WE had a trip down memory lane at the weekend when we took our young nephews to Tropical World in Roundhay Park, Leeds.

When our own offspring were little it was the ideal rainy Sunday afternoon venue, providing both warmth and somewhere interesting.

Much was as we remembered it – the gigantic koi carp, the terrapins, the waterfall and butterflies.

And while it was no longer free, the entrance fee was small and the place a tad larger.

It now has an underground nocturnal world, with bushbabies and bats, and a desert world with meerkats, although we missed the meerkats because their enclosure is being refurbished.

The talking octopus that swallows up loose change is still frightening young children – Firstborn was terrified by it as a toddler – and the tanks of huge Amazon river fish are still there.

We had a great afternoon out and came back wondering why Huddersfield doesn’t have such a place.

Not only is it a great facility for families, it must rake in a fair bit of cash because there were queues to get in and it’s always busy.

Wouldn’t it be lovely if the renovation plans for Greenhead Park were to include a tropical world?