The Tropical Gardens
The Tropical Gardens is one of the largest in the UK. You can take up to 1 hour to stroll through this landscaped tropical paradise.
As you follow the paths, admire the hundreds of colourful butterflies amongst the exotic plants, shrubs and trees which are there to provide shelter and the nectar for the birds and butterflies & foliage for the caterpillars. There are feeding stations where you can quietly watch these beauties feeding!
You can enter the Insect Gallery and watch the colony of ants set up so you can observe their leaf cutting skills. Just wonder at the weight they can carry over huge distances. Imagine carrying home an enormous water melon ten miles to your house!
In the next room there are the spiders, snakes, millipedes and scorpions and a display of emerging butterflies.
Look here, another 'Tile Game'!
At certain times displayed on the board, outside the gift shop, there are opportunities to "meet the invertebrates". If you arrive at the Tropical Gardens at these times it is possible to meet the zoologist and handle the snakes and larger spiders. This is totally supervised and is not just for children but also for adults. If you want to overcome your fears now is the time to see if you can.
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Exotic Plants
In the Tropical Gardens, which is kept at a temperature to allow the plants to grow all the year round, there are some wonderful colours and scents of exotic species like:
Clivia miniata, Lantana camara, Hibiscus rosa-sinensis, Heliotropium Indicum, Strellizia reginae and Brugmansia not forgetting the well-known Bougainvilleas climbing the walls.
These are the plants that provide the nectar to the butterflies in order to help them to live and reproduce.
reptiles and amphibians
As you walk around the garden you will find our displays of amphibians and reptiles. We have our "cool" Caiman (cousin of the crocodile), some Iguanas, Water Dragons, Bearded Dragons, toads, Caiman frogs, and many snakes including our new Boa Constrictor. If you notice movement in the aquatic areas these are the terrapins, who share the pools with the fish.
