Tropical World at Roundhay: what's inside, prices and a lake walk

Tropical World is the council-run butterfly house and animal attraction in Roundhay Park, and it is the best answer Leeds has to a grey October afternoon. It is hot, it is humid, and there is a crocodile. Pair it with a loop of Waterloo Lake and you have a proper half-day out in the north of the city.

Where it is

The official name is the Marjorie & Edward Ziff Tropical World, and it sits on Princes Avenue, Roundhay, LS8 2ER, in Canal Gardens. Street Lane separates it from the main part of the park. Some older listings show a different postcode, so use LS8 2ER in your satnav. Roundhay Park itself is about three miles north of the city centre, covers roughly 700 acres and is free to enter (Great Runs).

It is a licensed zoo and a BIAZA member. The present building dates from 1939, replacing the 1911 Coronation House glasshouse, and it reopened as Tropical World in the early 1980s. A two-year refurbishment worth £1.5m reopened it in 2015 with an Aztec-themed aquarium and a new café.

What is inside

Visit Leeds lays out the route in this order (Visit Leeds):

• Butterfly House: free-flying butterflies in a swampy mangrove setting. The pools hold koi carp, terrapins and a Morelet's crocodile.
• Aquarium: fish from around the world, including a red-bellied piranha.
• Creature Corner: insects, lizards and snakes. The red-legged millipedes are listed with up to 750 legs, and a red-tailed racer snake can reach about 2.4m.
• Cotton-top tamarins: a critically endangered monkey, and billed as a favourite.
• Rainforest Canopy: sulcata tortoises, Argentine black-and-white tegus, emperor tamarins and pygmy marmosets, the world's smallest monkey.

The attraction is often billed as holding the largest collection of tropical plants in the UK outside Kew, which gives you something to look at between the animals.

Know before you go

• It is hot and humid inside, so wear layers you can peel off.
• The council says animals cannot be guaranteed to be visible, and some areas may be closed for maintenance or upgrades.
• There is no bag or coat storage for ordinary visitors.
• Dogs are not allowed, because of the free-flying birds.
• Allow one to two hours. Tripadvisor gives that range.

Be realistic, too. Tripadvisor rates it 3.9 from about 2,500 reviews, and recent reviewers mention tired fittings, misted glass and the odd empty display. It is a well-loved, slightly worn old glasshouse, not a shiny new one. Go for the butterflies and the monkeys and you will be fine.

Prices

Adult tickets have recently been around £9.50, with children around £5.50 and under-3s free. Prices change, so check tropicalworld.leeds.gov.uk before you go. Members of the Friends of Roundhay Park get two free entries a year with proof of membership.

Opening hours vary by season and can change at short notice. Some listings show 10am to 6pm daily, others 10am to 4pm in winter. Late October falls in the winter period, so check the official site on the day before you set off.

Eating

Tropical World Café overlooks Canal Gardens and has indoor and outdoor seating. Its winter hours are 10am to 3:30pm, with hot food until 3pm (council café page). Only food and drink bought at the café can be eaten in it, so leave the packed lunch in the bag for the bench outside. The Tropical Lookout sells stone-baked pizzas and ice creams.

Pairing it with Waterloo Lake

Do Tropical World first. You will be warm and a little damp, and the cold air outside will feel good. Then head down to Waterloo Lake, which covers about 33 acres and is popular with rowers. A rowing club has been based there since 2006.

Walk lengths differ by source. The basic Waterloo Lake loop is roughly 1.6 miles (about 2.7km), and Great Runs puts it at around 28 minutes at a steady pace. Allow 30 to 60 minutes if you stroll. Longer options exist: the Ramblers list a leisurely 3.5-mile circuit of the lakes and gorge that takes about two hours (Ramblers). Check the park map for the route from Tropical World to the water.

There are public toilets by the Mansion, at the bottom of Mansion Lane.

Late October means short days. Doing the glasshouses first and the lake second keeps the walk in daylight, rather than the other way round.