A few weeks ago, I took our eight-year-old to the Tropical Butterfly House near Sheffield, after a request to go somewhere with parrots. We’ve been many times – the first was in 2017, before our now eight-year-old had turned two. And whilst the name implies that it’s just about butterflies, it’s actually a small animal zoo with both indoor and outdoor areas.
There is, of course, a tropical butterfly house there, and the house itself is actually new. The previous indoor bit is now a dedicated bird house. There’s a wide range of different butterflies, along with tropical plants. Outside, there are farm animals, various birds (including parrots), the obligatory meerkats, otters and lemurs. The parrots are often involved in aerial displays, although we didn’t stay for one this time.
The zoo isn’t very big, and you can see everything in half a day. It’s also very much aimed at families with younger children – there are various things that spray water, and lots of fibreglass dinosaurs. It’s worth going to during school holidays, as there are lots of extra activities around Halloween, Christmas and Easter in particular.
The photos from our most recent visit are on Flickr.
Accessibility
The Tropical Butterfly House is about five minute’s drive away from Junction 31 of the M1, and there should be sufficient parking on site. If you don’t have a car, then the X5 bus from Sheffield gets you to within a 15 minute walk away. The site is almost all on one level, with good wheelchair access throughout. Sensory packs and loan wheelchairs are available if booked in advance.