Northcote Hotel

I had been to a SeaLife centre in Belgium and expected somewhere fun for our daughter but still something us adults had seen before. How wrong I was! Scarborough's centre is bigger and whilst a lot is similar, such as the seal rescue centre with the sweet seal pups, there are unique features here too. My absolute favourite was the pool of giant Japanese crabs where I had a "profound nature experience" I hadn't had in a long time almost "talking" to this creature looking at me from inside its pool. I also loved the pool of huge sea turtles which were cuddled at the tropical fish feeding times in the same place. There were feeding and/or demonstration times twice a day at the various "stations" which apart from the seals and turtles also included Humboldt penguins and Asian otters. Then there was the compulsory shark tunnel which gave another opportunity at studying the turtles above you as well as tanks full of my favourites - the seahorses. There was also a very fascinating room full of illuminated jellyfish which was so mezmerising with its soothing music that I could have stayed there all day relaxing. I also liked the way the staff were very involved in conservation issues and environmental information to visitors. A great and very informative half day out! It costs quite a bit to get in but there are often discount vouchers and to me it was worth every penny to keep these animals.