07 December 2013 - Trip: Weston Super Mare and Seaquarium

Synopsis: The impetus for today’s trip out with Mum was the fact that I had some Tesco Clubcard vouchers that would soon expire and these could be used at Seaquarium.

Photo Set – Flickr -:- (Thumbnails)

 

(selection of photos from Flickr photo set – use link above to view album)

The predicted journey time to Weston Super Mare from Exeter is about 1 hour, but it took Mum and I 2 hours to reach our destination. The reason for this was largely due to the fact that I thought I’d take the old A38 rather than the M5 motorway. One other minor factor was a ‘comfort’ stop at a Tesco store in Taunton. The journey up along the A38 was certainly much more pleasant than driving the motorway, but it did add considerable time to the journey. Mum and I were playing a game of spotting all the places that in the past we’d queued in traffic in the days prior to the building of the motorway. This would have been our route to Bristol, more often than not to visit the zoo. This was always a major day out for us back then. When was that? Well, it must be a little more than forty years ago. Does that sound a long time? probably it does.

Driving to Weston Super Mare we passed through some very murky weather, weather that I’m sure was worse than had been forecast. There were bright spells between the murkiness, but generally this was going to prove to be very much a wintry December day out.

I actually parked by the roadside on the seafront, something I didn’t expect to be able to do. We were less than half a mile from Seaquarium, which seemed a quite reasonable distance to walk. There was a brisk chill wind blowing in from the sea as we walked along the seafront. The visibility was particularly good. A little island, I later discovered to be called Steep Holm, was clearly visible just off shore. And the coast of Wales was very clearly visible just across the Bristol Channel.

Weston Super Mare - Winston's Fish Bar

It was about 12:50 when we arrived in Weston Super Mare and hence we were ready for some lunch. A little searching on the Internet prior to setting off had led me to discover Winston’s Fish Bar conveniently situated on the seafront a little distance from Seaquarium. We were soon tucking into a very nice fish ‘n’ chip meal in pleasant cosy surroundings. Not sure if we should be eating fish before visiting an aquarium, but hey ho!

 

 

 

Weston Super Mare - ornate shelters along the promenade

 

 

The weather had closed in on us during our lunch. On leafing the fish bar we were greeted with a chill drizzle blowing into our faces. The only sensible thing to do was head for Seaquarium as quickly as we could. On our way we passed these splendidly ornate shelters dotted along the promenade, although on this day a less than inviting place of repose.

Weston Super Mare - Seaquarium

There is something very soothing about watching fish. There are numerous displays of interesting fish, lizards, and amphibians to be seen at Seaquarium. The staff were very welcoming, chatting about the food that they were feeding the fish, and open to any questions we might have.

Weston Super Mare - Seaquarium

 

 

 

A particularly interesting display is a tunnel that you walk through which places you in the heart of a tank. The fish swim both beside and overhead. We got a really close-up look at the sharks in this display.

Weston Super Mare - The Victorian Café on the seafront

 

After our visit to Seaquarium we attempted to visit the Grand Pier but this was closing just as we got to it. The weather was decidedly inclement, so we weren’t that disappointed. We’d passed an inviting looking café on our way and simply backtracked to it whereupon we purchased tea and cakes. I settled for a delicious bakewell tart, which Mum told me was a great favourite of her mother’s, something I hadn’t known. I guess my liking these cakes must be in my genes.

Weston Super Mare - The Victorian Café on the seafront

 

I told Mum to wait in the café whilst I went for the car. Once I’d picked Mum up from the café we set off immediately for home. This time I followed the signs for the M5 as we were now tired and keen to get home as quickly as possible.

 

 

Although the weather today might have been a tad kinder, our little trip still made for a nice outing. Seaquarium proved a nice way to spend a winter’s day. And what we saw of Weston Super Mare was very pleasing. Prompting us to think that on a nicer day it would be very pleasant to walk along the promenade. Mum and I made a mental note that we would return.