Last week the family and I were lucky enough to get the opportunity to return to one of our favourite UK destinations, Stratford-Upon-Avon, where we once again stayed with the YHA in one of their pods. Having been before we knew the area and what to expect but also wanted to explore somewhere new, so when we got the opportunity to visit Stratford-upon-Avon Butterfly Farm we couldn’t wait to go, you can read our full review and see for yourself if the Butterfly Farm in Stratford-upon-Avon is worth a visit for you and your family.
What to expect at Stratford-upon-Avon Butterfly Farm
The Butterfly Farm is situated on Swan’s Nest Lane, just by the River Avon in the historic market town of Stratford-upon-Avon and birth place of Shakespeare. It is the UK’s largest tropical butterfly house where you can see some of the world’s most beautiful butterflies up close as well as moths, birds and insects too.
When you arrive you will be greeted by a lovely garden with a wildflower display for you to enjoy at your leisure. The paths are large and easy to navigate making it great for children to explore and burn of some energy and excitement before they enter the actual farm itself.
Rainforest Flight Area
The Rainforest Flight area is the main attraction and the room we liked the best. In here is where you will find hundreds of colourful butterflies as well as a few small birds free flying around the farm. It’s fascinating watching them fly so confidently near visitors as they do get really close, in some cases they will even land on you so do be prepared for this. As well as the spectacular butterflies you can also explore the tropical blossoms, fish-filled pools and tropical waterfalls. It really does give you the experience of being in a wonderful tropical environment, especially as it is so warm inside. If you are keen photographers or nature lovers then you will really enjoy the Rainforest Flight Area thanks to its incredible display of colours, statues, twists an turns making it very instagramable.
We were also very surprised to find there were also two iguanas just pottering about. At first when I read the sign for this I thought it was a joke, spotted one and still thought it was a joke as it was so still I assumed it was a statue, until it literally rolled its eyes at me and gave me quite a shock and the boys quite a giggle. Had I known this in advance it would have probably made me anxious walking round but let me reassure you that in reality they are probably as anti social as you can get. Sitting high up on a bridge watching the world go by without any intention of getting any closer to you, so do not let this put you off, in fact it was quite magnificent to see these remarkable creatures roam free and to have so much space to explore compared to the much smaller tanks we often see them in at the zoo.
Top Tip – regardless of the weather outside make sure you are wearing cool clothes or layers that can be removed as it is very warm inside
Top Tip – when you get to the beautiful waterfall and stop to admire the carp swimming under the bridge and take a photo or two like everybody else, make sure you go back onto the path and follow it behind the waterfall as this leads to a creepy crawly enclosure which we very nearly missed.
Minibeast Metropolis
The Mini-beast metropolis is home to one of the UK’s largest insect collections. We were fascinated by the large enclosure for the leafcutter ants that were bust walking across their rope busy the whole time we were there. In here you will also find stick insects, beetles, snakes and spiders including the largest tarantula spiders we have ever seen. Prior to our visit we didn’t know about this part of the Butterfly farm so it was a lovely surprise and one I recommend you don’t skip.
Discovery Zone
The discovery Zone is great for those that love every day to be a school day or are a bit of a self confessed geek like myself. In here you will find lots of information about the amazing life cycle of a butterfly, the different species of tropical butterfly from different countries and fascinating facts your children can impress their teachers with!
Nature Inspired Gift Shop
On your way out you will pass through the nature inspired gift shop, I am not a fan of having to leave through gift shops but if you are looking for a souvenir then you will find some pretty gorgeous thigs in here including lots of educational toys ad activities.
So, is Stratford-upon-Avon Butterfly Farm worth a visit?
In short, yes if you like butterflies, flowers or creepy crawlies, or you are planning taking children that do as they will get to see the largest tropical butterfly display in the UK. This might sound obvious but there isn’t anything else to do there, it really is what it says it is, a butterfly farm. So if that’s your thing then definitely go.
We found that it was reasonably priced costing £22.50 for a family of four (prices have increased since our visit), however it isn’t that big and you will probably find that an hour to 2 hours is more than enough to see everything. My advice would be to plan it in when visiting the area and combine it with a walk round Stratford or a trip down to the River Avon, both of which are in walking distance from the Butterfly Farm, instead of booking it as a days attraction on its own.
Top Tip – check the times of the talks in advance and aim to arrive half an hour before hand so that you can have a look round and then watch a talk as well.
How much are tickets to the butterfly farm?
The butterfly farm is suitable for visitors of all ages and costs
| Standard Adult | £8.95 |
| Standard Senior 60 years+ & Students | £8.45 |
| Standard Child 3-16 years (under 3’s free) | £7.95 |
| Family- 2 adults & 2 children OR 1 adult & 3 children | £27.50 |
Your visit will typically last between an hour and an hour and a half but you can walk around the butterfly farm as many time as you like.
(We were gifted a family ticket in exchange for a review, all opinions are my own.)
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Two nights glamping in Stratford-Upon-Avon with the YHA