Family: Butterfly World

As the year's first bulbs make their appearance I always feel the urge to head for Dobbies garden centre in Edinburgh. This year its neighbour, Edinburgh Butterfly and Insect World, celebrates its 25th birthday, making it the longest running dedicated butterfly attraction on the planet – and on the dreich day that we visited its tropical climate was most welcome.

On entering the glasshouse I was relieved to find that the butterflies weren't overly friendly so we didn't swat any away in an unfortunate reflex action. We saw the delicate creatures close-up on feeding platforms and stopped to read the informative education boards. Caterpillars and pupae are also represented, giving younger visitors a gentle introduction to the circle of life.

At the far end of the glasshouse is a reptile room and nocturnal room. Creepy crawlies in the dark were a step too far, so we opted for the former.

Inside the reptile room our daughter was initially frightened by the close proximity of two massive Burmese pythons, who could most likely swallow her whole, but on learning that the yellow albino snake was called Fluffy she began to relax. Fluffy headed for the glass, flicking her tongue as if lunch had arrived. We took the opportunity to admire her remarkable pattern close-up. Assistant manager Kevin Thom stepped forward to explain that Fluffy is a former pet and likes attention; she's not hungry, just as curious as our five-year-old.

At the handling session, Kevin revealed that "Shiny not slimy" is the motto – that is, shiny things are clean, like cars. This seems to convince children, and most parents, to hold a giant millipede, with its 252 feet. Royal python Joaney came next, by which time we were either hypnotised Mowgli-style or Kevin had convinced us it's safe to touch this slithery serpent. The creepiest crawlie was saved until last – Nelly, a Chilean Rose tarantula. I felt so proud as father and daughter let Nelly crawl over their hands.

Full of confidence, we headed into the dark of the nocturnal room, where we were fascinated by luminous scorpions who display a phototactic reaction to UV light. We even stopped to admire Debbie, the giant bird-eating tarantula.

On the way home we decided that our only disappointment was that we hadn't visited sooner. Appearances can most certainly be deceptive.

Edinburgh Butterfly & Insect World, Lasswade, Midlothian, for times and prices see edinburgh-butterfly-world.co.uk/

• This article was first published in The Scotsman Magazine on 06 February 2010