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“I thought Anglesey Sea Zoo looked pretty shoddy from...”

written by on 01/09/2009

I thought Anglesey Sea Zoo looked pretty shoddy from the outside, but it was pouring down (being this August bank holiday) so my girlfriend and I had a look. We weren't disappointed. I think the actual tanks and information were probably more suited to adults, especially if you were either into conservation or were a fish-fanatic, but there seemed to be things for kids to do too (especially outside the centre with bouncy castles and remote-controlled boats). I liked the shark pool where you walk over a room of dogfish, skates, sharks and rays on a gridded walkway. We had a long talk from one of the enthusiastic "activists" here, which was really informative about all the fish on display, and also on current shark conservation issues. I think he lost all of the kids after a couple of minutes, and myself after a couple more, but I appreciated that they hadn't dumbed this aquarium down to the lowest common denominator. I also loved some of the displays showing some of the workings of the centre and conservation, such as spherical fishtanks of seahorse fry swirling around in currents and seeing them grow tiny lobsters in individual compartments in trays.

It definately all seems a little home-made, and, well, British, but it wins out because you're visiting a marine biology laboratory rather than a Disneyfied money-making aquarium.