Fantastic place in the city to take the kids. There are frogs and toads which eat the snails and slugs that would otherwise eat the flowers. The only reptile is the grass snake which you can sometimes see swimming in the lake. There is one grass snake which seems to like the Glasshouse Palm House and is known as Hissing Sid! It is great for younger kids to run around by the trees, look at the ducks and explore the meandering paths.
The garden was established as a University teaching and research resource by Professor John Stevens Henslow on land acquired in 1831, and finally opened to the public in 1846.
There are 40 acres of beautiful gardens and greenhouses. There is a lake and rock garden. It has a cafe and picnic ar- ea, a lake and woods. There are grey squirrels and foxes. A group of badgers wander at night. At dusk the Common Pipistrelle Bats hunt and roost in the tree hollows.
