Aquamania Superstore

Aquamania Superstore is Blackburn's answer to the question 'what do we do when it rains?' - a sprawling aquarium where you can spend a couple of hours watching fish swim in circles and pretending it's educational. The setup is straightforward: tanks of tropical fish, some rays, the usual suspects. It's the kind of place that works brilliantly for under-eights who are mesmerised by anything with fins, and absolutely loses them by hour two when they've seen every tank twice.

The real draw here isn't the wow factor - there's no walk-through tunnel or anything that'll make your jaw drop. Instead, it's functional entertainment that sits nicely between a proper aquarium day out and a quick afternoon activity when the weather's turned. Families with young kids on a caravan holiday in Lancashire will find it useful rather than thrilling. You're looking at 90 minutes maximum, probably closer to an hour if your children aren't the type to linger.

If you're staying at Dale Hey Farm or Northwood Caravan & Holiday Park, you're only 15 minutes down the road, which makes it an easy half-day addition to a park-based break. It fills a gap, nothing more. Ring ahead before you go - details on opening hours and admission aren't readily available, and you'll save yourself a wasted journey. Worth a visit as part of a broader Blackburn trip, but don't arrange your entire holiday around it.