Berkeley Castle Butterfly Farm

Situated mid-way between Bristol and Gloucester in the South-West, Berkeley Castle Butterfly Farm is just off Junction 14 of the M5 motorway.

In keeping with many typical butterfly farms in the UK, it's a part of a larger attraction, this being Berkeley Castle as well as the gardens. Jenner museum is also virtually next door so there's plenty to occupy you for a full days outing and the setting is quite lovely. There's a large free car park for visitors to the Butterfly Farm and Castle and you can visit the museum from there as well.

The Butterfly Farm is set in a walled garden right next to the car park and the entry fee to the Farm is a nominal £2.00 and £1.00 for children. This gives you full access to the double glass-house area which is approximately 4,500 square feet in size (my estimate) including the shop.

There is a gift shop at the entrance to the Butterfly House but there is little here of interest to the genuine butterfly enthusiast. Give this bit a miss as it's full of cheap stuff for kiddies, much of which is not at all related to butterflies.

Inside there are two benches for you to sit and enjoy the butterflies, one of which is opposite the large pond in the middle of the area. The owners have thoughtfully provided laminated butterfly identifiers which you can use to help identify those butterflies you do encounter.

There were certainly plenty of butterflies to see, especially, if like me, you take the time to stand still and carefully scrutinise all the leaves and branches in front of you! It was quite amusing to see most visitors pass by the huge Owl butterflies that were lined up on the tree trunk simply because they were camouflaged.

There were also a number of plants that had live caterpillars crawling all over them which was great to see. Again, many people missed seeing them so look closely, especially near the hatching area.

The hatching area referred to above is near the entrance and this is where you can see all the chrysalides and newly hatched butterflies.

I managed to take a large number of photographs of butterflies in normal and macro mode without difficulty (only a few of which are displayed on this page) including a great close-up of a Cracker butterfly which chose to use me as a landing ground. As always it's a great thrill to be so close-up with butterflies.

If you hear bird calls whilst you're there, it's because there are a small number of birds which are happily living under the glass as well. I saw what looked like some variety of finch as well as dwarf quail running about. The garden shrubs, plants and pond (with fish) appear well tended.

Although only a relatively small space, the farm is great value for money since it only costs a small fee.

Click the links below for full, up-to-date details of opening times, dates (butterfly farm will be seasonal) and other related information:

 

If You Go Berkeley Castle - Latest entry costs, opening times and more on how to get there. How to Find it - Here's a link to MultiMap which pinpoints the exact position of Berkeley Castle Butterfly Farm in the UK.