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Birmingham Visitor Attraction - The National Sea Life Centre, Birmingham, England

The National Sea Life Centre, Birmingham is located alongside the Birmingham Canal Navigations (BCN) Main Line Canal by Old Turn Junction and opposite the National Indoor Arena.

Operated by Merlin Entertainments (SEA LIFE) Ltd., it was opened in spring 1996 and attracts visitors from all around the country. In the Victorian era, the site was the location of two canal basins in Oozells Street Wharf.

The National Sea Life Centre, Birmingham - MAP - is part of a group of aquaria and sea life centres in Europe, with many dozens of displays of freshwater and marine life in Brindleyplace, Birmingham, England. With a view across the BCN Old Turn Junction and the Birmingham and Fazeley Canal.The National Sea Life Centre has an extensive seahorse breeding programme, with many species of newly reared seahorses in tanks viewable by visitors.

The National Sea Life Centre's one-million-litre ocean tank with a fully transparent underwater tunnel houses a myriad of marine creatures including giant green sea turtles, blacktip reef sharks, non - predatory large fish and smaller colourful tropical reef fish.

The National Sea Life Centre conjures up a kind of tropical paradise right here in the heart of the bustling second city.

There is a touch pool, where you can handle some unusual sea creatures and during your visit, where we say; you can spend all day if you're really into aquatic stuff but allow at least two hours to get round at a browsing speed. You'll encounter everything marine from starfish to seahorses, sharks and rays and some freshwater fishes too, like the predatory pike.

The Sea Life Centre's largest residents are two enormous giant sea turtles - Molokai and Gulliver.

Regular talks and feeding demonstrations provide an even deeper insight into the magical mysteries of the seas.

In other displays, we saw a Giant Pacific Octopus, as well as horseshoe crabs, lobsters, sting rays, and otters.

In Easter 2009, the Centre announced as its newest attraction a "Sensorama 4-D Cinema". So-called because in addition to 3-D viewing, the audience can be subjected to sensations such as wind, salt spray, and the smell the seaweed, or other sensations depending on the ocean-themed film.

We can thoroughly recommend a visit here for adults and children alike.

Voted Aquarium of the Year and Warwickshire Family Attraction of the Year, despite not being in the administrative county of Warwickshire, by the Good Britain Guide 2004.

We would also say - Pre-Pay for your tickets to avoid the horrendous queues, particularly if you're planning to visit at weekends or bank holidays!

Address: National SEA LIFE Centre, The Waters Edge, Brindley Place, Birmingham, B1 2HL - MAP

Telephone numbers - Schools & Groups: 0871 222 6932 / Tickets: 0871 423 2110

Other United Kingdom and Eire sea life centres are located in Blackpool, Bray (Eire), Brighton, Great Yarmouth, Loch Lomond, London, Scarborough and Weymouth. With a National Seal Sanctuary Gweek, Cornwall, Hunstanton SEA LIFE Sanctuary, Norfolk and Scottish SEA LIFE Sanctuary Oban as well as theme park inclusions at SEA LIFE Chessington and SEA LIFE Alton Towers Resort.

In Germany there are aquariums owned by the same group in Berlin, Hannover, Konigswinter, Konstanz, Munchen (Munich, Bavaria), Oberhausen, Speyer and Timmendorfer Strand (Beach) a municipality in the district of Ostholstein, in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany as well as a display at LEGOLAND Deutschland.

In the Rest Of The World: Benalmadena (Spain), Blankenberge (Belgium), California (USA), Helsinki (Finland), Paris (France), Porto (Portugal), Scheveningen (Holland) and Gardaland (Italy), with a display at LEGOLAND Billund (Denmark).