About The Bug Parc
The idea behind The Bug Parc was dreamt about by Martin French over 20 years ago, that’s me below with a Goliath beetle getting up close and personal on my face. My wife Lorraine, asked me what my passion was and I realised I had a fascination for all things creepy-crawly and decided to buy some praying mantis to keep as a hobby.
In a very short time, the mantis bred and I contacted other hobbyists so as to swap and sell the hatchlings. In time my collection grew until it took over two sheds, a double garage and the back end of my house, much to the amusement and support of my wife!
Our next move in 2009 saw me build a 60 foot shed in my back garden in which to house my ever growing collection, and BugzUK.com, the website used to sell our insects, became one of the most popular invertebrate sales sites on the web.
I have,ever since, had it in my mind to set up an invertebrate zoo and finally in 2020 I took the plunge and bought five acres of land on which to build the zoo that now stands here. My hobby was definitely getting out of hand!
I spent over two years building the first phase of this Parc on a large field in the middle of nowhere, with no facilities, just as the covid pandemic hit and we were starting to feel the full effect of Brexit on supply chains.
Suffice to say that there were many times when I felt like giving up, for lack of builders, lack of materials and the fact that the project was turning into a money pit! Despite all the odds, I didn't give up and now we are open to the public. The reaction has been great, and I welcome you all to my dream come true.
Over the next ten years, as we can afford it, I want to build the next five phases of this project, which will make this Parc possibly the largest specialist Tropical Invertebrate Parc in the world, and will be one of the most unusual places you will have ever spent time visiting. I can only hope that you learn to love these creatures as I do, as without them, our world would collapse.
The future
Our plans for the future include:
- A tropical butterfly walk-through experience
- A netted indigenous UK butterfly walk-through experience
- A one acre planted bee and butterfly garden surrounding the Bee Visitor Centre
- A sculpture trail winding through our own pine woodland on the site
- A faerie village for the teeny tots to enjoy in our pine woodland
- 13 more large visitor centres housing different orders of invertebrates
So the future is exciting and thank you for coming to see how my dream has become an amazing reality… I hope you enjoy the experience now, and that you will come back again and again to see how we have grown in the years to come.
Season tickets
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