Fife and Scotland - the offbeat perspective

In 1764, the Battery Quarry, located in Southern Fife was opened.

Since then, the stone mined from the quarry has been used in the construction of the Forth-Clyde Canal, the docks in Leith, and in the foundations of the Forth Bridge. It was also used all over Europe from Holland to Russia.

The quarry was closed in 1924 when flooding by sea water made it no longer economical.

By the time of the 1990 Centenary Celebrations for the Forth Bridge the quarry the quarry was derelict, flooded and full of debris. Deep Sea World’s founder’s saw this as a great opportunity to bring a diver’s eye view of the marine world to Scotland and the modern day result of this vision is a marvel to behold!

Deep Sea World is far more than an exhibition dedicated to the vital importance and coservation of our seas but is an educational wonderland sporting the longest underwater viewing tunnel in the United Kingdom. It's not just about sharks!

The Deep Sea World site is now larger than the old quarry and has enabled the operators to include several major displays that some will find fascinating and verging on the incredible. During research for this article, we saw an octopus move from one tank to another through narrow tubes that might have seemed impossible. We saw divers swimming with sharks and where an open invitation to do likewise was offered but politely declined for age and health reasons by this author.

At 112 metres long and holding back a million gallons of water, the underwater tunnel at Deep Sea World is one of the longest underwater tunnels in the World! I'm told that when standing in the underwater tunnel, the curvature of the 6.5cm thick acrylic makes everything appear about 30% smaller than it actually is, so when you see large sharks nearby, just imagine how big they actually are!

The arched shape of the acrylic gives the tunnel the strength to hold back the enormous weight of millions of litres of water. In fact, I'm told the acrylic is the same material used by NASA in space shuttles and each panel of acrylic can withstand the weight of two African elephants! Naturally, the underwater tunnel is the principal highlight of the visit but there is so much more to explore within the facility.

There are many themes to explore in which Pirhana fish and sharks of movie legend and folklore can be seen and placed in their more realistic context. Among the new arrivals are Godzilla, an alligator snapping turtle with the strongest recorded bite on the planet. Snapping turtles are the largest freshwater turtles in the World and are reputed to live for up to 150 years.

Other attractions include the bizarre-looking horned frog. Originally from Africa, they have a huge mouth allegedly capable of eating prey almost their own size and are among the only frogs to have teeth.

The feared black piranha has the potential to sever a human hand in only 2 bites! The goliath tiger fish, a giant freshwater species which can grow up to 1.3 metres in length and has razor-sharp teeth will also be found on display at Deep Sea World. This increadible fish is also known as the Devil fish and is one of the world's fastest freshwater fish!

In addition, several displays show fish and amphibian creatures you'd prefer to avoid. Deep Sea World is an eye-opener for many people and where the proportion of land versus sea is what keeps our planet alive! It's where oceans absorb huge amounts of energy in day time and releases that heat during the night. It's where life exists without sunlight in the deepest recesses and challenges our basic beliefs of what is necessary to maintain life.

Overall, Deep Sea World offers an affordable family friendly voyage of discovery, fascination and wonder with good car parking and supported by the traditional gift shop and cafe whose income helps to support the facilty and several environmental conservation projects. Highly recommended!

Credits:
All photographs bar the last one was provided by courtesay and permission of Deep Sea World via their web site at www.deepseaworld.com
Last photograph is by the author. Text was written by Alandon.