1. Longleat Safari Park
Longleat's Safari Park is unusual because you can drive through it in your own car.
The Safari Park is busy at peak times, with the trip taking around 2 hours. But it is well worth it - even if the Rhesus Macaques will do their best to remove your car's wipers and badges!
The route
The entrance to the Safari Park is about 2 miles (10-15 mins drive) from Longleat House. When you are inside, you will generally need to keep windows shut and doors locked.
The first attraction is the African Village, where you can park your car and walk to a viewing platform. From here you will see Rothschild's Giraffes, Grant's Zebras, African Spurred Tortoises, Black Wildebeest and Ostriches.
Interesting fact...
Longleat's breeding programme for giraffes is so successful that one giraffe, named Mrs Beeton, has 440 descendants across Europe. They include her great-great-great-great-great granddaughter, who lives in a zoo in Belgium!
The Flamingo Valley is next, where you'll encounter Chilean Flamingo, Eastern Bongo, the Common Eland, Pelicans sitting by the roadside and the White-backed Vulture.
You’ll then get to the Monkey Drive-through, one of the highlights of your trip. Here you will get up-close and personal with Rhesus Macaques - and loads of them. We had five sitting on our car at one stage, and still have monkey footprints on the bonnet to prove it!
Interesting fact...
The Macaques will do anything to prise pieces away from your car. We saw windscreen wipers and hubcaps being expertly removed - and the road is strewn with other car parts, including rubber seals, aerials and number plates!
The Big Game Park is the next area you visit, where the inhabitants include Asian Elephants, the (grumpy) Bactrian Camel, Ankole Cattle, Scimitar-horned Oryx and the Roan Antelope. You then come to the Deer Park, with beautiful Red and Pere David's Deer.
Don't miss the Southern White Rhino on your way to the brilliant Big Cat Enclosures (guarded by sets of double gates to prevent escape).
The Amur Tigers come first - one of the world's six species of tiger. These regal beasts are often seen patrolling the borders of their territory.
When you get through the next set of double gates (which allow about 16 cars into each big cat area at a time), you'll see a pride of African Lions. We counted about 10 lions in all - three of them male.
The Longleat App provides some interesting commentary along the way. It explained that a male lion can eat up to 40 kilograms of food in a single meal when in the wild.
The final inhabitants are the Cheetahs, Hyenas and Grey Woolf.
2. Longleat Adventure Park
Longleat’s Adventure Park, and the adjacent Longleat House and its gardens, offer a range of fun attractions to fill the rest of your day.
There is something for everyone, including the Jungle Cruise, a trip on a toy train, and getting lost in a huge maze.
The Jungle Cruise
The Jungle Cruise is a 30 minute voyage on board one of two boats that seat about 90-100 people (we were on the Lady Bath).
Your cruise is around Longleat's Half-Mile Lake, with Californian Sea Lions joining your boat almost as soon as you set off. You are then off to see the lake's two Hippopotami, Black and White Colobus Monkeys on the small island at the centre of the lake, and Longleat's five Western Lowland Gorilla.
You can buy fish to feed the Sea Lions on the way back to the jetty (£2).
The Toy Train
Longleat's Toy Train runs on a 15 inch gauge along a 2 kilometre circle, along the edge of Longleat's Half-Mile Lake. Three diesel locomotives now pull passengers around the circuit - they are called Ceawlin, Flynn and John Thynn.
Services leave every 30 minutes from 11am, with the last train departing 5 minutes before the Park shuts. This is very popular, so be prepared to queue. The quietest time is in the morning.
More animals
Longleat has slowly added numerous additional animals to its Adventure Park. The highlights include:
- Aardvarks, Asian Short-clawed Otters, Giant Anteaters and Meerkats in the Jungle Kingdom.
- Two Giant Otters and two five-feet Cuban crocodiles.
- Koalas, Wombats and Potoroos in the Koala Creek area.
- Rainbow Lorikeets, which you can buy nectar to feed for £1.
- Blue and Gold Macaws, the Wolf Spier, Indian Runner Ducks and Poison Dart Frogs in the Animal Adventure area.
- Common Marmosets, Red Pandas and Red-handed Tamarins in the Monkey Temple area.
The Hedge Maze
Just off the main square is Longleat's fantastic Hedge Maze. With nearly two miles of paths, dead-ends and turnings the Maze takes between 20 and 90 minutes to finish. Opened in 1978, the Hedge Maze remains the biggest in Britain.
Longleat House
Longleat House proper is currently closed for renovations. When it reopens, visitors will be able to once again enjoy this piece of architectural history: substantially completed by 1580, it has been the home to 15 generations of the Thynne family.
Interesting fact...
Longleat House has a library stocked with over 40,000 books and a 90 foot Saloon! It is also home to a substantial art collection - including a Titian that was almost stolen during an audacious failed robbery in the 1990s.
The Gardens
Longleat House's gardens are many and varied. A number of small mazes (the Sun Maze, the Lunar Labyrinth and the Love Labyrinth) are found adjacent to the house, together with a topiary garden, a number of peaceful fountains and stunning orangery.
Another cracking spot is the more intimate Secret Garden, beautifully looked after and adorned by a number of statues.
More things to see …
Other attractions include:
- The HUGE and BRILLIANT Adventure Castle: a playground for under 14s complete with turrets, slides, zip-lines, trampolines, water fountains and (most importantly) a recreated medieval fortress.
- The Rockin' Rhino fairground ride.
- A great picnic area, complete with giant straw animals.
3. Visitor Info & Top Tips
Opening Times
10am to 6pm during peak times; 10am to 5pm off-peak.
Remember: last entrance to the Safari Park is 2 hours before the Park closes (it takes 2 hours to get around).
Prices
Adults: £34.95
Children: (3-15 years): £26.20
Infants: Free
Yes, this is a lot of money. But we would say 3 things. (1) This really is an all-day activity - in fact, you probably won't be able to see everything in a single trip. (2) The costs of running the park, feeding and caring for the animals etc are high. (3) If you are planning on coming regularly, buy an annual pass (£100 for adults; £70 for children) - you'll make your money back in three visits!
Top Tips
Here are a few tips for getting the most out of your visit:
- Going around the Safari Park takes a while, especially in peak season. Allow 2.5 hours, download the app (which has great commentary and gives you lots of interesting facts), bring water and snacks, and go in the late afternoon if you can (people tend to go to the safari park as soon as they arrive).
- You can bypass the Monkey Drive-through if you don’t fancy seeing the monkey mechanics. But we suggest that you take the risk – we went through twice and our car was fine!
- Don't miss the Giraffe Feeding Time at the African Village (the first attraction after you get into the Safari Park).
- Don't forget that these are wild beasties: keen windows up, doors locked, and honk if you run into problems.
Staying nearby
The Longleat Estate now has six self-catering cottages: the East Lodge, Keeper's Cottage, Keeper's House, Deer Keeper's House, Gardener's Cottage and Prairie Lodge.
We stayed in the Prairie Lodge, the most secluded of the cottages: you couldn't see a soul or another building. But the other cottages have big attractions too: some are dotted around the Safari Park, so you can have breakfast watching the giraffes!
A highly rated alternative is the Bath Arms, a friendly gastropub on the estate.
Nearby Attractions
Nearby attractions include Warminster, Frome, Bath and Stone Henge.
