With the kids in Bristol: Bristol Aquarium

When it’s cold outside but the children want to get out of the house, where do you go? Bristol Aquarium seemed like a brilliant indoor choice for a rainy January day, so I bundled everyone into the car and off we went.

The aquarium is nestled next to We The Curious, and, just like the Tardis, once you’re inside it opens into a large welcoming attraction encouraging you to come in and explore. By the way, did you know that once a year they actually do a fish stock take? Coincidentally, it was happening the same day we visited. When I first heard this I had images of people frantically trying to count the thousands of fish in the tanks, netting them and slapping barcodes on their fins. However, luckily, it’s not as chaotic as it sounds.

Our first stop was the Sunken Ship. We entered what seemed like a dark corridor, but, turning the corner, a huge tank full of fish was revealed. I smiled to myself as my two children stood in front of it with their mouths open wide, pointing at the number of different fish they could see. My daughter was particularly taken by the ship as she’s currently into pirates and treasure hunting.

Our first challenge in the stock take was to count all the Smooth Hound Sharks, and, fortunately, there were’t many, and they were quite big and easy to spot. I patiently waited for my children to count them which on this first occasion happened quite quickly.

Next, we had to count the crawfish – a learning experience for all of us, as I had no idea what they looked like. As it turns out, the answer is a kind of lobster. There were four of them sitting quite happily in the tank waiting to be counted, or perhaps just sleeping. Anyway, we carried on our journey through the dark trying to spot the numerous varieties of fish that had made the sunken ship their home, including some very interesting looking flat fish that were blending into the sandy bottom of the tank.

With the deeps behind us, we were now entering the Urban Jungle, which has a much warmer climate and is home to some very unusual plants. As we followed the winding walkway, I was trying to educate my children by reading out the different factoids that are posted on the way. They had other ideas and were more interested in seeing how fast they could run up the walkway. I did manage to get their attention at one point by pointing out that they could actually touch and smell the plants. I’d spotted a beautiful geranium with citrus smelling leaves that I thought they’d find intriguing. Yes, but only for one minute. Off to count more fish.

The stock take was now becoming a little more difficult. The next tank had hundreds of pretty Malawi cichlids in it, and I must admit that I was impressed as my daughter tried to count every one. To follow this, we had the less impressive wolfish, which isn’t the prettiest of things, and I felt a little sorry for this fellow as he was all alone.

By this point, it was definitely time for a rest and a little snack. So we made ourselves comfortable in the Learning Lab, taking in our surroundings, which included a shark’s jawbone. No sooner had we sat down than the children were off again, this time to count seahorses. I could tell that my children’s enthusiasm for fish counting was starting to fade, but maybe the Mighty Amazon would reenergised them.

We were led through the mangroves where we were introduced to lots of different species of fish that aren’t known for being too friendly, including some very scary looking red-bellied piranhas, and then followed the winding walkway down towards some very friendly turtles just waiting to be counted, and some very playful stingrays.

However, the best bit had been saved until last: Coral Seas. The children loved walking through the underwater tunnel to look up at all the fish that were passing overhead. We finished the very last part of our stock take with a tank full of clownfish – everyone’s favourite, Nemo – and rewarded ourselves with a slice of cake in the cafe and a large cappuccino for me.

A visit to Bristol Aquarium costs £15.30 for a standard ticket (13yrs+), £9.95 for juniors (3-12yrs) and under 3’s go free. Visit www.bristolaquarium.co.uk and book online for a 10 per cent discount.