Botanical Institute

The South London Botanical Institute is a little gem, tucked away near Brockwell Park.

Founded in 1909 it’s a Herbarium and plant library with a tiny botanical garden tucked at the back.

As it’s only just over the park from us, we wandered over one sunny day.

To check it out ‘cos we hadn’t been and to get tips on ponds. We’ve just dug ours and heard on the local grapevine that the Botanical Institute’s were frogtastic!

And my goodness they were. We counted 12 frogs in one pond.

And managed to snap at least 5 in the pic above!

The institute is only open for general visits once a week but they have some really lovely events for kids in the holidays and grown ups, including classes on creating your own Herbarium.

And the staff were super friendly to us, even donating some pond plants to get us started.

If you’re not a south London local, you could combine a visit to the Botanical Institute with some outdoor fun at Brockwell Park with it’s lido, playground, BMX track, paddling pool and more!

Getting There :

The South London Botanical Institute is 5 minutes walk from Tulse Hill Station and 10 minutes from Herne Hill. You can get the 196 bus from Brixton tube, getting off just after Brockwell Park on Norwood Road.

The Botanical Institute is tiny but it’s a lovely place to drop in if you’re close by.

I do hope you enjoy and for more places to explore in London with kids do sign up for my newsletter …