Mike Laycock enters a steamy tropical world... in Leeds.

WHAT AND WHERE? Tropical World, Roundhay Park, Leeds.

WHY? What better way to escape from the sort of cold, damp, grey Yorkshire weather we experienced last Sunday? Walking along in the steamy 90 degree heat, past waterfalls tumbling into jungle pools, it felt as if a small corner of Amazonian rainforest really had been relocated to Roundhay Park. Tropical World features the UK's second largest collection of tropical plants only beaten to the top spot by Kew Gardens.

But it was the creatures which proved the biggest attraction for my daughter, Gabrielle, and her friend, Josh, last weekend from playful meerkats and shy owl monkeys to noisy parrots and flitting Egyptian fruit bats. In the butterfly house, more than 30 exotic varieties of almost every colour were fluttering around, including small yellow and black striped butterflies and huge brown ones the size of a hand.

Elsewhere, we saw terrapins, huge fish in aquarium tanks, such as Niger Catfish from South America, bush babies, giant jumping rats and sugar gliders, in the dark of the nocturnal house, which have been bred through a successful conservation programme. In a desert area, we watched a group of meerkats playing amongst hundreds of succulents and cacti.

More than a million people go to Tropical World each year, and as we queued to enter, it felt as if a fair proportion had picked the same day as us. But as we wandered round, things quietened down, and it proved a pleasant venue for a Sunday afternoon out, at a most reasonable cost.

REFRESHMENTS? There's a cafe selling drinks, snacks, cakes, meals and ices.

FAMILY FRIENDLY? Yes proved by the hundreds of families queuing up when I visited.

WHEELCHAIR FRIENDLY? Yes, and wheelchairs and scooters available on request.

OPENING TIMES? Daily from 10am-6pm (last admission 5.30) HOW MUCH? Adults: £3, children, 8-15 years: £2, under 8s: free.

PARKING? Ample free parking is available nearby.

HOW DO YOU GET THERE? Take A64 to Leeds, turn right at first roundabout onto A6120 ring road, and keep going until you reach signposted turn for Roundhay Park and Tropical World.

FURTHER INFORMATION: 0113 266 1850