The Living Rainforest - Thatcham

Amarinder S. B.

Great place. Not too crowded. Well managed. Advance tickets on website. Come with ample time. Each exhibit warrants a halt. Birds on forest floor and sloth wandering about in the open make it an interesting experience. Decent gift shop and cafe. Interesting for all ages.

Avenues 2.

I came here for the morning with my disability group. The enclosures were well labelled and it was lovely to see the animals. My one criticism is that the cafe did not appear to be serving hot food for lunch, and I could not see a menu for hot food, which meant we had to go elsewhere one we had had a biscuit and a hot drink.

Andrzej S.

Located about 15 miles from Reading, The Living Rainforest offers a unique and memorable experience that makes up for the slightly narrow and winding roads leading there. The journey is compensated by stunning countryside views, making the drive an enjoyable part of the adventure. Once you arrive, you’re greeted by the incredible atmosphere of a tropical rainforest. A practical tip: leave your jackets in the car because inside, it’s as warm and humid as a real jungle! The carefully curated composition of tropical plants is a true spectacle, complemented by the presence of exotic animals, which add an extra touch of charm to the experience. The star attractions include a sloth and colorful little birds that fly and roam freely along the pathways. For garden enthusiasts, this place is a real gem, especially during the winter months when its lush greenery offers a refreshing escape from the cold. On-site amenities include a small bistro, a gift shop with local souvenirs, clean restrooms, and a spacious parking area. The venue appears to be a popular destination for school trips due to its impressive educational value. To avoid crowds, it’s a good idea to call ahead and check for quieter visiting hours. In summary, The Living Rainforest is a fantastic attraction, perfect for a family outing, especially on a Sunday. It’s a place I’d happily visit again and recommend to anyone seeking a unique and enriching experience.

J J.

Rather peculiarly, the website only showcases a tiny handful of animals when there are over 20 different species plus 100's of plants. Why undersell a great attraction?

We absolutely loved our visit to The Living Rainforest.

We arrived with a feeling of trepidation because of the mixed reviews posted online.

Yes, you can walk around the site in half an hour or so, but for us, that wasn't nearly enough time. There are things you won't see on your first go round that you will on your second or even your third, for example, Cinnamon the Sloth.

We were met by Alison, just inside the entrance, who was very friendly. We were given a map and shown where to enter the rainforest. Across from there is a lovely gift shop packed to the rafters with goodies. They even sell Shamanic drums!

As you enter the rainforest, the heat pleasantly hits you right away. It's a t-shirt/shirt or a t-shirt/shirt with a light sweater over the top, type of climate.

The first thing you'll see will be the stick insects, which are impressive in size. Next to them is a leaf insect that we were not able to locate. Then there are the Madagascan hissing cockroaches and the blue poison dart frog, who came out from where it was amid the leaves and made its way to the front of its enclosure. Friendly little creature.

Then there's a smaller room a bit further on that houses iguanas, fish, and a mudskipper. All around are beautiful trees, plants, and flowers that enable you to feel fully immersed into the surroundings. There are information boards everywhere telling you about the things you're viewing as you walk around. We learned a lot from those.

Then it was back into the first enclosure, where we saw a couple of adorable Fischer's turaco birds. They had beautiful colours and markings.

In that area, there were great big ferns as well as carnivorous plants. I felt transported into another world entirely. I no longer felt I was walking through a large greenhouse in the south of England.

Then, it was through into the largest enclosure, which is an impressive size. There, you will see the cutest little monkeys, dwarf caiman (small crocodiles), crested partridges, a tarantula, tortoises, turtles, Luigi, the yellow-knobbed Curassow. Snakes, marmosets, an armadillo, a toucan, a stingray, all kinds of fish and other things besides. There are far more species to be found than on the website.

What you don't realise until you're there is how charming the birdsong is within the main greenhouse. Mum and I bought a chilled drink from the charming little cafe and sat on a bench overlooking the main pond, complete with paddling birds. The sounds were incredible.

Just around the corner from there is where you will likely find Cinnamon, the Sloth, and after much searching, we spotted her. What a magnificent creature. It was certainly worth the wait to see her up-close.

Right next to where she was situated, in a separate enclosure, is the armadillo and walking freely are the delightful little partridges and the wonderful white-rumped Shamas, members of the passerine family of birds. They flew about, and we got to see them being fed.

That area is just lovely. The atmosphere is great. It looks and feels like a rainforest. Especially by the main pond. You can sit down and just relax, taking in the feeling of the place. We got chatting to quite a few people walking around. There's such a friendly vibe and that encourages conversation.

As I said earlier, yes, you can be in and out of there in 30 minutes if you want to.

However, if you walk around in a leisurely way, taking in the information on the display boards, soaking in the ambience, appreciating all the work that's gone into the planting, the construction of the enclosures and the enjoyment of seeing the animals, having something to eat in the cafe, perusing the gift shop, and maybe going round again, then it's a very pleasant couple of hours.

It won't be for everyone. However, we thoroughly enjoyed our visit to The Living Rainforest, which we're only too happy to recommend. It was a nice afternoon out.

Kate H.

We spent an entire afternoon here with 4 boys aged 1, 3, 6 and 7. The rainforest is excellent, lots to see if you keep going round. Nice play area and outdoor seating which is ideal for noisy, active boys. We'd definitely go again.

Laura W.

Lovely little place to visit if you have a spare hour or 2, granted it doesn't take long to walk round but there's plenty to see and don't forget to look up!
There's a good amount of seating for the size of this place, a small cafe which we didn't use so can't rate that, we did but an icecream which at £2 each I thought was very reasonable. There's a small park with seating where we had our picnic lunch as they don't mind you bringing your own. A small bit where you can colour in some animals and a gift shop which is very cute and reasonable priced again. It's about £25 for an adult but you get to come back all year which I think is brilliant!

natasha R.

Went on a weekend and booked a few hours before going was a wonderful expierbce es very cute definitely could spend about half a day there. The staff were helpful and the animals were gorgeous although we missed cinnamon the sloth she was out in an adventure we were glad to hear that she had free range of the habitat. Really enjoyed the exhibits the foliage is especially impressive there is so much variety and it is so well kept.

Eddie G.

Travelled here to meet friends half way - but picked up the yearly pass as it seemed good value for a return visit. We chose the hottest day of the year - so didn't notice a huge difference going in and out of the greenhouses. As others have said the facility is not huge, but is considerably larger than many rainforest rooms at zoos. The children rushed around very quickly, which we expected, then we picnicked. Some of the play equipment was broken and the play area was a bit run down - but the children had fun. We then returned to the greenhouses and took them slowly, allowing a more mindful observation of the flora and fauna, which was fantastic. Definitely had our money's worth and look forward to some return visits.