on a first come, first served basis. After purchasing my ticket I was given a map of The Deep. This enabled me to plan my visit with ease. I noticed that guidebooks are available in Braille or audio format too.

Attractions

The Deep is so much more than just an aquarium. In fact the first exhibit, “Awakening Seas”, is more like a natural history museum where there are giant fossils and Megladon shark teeth. There are lots of fish in the ‘Lagoon of Light’ exhibition, where a reef has been established which is packed with hundreds of tropical fish. The star attraction at The Deep is its enormous tank holding 2.5 million litres of water. This tank holds a pair of green sawfish (there’s only six of this species in Europe) as well as a whole host of other sharks and rays.

The Deep is not only about fish! There was an exhibit I really enjoyed called ‘Bug Champions’. Here you can see a whole range of different creepy crawlies. However, my favourite exhibit was the Gentoo penguins, designed so you can see the penguins both on-land and swimming about.

The building is new and has been designed with accessibility in mind.

In order to create an underworld atmosphere the lighting is very low. However, The Deep does hold regular quiet days when the lights in the attraction are made brighter and most audio noise is turned off. On these days there are scheduled signed presentations (BSL) throughout the day.

Accessible Facilities

As The Deep only opened in 2002 the building is new and has been designed with accessibility in mind. It’s set over three levels, all of which are accessible by lift. The route around the attraction is gently sloped and accessible for wheelchair users. I certainly found it very easy to get about. Accessible toilets are available on every level and although there’s no ‘changing area’ toilet, the first aid room is available on request for people who need more space.

Where to Eat

After spending the morning looking at fish I was delighted to see that fish and chips were on the menu at the Observatory Café on the third floor! You can buy snacks and drinks at the Halfway Café on the 1st floor too. Both cafes are counter service but table service can be offered, where needed, as can ‘good grips’ cutlery and plate guards. I’m a big fan of aquariums and The Deep certainly met my expectations. I felt they had really considered the needs of their disabled guests, enabling me to have a good view of almost everything The Deep has to offer.

For more information on The Deep visit their website.