Best indoor days out where you’re still IN nature as rainy autumn arrives
RAIN has arrived and it seems summer is truly over, but that doesn’t mean you can’t get out in nature – especially if its indoors.
Around the UK are lots of attractions with indoor conservatories and glasshouses full of plants – and we’ve highlighted some of the best to explore this autumn.
The Eden Project, Cornwall
Go big or go home, right? The Eden Project has two biomes one of which is home to the world’s largest indoor rainforest.
The Rainforest Biome can be as hot as 35C so make sure to wear layers if you visit this autumn and winter.
Inside are beautiful waterfalls, a canopy walkway, wobbly bridges, free-roaming partridges and over 1,000 varieties of plants.
The Mediterranean Biome is slightly cooler but can still get up to 25C with pretty flowers and plants from the Mediterranean, California and even Western Australia.
Make sure to follow the path to the olive trees, stop by the perfume garden for some scented plants and spot the sculptures hidden amongst the greenery.
You can book during events throughout the year too.
Across September 26-27 will be the Celebration of Stories Weekend where children’s authors will read stories from their books, along with workshops and family activities.
From November 20-January 2 will be its Christmas event. General tickets for adults start from £35.50 and tickets for children (5-15) start from £12.50.
Kew Gardens, London
Kew Gardens is known for its incredible landscape gardens and lakes – but there’s plenty of it that’s indoors too.
One of its most impressive attractions that’s inside is Palm House which is an indoor rainforest full of endangered plants – some of which are even extinct in the wild.
The Princess of Wales Conservatory at Kew Gardens has 10 different zones with different climates including topical ones – so you can warm up inside.
Discover Venus flytraps, succulents and tropical orchids inside.
Other indoor attractions include Davies Alpine House where plants that thrive in cool, dry and windy conditions live.
There’s also Temperate House which is the world’s largest Victorian glasshouse with around 10,000 different plants from around the world.
If you want to find out more on Kew Gardens, check out Travel Reporter Cyann Fielding’s full guide on it, here.
General admission tickets start from £17 for adults – an offer for £10 tickets starts later this month. Tickets for children (between 4-15) start from £2.
The National Botanic Garden of Wales, Carmarthenshire
In the heart of Carmarthenshire is the National Botanic Garden of Wales which has a claim to fame as being the largest single-span great glasshouse in the world.
It was even designed by Foster + Partners which are behind buildings like The Gherkin.
Inside the raindrop-shaped glasshouse are endangered plants from Mediterranean climate regions like the Canary Islands, Chile and South Africa.
Along with its various species of plants are rocky terraces and sandstone cliffs.
There are places for snacks too at the Caffi Botanica which serves up snacks, sandwiches, hot meals – some ingredients are even grown in the conservatory itself.
Tickets start from £16.49 for adults and £8.44 for children (between 2-17).
The Winter Garden, Sheffield
The Winter Garden in Sheffield is one of the largest temperate glasshouses to be built in the UK in the last 100 years.
The building is so big that it could actually fit 5,000 regular-sized greenhouses inside of it.
It’s full of greenery with over 2,500 plants from around the world inside of it and paths for a relaxing stroll inside.
There’s everything from tall trees to bamboo, bedding plants which change seasonally and flowers.
It might not be a place that you can spend a day in – but it’s attached to connected to the Millennium Gallery and the Peace Gardens which you can explore too.
It’s completely free to walk through The Winter Garden and it’s open Monday to Saturday between 8am-8pm, on Sunday it’s open from 10am to 5pm.
David Welch Winter Gardens, Aberdeen
David Welch Winter Gardens is found inside Duthie Park in the Ferryhill area of Aberdeen.
The glasshouse was added to the park in the 1900s and is now one of the most visited indoor plant collections in Scotland.
Inside is Europe’s largest indoor plant collection where you can explore the enormous Temperate House.
There’s also the Corridor of Perfumes which is a fragrant zone within the glasshouse, Fern House, Victorian Corridor, Japanese Garden, Tropical House and Arid House.
If its not too cold outside, take a stroll around Duthie Park which has a bandstand, fountains and a boating pond too.
Entry to the David Welch Winter Gardens at Duthie Park is completely free.
The Barbican Conservatory, London
This one might be slightly harder to visit – but it’s still worth mentioning as the Barbican Conservatory is the second biggest of its kind in London (behind the Princess of Wales Conservatory at Kew Gardens).
The conservatory is part of the Barbican Centre in central London and is full with over 1,500 species of tropical and subtropical plants, trees and even fish.
There’s very much limited time to visit though as the Barbican Conservatory will close to the public and undergo a major restoration in January 2027.
But if you want to see inside before its closure, tickets are released one month in advance online with a number day tickets released from 9.30am on the day that the conservatory opens – entry is completely free.
If you want to find out when new tickets are available, you can join the waiting list.
And if you want to take a rare piece of the Barbican Conservatory home with you, check out the plant adoption event happening later this year.
