Botanical Gardens Sheffield: How a visit will transport you across the world
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It looked like something from a wild west film.
The cactus was huge, not like anything I'd seen before. Yet just a few yards away, things suddenly started to look like I'd walked into a jungle.
So where was I? The Amazon? New Mexico? No. Sheffield. On a rainy day in March.
Thinking of rainy days in Sheffield may not always put the city's beautiful Botanical Gardens to the front of your mind.
But with the beautiful pavilions at the top of the site, there is more to this place than just its rolling acres and majestic sculptures. The Gardens after all are listed by English Heritage as a Grade II site of special historic and architectural interest.
But I find no mention of them on Lonely Planet or Rough Guide's websites. So perhaps they are the city's open secret? I suppose it is hidden behind its high walls.
When I headed off for a trip to the gardens, it had been dry. But by the time I got there the weather had changed, with a torrential downpour. Up went the umbrella - but only briefly.
The greenhouses near the main entrance are home to a massive variety of plants, the like of which you will rarely see in this country.
And despite their beauty, the venue is seldom packed, meaning you can relax as you take a look round what is a beautiful - and free - attraction.
With the rain forcing me to find shelter I was captivated by the plants, and warm as toast in a venue which is designed to keep those plants warm.
After a gentle wander which had let me feel like I had explored everywhere from Australia to Brazil, I went for a peaceful walk around the rest of the gardens.
They are charming, and the trees and grounds are a haven for squirrels, some of the tamest you will see, coming right up to the visitors.
I watched in fascination as they darted from tree to tree, often stopping and sitting quietly for a snack as they went about their business.
The gentle paths took me around beautiful art, with the gardens also home to some beautiful sculptures, like the statue of the spirit of the woods, Pan, in the centre of the rosarium, and to the statue of a bear in the gardens' bear pit.
The bear is instantly recognisable to Sheffielders, having been the basis for the bears that were decorated and used in a Sheffield Children's Hospital fundraised just a few years ago.
The gardens date back to the 1830s. Yet when most people think of Victorian Sheffield, the chances are they think of smoky factories and grindstones, not this green paradise that would be the pride of any city.