Lakes Aquarium
The Lakes Aquarium is an aquarium in the village of Lakeside on the southern shore of Windermere, Cumbria, England. It is one of the docking points of Windermere Lake Cruises and also at one end of the Lakeside and Haverthwaite Railway. It is the third most visited paying tourist attraction in Cumbria [1]
 Fish at the aquarium | |
| Date opened | 1997 (as The Aquarium of the Lakes) |
|---|---|
| Location | Lakeside, Cumbria, England |
| Coordinates | 54.2781178°N 2.9558744°W |
| Owner | Parques Reunidos |
| Website | www |
History
It opened in 1997 as The Aquarium of the Lakes when the displays followed the theme of a Lake District stream, flowing down into the lake and then on to Morecambe Bay. During 2008 it was re-branded as the Lakes Aquarium, with a theme of the lakes of the world. The attraction is now owned by Spanish leisure company Parques Reunidos, who own and operate 67 parks across the world.[2]
Exhibits
The Lakes Aquarium contains both freshwater and salt water aquatic animals.
Lake District
This area tells the story of the native and non native animals that can be found around the Lake District National Park. The conservation project for this area is the captive breeding and research of the endangered White Clawed Crayfish. It discusses the importance of not releasing animals from the pet trade, such as the terrapins, which can now be found surviving in the wild. All the terrapins in the aquarium were rehomed from members of the public.
Bream, Perch, Golden orfe, Koi carp, White clawed crayfish, Eurasian harvest mouse, Common toad, Red-eared terrapins.
Africa
African lungfish, African rainbow crab, Atlantic mudskipper, freshwater butterflyfish, knifefish, Lake Malawi cichlids, leopard tortoise, rainbow krib, killifish, elephantnose, tilapia, upside-down catfish, reedfish, tortoise.
Americas
Angelfish, black widow tetra, bleeding heart tetra, blind cave fish, bristlenose catfish, channel catfish, common plec, convict cichlids, cory catfish, gar, jaguar cichlid, ocellate river stingray, piranha, red-bellied pacu, red-bellied piranha, redtail catfish, silver dollar, South American lungfish.
Lakes
Arctic char, ballan wrasse, barbel, beadlet anemone, bib, Bloody Henry, bream tubercles, brill, brook trout, butterfish or gunnel, chub, cod, coley, common bream, common carp, common hermit crab, common pochard, common seahorse, common starfish, common sunstar, Connemara clingfish, crucian carp, cuckoo wrasse, dahlia anemone, diving ducks. edible crab, flatfish, flounder, European lobster, European sea sturgeon, European plaice, giant wels catfish, perch, roach, rudd, sea anemones, sea bream, seahorse, starfish, tench, tufted duck.
Virtual Diving Bell
The Virtual Diving bell incorporates images of underwater scenes displayed on three two metre diameter semi-spherical CG graphics screens.
References
- Davis, Hunter; 2003; A Good Guide To The Lakes (Sixth Edition); Century Press; ISBN 0-9528991-0-8
- Parques Reunidos website