Butterflyworld Project St. Albans - After hours with the Butterflies

[Saffy]

Hi folks, not had much chance of late to visit here but thought some may be interested in the following:

Having had the opportunity of having the butterfly house here completely to myself on occasions and even taking my tripod in, the powers that be have been persuaded that other togs may like the same opportunity.

Therefore, two dates have been arranged, Wed 4th and Sat 14th August from 6pm to 9pm. Cost will be £35 to include refreshments i.e., tea/coffee etc. Butterflyworldproject is an amazing place consisting not only of the Butterfly House but also 27 acres of wild flowers. You will not have seen anything like it I promise you - it's a photographers paradise. I have made two galleries on my website, one from last year, one from this (not recently updated this years due to recent bereavement). This will just give you an idea of what is there.

This year there is also a new insect/butterfly breeding house, home to lots of different critters!

If anyone is interested please let me know asap.

My website is http://www.actual-images.com

More info at http://www.butterflyworldproject.com

Thanks for looking and I really hope some of you can make it.

Saffy

[Willenium]

This is round the corner from me and I have been meaning to go there and check it out. I'm not gonna pay £35 for it though :shake:

[Saffy]

Thanks for replying - yes it sounds steep but they still have to have certain staff for a few extra hours so I guess that's why. However I will enquire as to whether there could be any reductions. If it's round the corner from you am surprised you haven't been;)

[Willenium]

Haven't really had time to be honest, always something going on in my life :P It is about 5-10 mins drive from my place so if something is arranged then it's no problem to get there :)

[Willid1]

Anyone who hasn't been yet had better get there quick while the wild flowers are still out, they are amazing.

I was there 2 weeks ago with my wife and 1 year old (who does not prohibit photography unlike our 5 year old :() and spent a very happy couple of hours wandering round with my camera.

It is very much a work in progress but still well worth a visit, especially if the sun is out.

I only have one picture at work to post.

http://www.talkphotography.co.uk/gallery/data/500/IMG_9876_8900high.JPG (http://www.talkphotography.co.uk/gallery/showphoto.php?photo=91559)

David

[Willenium]

EDIT: Posted the same message again for some reason.

[CJS]

Mmm . . . seen this on another site . . . I hail from the area, borne and bred . . . I would be interested to revisit . . . but £35 ????? I dont think so :thinking:

I have gone over all the arguments in my head re entertainment and its cost . . . I know I'm tight . . . but £30 - £50 for a few hours at a cricket or football match, what price theatre tickets £100++++???, and to go to the opera :gag: I'm afraid this goose ain't laying any more golden eggs!

Want an interesting days togging, how about the Suffolk based Owl and Raptor sanctuary for a fiver . . . :

http://www.the-owl-barn.com/bbop/index.html

Its a charity, running on voluntary payments, suggested minimum amount '£5' . . . However, I think a 'tenner' is a reasonable amount for a few hours of interesting picture taking . . . ?

Sorry, but this is a personal opinion . . . if I wanted to go to watch a few butterflies with my partner . . . thats £70 + travel costs :eek: . . . Now, which banana tree did I swing from :suspect: :banana:

CJS

[tdodd]

Whilst on our togging holiday to Wales in June this year, four of us visited a butterfly house for the princely sum of £6.50 (http://www.magicoflife.org/Prices.html) each. As it was off season and quiet we were allowed to take tripods in with us, although to be honest they were a mixed blessing and I gave up using mine. We could have stayed for hours if we wanted to. £35 sounds incredibly expensive!

One tip - it was very hot and humid and we were advised to warm our gear in front of a fan heater before entering the house. I decided to take my chances and ploughed on in and wasted 15 minutes or so waiting for the condensation to vanish, which it did not. I finally saw sense, went and warmed my gear and then had no further problems.

[canaryherd]

Shoot me down if I'm wrong, but I think there may be some confusion here. Normal prices are around the 6 quid mark. The GBP35 is for exclusive access? HTH

[CJS]

Shoot me down if I'm wrong, but I think there may be some confusion here. Normal prices are around the 6 quid mark. The GBP35 is for exclusive access? HTH

Mmm . . . sounds more logical . . . that includes red carpet and champagne? :lol: . . . still cant justify £35x2 though:shrug:

CJS

[Willid1]

Shoot me down if I'm wrong, but I think there may be some confusion here. Normal prices are around the 6 quid mark. The GBP35 is for exclusive access? HTH

Normal adult entry is indeed £6 and my wife and I thought that quite good for a couple of hours wandering around.

What wasn't so good were the prices in the cafe. The food was perfectly good, but very expensive for what it was.

They have picnic tables and benches all over the place, my advice would be take a picnic and buy a cup of tea.:D

HTH

David

[Saffy]

Thanks for all the replies and interest. I had a call from Butterflyworld this morning and they have now reduced the price of £25 per person. This is for entrance and also exclusive access to the butterfly house from 6pm onwards with/without tripods/lighting equipment/whatever. Also includes light refreshments. Yes you can go anytime during the day for £6 and also into the butterfly house but it's normally fairly busy in there with mums and their buggies and allsorts. To take a tripod in there under those circumstances would be daft as I'm sure you'll agree. However, I think taking buggies in there is daft;) Like I said I think before, I have had more than one opportunity to go in there with my tripod had the whole place to myself - it makes life a lot easier. Having said that, I've also got some excellent shots without a tripod I just go for different depending on what I have at the time.

Those who have been, glad you enjoyed it - those who haven't, I suggest you do at some point. My only reason for suggesting this meet was to give fellow togs the opportunity to go into the butterfly house unrestricted - not everyone gets the chance. There is also an insect breeding centre there and I am sure a member of staff will be on hand to handle these if need be for those who are interested in these amazing not so little critters;)

Again, thanks for taking the trouble to read and reply;)

[saladin]

I'm in... Will see you there :)

Bit of a trek from Wiltshire..... but well worth (money and time) it by the sounds of things :)

[Saffy]

Thank you for your support, look forward to seeing you:)

[photo-nattie]

Hi,

I didn't know about this place, sounds fab! I'd be keen to join but coming up from London on the train I'd want to make a day of it rather than an evening. I think exclusive access is a good idea though.

Natalie

[Saffy]

Hi Natalie, thanks for replying - yes it is a great place but completely understand that travelling from London would be a pain. However, there may be another one possibly a weekend date either later in the month or September so I will let you know ok - well worth a visit anyway if you have some free time at a weekend:)