Weymouth SeaLife welcomes back first visitors

Weymouth SeaLife is reopening it's doors thanks to the easing of coronavirus restrictions today.

Only outdoor spaces will be accessbile in line with COVID-19 rules, but that still means there's a lot to see.

We sent our reporter George Sharpe down to have a look:

A closed park doesn't mean all of the animals went into hibernation though. Staff have been working around the clock to look after the animals.

It's also been importat to keep the animals used to human contact while the park is closed to visitors.

Nathan Barnett, Operations Manager at Weymouth Sealife said:

"We've been doing our best to make sure that the animals are still seeing human contact so it's not too much of a shock to them when we do reopen our doors.

"Things like putting the music on, going round, getting all of our team members that are still working during the pandemic to make sure they're interacting with the animals as much as possible, to make sure they are accustomed to it again.

"It's going to be great to welcome pour guests back into the park for the outdoor spaces. We've been closed since the end of December. We've missed the guests, I'm sure the guests have missed seeing our lovely creatures, and our creatures have missed seeing them as well.

"I think it's an ideal opportunity to give them a bit of escapism to come and see the animals again in a nice COVID-secure environment."

Only outdoor parks of the park will be accessible for now. The indoor areas including some new areas will be opening up on May 17th assuming the government sticks to it's roadmap.

The park is also reminding people that you'll have to book ahead before they arrive due to coronavirus restrictions.