RHS Wisley is a beautiful garden that Michael introduced me to about 4 years ago, he's a landscape gardener and has been a member of the RHS for many years. We love going to Wisley during any season - there's always lots to see. Today we went to see the very popular Butterflies in the glasshouse which is running from 16th January until 6th March 2016. We had to queue for about 20 minutes to get in to see the butterflies but it was definitely worth the wait.
When you arrive at Wisley, there's lots of parking and in the summer we have even used overflow car parks across the road so you shouldn't have a problem to park at all. Being members we get in for free but the entry prices can be found here if you need them. I'd recommend becoming a member if you're going to go more than once and at the moment they appear to have some good savings on family memberships. It's a great place to go with grandparents as Wisley appeals to every age.
Once you're through the entrance gates, you'll start to notice butterfly signs pointing you in the right direction to the Glasshouse where the butterflies are currently living. I'd suggest you went straight there when you arrive as later in the day the line appeared to have grown a lot! It's a very popular thing but apparently you can also book your time online so I'm assuming your wait time will be less due to this. They only allow a certain number of people into see the butterflies at one time which I didn't notice last time we went but I do agree it's a very good idea.
There's some lovely art work leading up to the butterflies in the forms of various statues. The children enjoyed looking at these and treated it kind of like a butterfly trial towards the glasshouse.
Take your coats off before you go in because oh my word it's ever so warm inside there!! I'd hate to be the one paying that electric bill... Make sure you've got some water too for the little ones as Isabelle was sweating and Oliver was getting a bit cranky with the heat. We were in there for enough time to look around properly at lots of lovely butterflies but it's not somewhere you could stay for a long period of time - fear not though, there's plenty more to see outside.
Oliver loved having a butterfly land on him but Isabelle was scared of them - she's a bit of a wimp at the moment.
Once we got outside we decided to have our picnic lunch, there is plenty of seating available and a café to get a warm drink as well as food if you're not bringing your own. I'm glad to have seen at least 4 toilets dotted around - ideal for children.
Oliver really enjoys running around the rockery and loves to be near the water, the fish are amazing here during the warmer months they come right up to the surface trying to get fed.
For the plant lover, there's plenty to see with an excellent varied selection of plants all year round. Michael's favourite from today was the hamamelis (witch-hazel) for it's winter colour and scent.
If you're a fan of muddy puddles then you'll love it here at the moment! Isabelle & Oliver both love jumping in muddy puddles as we discovered in my previous post Isabelle loves muddy puddles. Make sure you bring the wellies [and if your children are like mine, a change of clothes is probably a good idea too!]. I'll have to clean my boots this evening.
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