longleat safari park warminster ba12 7nw

Top Family Attractions - Plan Your Visit To Longleat

Barmy aristocrats, a family feud, a great Elizabethan house and lions in the backyard - why would anyone not want to visit Longleat?

Not too long ago the BBC program All Change at Longleat   offered viewers a revealing behind-the-scenes look at what's been going on since the endearingly loony Lord Bath (Alexander Thynn, 7th Marquess of Bath) handed over the business reins of the Longleat estate to his much less colorful son and heir, Viscount Weymouth.

The show was better than a soap opera as Ceawlin (the Viscount, whose name is pronounced Syoolin ) and his new wife Emma took over the place and immediately fell out with the old man. It's available on YouTube and it's worth a look in for a giggle.

Meanwhile, life goes on as normal for visitors to the great stately home and amazing safari park. Here's what you need to know to plan a visit.

First A Bit of Background

Longleat has been welcoming visitors since the late 1940s. The house an outstanding example of High Elizabethan architecture in England , was the first stately home ever opened to the public on a commercial basis. In a way, Henry, the 6th Marquess, father of the current Marquess of Bath, pioneered the tourism genre of stately homes as multiple activity attractions.

In 1966, Longleat opened the first drive-through Safari Park outside of Africa. It has since been seen by millions, worldwide, through the BBC's Animal Park television series.

Today, Longleat, set within 900 acres of Capability Brown landscaped park and 8,000 acres of woodland, lakes and farmland, is crammed with family activities and attractions, including:

Longleat House

Completed by 1580, Longleat was already a splendid house when it was visited by Queen Elizabeth I in 1574. Today's visitors can enjoy the remarkable collections of one family who have looked after the house for 14 generations, over 400 years. Among its treasures are masterpieces of Italian Renaissance and seven libraries (some of which are included in tours) filled with 40,000 books - the largest private collection in Europe.

One of the gorier items in the family collection is the bloodstained waistcoat worn by King Charles I at his execution. You can see it displayed in the Great Hall.

The notorious murals and portraits painted by the current Lord Bath decorate the private apartments and can be seen on morning guided tours of the ground floor. One reason for the family feud, as seen in the BBC documentary, was Viscount Weymouth's removal of one of the murals - his wife said they smelled. She meant they smelled of oil paint, but some art critics have been of the same opinion.

Longleat Safari Park

When Longleat first opened its safari park in the 1960s, the locals worried about lions roaming around the Wiltshire countryside. It's not an idle worry.

One of the revealing snippets of All Change at Longleat was the fact that estate managers carefully check the three miles of fencing around the safari park every day. They don't expect the big cats to tunnel out. But if a large branch falls in the night, it could provide a ladder for a lion or tiger to climb over a fence.

Visitors don't have to worry - as long as they stay safely locked in their cars. As you drive through, you can expect close encounters with wolves, giraffes, rhinos, two prides of the famous black-maned Longleat lions and, if you are lucky, the shy Siberian tigers. Thegangs of Rhesus monkeys that commit all kinds of mayhem on cars passing through the monkey jungle are very popular with families. And, if you take a boat ride on the park's lake, you may spot members of the new colony of lowland gorillas on the island in the middle. This was once the home of Nico, the park's Silverback gorilla who was one of the world's oldest known Silverbacks and a widower. He lived in splendid isolation on his own island. Sadly, Nico died at 56 years of age in 2018. The new gorillas are now settling in.

Also settling in is the family of Koalas. The park has created an Aussie paradise for them at Koala Creek.

Besides being a park attraction, with more than 100 species to see, Longleat plays a vital role in international breeding, conservation and rescue programs. Every year there are new arrivals. In 2019 the park celebrated the birth of two Amur Tiger cubs. This endangered species is the world's largest cat. Later in the year, seven wolf cubs were born in Wolf Wood.

Longleat Essentials

• Where: Longleat, Warminster, Wiltshire BA12 7NW England
• Phone: +44 (0)1985 844 400  
• Visit their website
• Open:  Longleat House, the Safari Park and the Adventure Park (with a superb Maze) are open from late March to November 1, from November 13 to December 6 and from December 11 to January 3, except for Christmas Day. Last admission and closing times vary based on daylight hours. Check the website for dates and times because opening days and hours vary slightly from year to year.
• Admission: Adult, child and senior tickets (for 60+) are available for the whole park, including Longleat House, or for the house and garden only. No family tickets are offered but online tickets cost 15% less than full price.
• By car: Longleat is just off the A36 between Bath and Salisbury on the A362 Warminster – Frome road. It's about 106 miles and 2.5 hours from London.
• By train: From London, take the Paddington to Penzance service to Westbury Station, 12 miles from Longleat. Warminster Station, 5 miles away, can be reached from London Waterloo, changing at Salisbury or from London Paddington, changing at Bath Spa. Check National Rail Enquiries for times and prices.    Taxi s from both stations can be booked.

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Longleat house and gardens and safari park, warminster, wilshire, ba12 7nw.

Accessibility:

Please check the venue website for more in-depth accessibility details.

There are designated parking facilities in the car parks.

Queue Assist Scheme is available.

Toilet facilities : Accessible toilets are located at/or near the following areas

Entrance to Safari Drive-Through, Bat Cave(A changing bench and hoist is located here), Jungle Cruise, Cellars Cafe; Chameleon Tree and Coffee House.

Baby changing facilities are available as above.  A Baby Centre is located near the Nature's Kingdom which has baby warming facilities and high chairs.

Wheelchair hire must be booked prior to your visit.

Please note: Assistance dogs/dogs are NOT allowed in a number of areas, please check the venue website.

Longleat House

Access to the house for limited mobility/wheelchair users is located at the rear.  A lift is available which allows access to all floors.

Due to conservation reasons - Low levels of light are in in operation.

Only TWO wheelchairs are permitted in the house at any one time, due to fire restrictions.

Pushchairs are NOT permitted into Longleat House. There is a pushchair park at the rear of the house.

Jungle Cruise

Pushchairs are not permitted.

Limited mobility and wheelchair users can access the area, a ramp to and from the boat is available. A restriction of 4 wheelchair users per boat is in operation.

Longleat Railway(Santa Train)

It is advisable to pre-book tickets for the railway as it is a popular experience.

A specially adapted carriage is available for wheelchair users. Limited to one place.

Pushchairs can be left at the pushchair park.

Longleat Hedge Maze

This area is unsuitable for wheelchair users and pushchairs.

Adventure Castle

Wheelchair and pushchair friendly.

Other attractions and areas.

Narrow pathways, cobbled pathways, steps and steep ramps exist in a number of areas.

Chameleon Tree Restaurant and Coffee House

Pushchair and wheelchair - fully accessible by ramp access

Cellar Cafe

Accessible via the rear of Longleat House for pushchair and wheelchair users.

Brief description:

Longleat House is a fine example of an Elizabethan Stately House completed in 1586, with gardens and grounds landscaped by Capability Brown. The estate has been owned by the Thynne Family for 15 generations and is now occupied by the 7th Marquess of Bath.  There are guided tours of the house interior available every day.

The Drive-Through-Safari Park opened in 1966 was the first of its kind in Britain.  There are a number of wild animals to be observed on the tour and within other areas of the park.

Longleat House, Warminster, Wilshire, BA12 7NW

[email protected]

01985 844400

https://www.longleat.co.uk/

Directions:

Longleat House and Safari Park is located between Bath and Salisbury off the A36.

The M3 (Junction 8); the M4 (Junction 17); the A303; A36; all serve and are easily accessible routes for reaching Longleat House and Safari Park.

Opening Times:

Open daily 10.00 - 5.00 

Please check the venue website for up-to-date and extra opening hours and additional events.

Adult : £34.95; Concession : £31.45; Child : £26.20; Carer's : Free admission

15% Discounted tickets available if purchased online.

Tickets allow entrance to: Safari Park, Cheetah Kingdom, Monkey  Drive Through, Lions of Longleat, Jungle Kingdom, Monkey Temple, Hedge Maze, Longleat House and Gardens.

There is a regular bus service around Wiltshire.

For more travel information go to- http://www.wiltshire.gov.uk/parkingtransportandstreets/publictransport/transporttimetableinformation.htm .

Longleat House and grounds have a number of restaurants and cafes on site, there is also a gift/souvenier shop located in the Stables Courtyard.

The town of Bath is approximately 18 miles away

The City of Salisbury is approximately 25 miles away

Both places have supermarkets, shops, cafes, pubs and restaurants.  There are railway/bus stations available in both areas.

Nearest Venues

The Bath Arms, Horningsham, Wiltshire

1.14 miles*

Horningsham, Wiltshire

1.24 miles*

St John's Church, Horningsham, Wiltshire

1.30 miles*

Congregational Chapel, Horningsham, Wiltshire

1.43 miles*

Centre Parcs (holiday resort), Longleat Forest, Wiltshire BA12 7PU

1.71 miles*

West Woodlands, Somerset

2.27 miles*

*Distances are calculated in a straight line from the current venue, please allow extra time/distance based on available paths or roads.

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Enter a land of adventure. Where Lions roam. Tigers prowl. And monkeys swing. Travel through time in a grand stately home. Lose yourself in one of our magical mazes. Hold exotic creatures from the ends of the Earth. This is Longleat. Jump in.

Stately home with extensive grounds and Britain’s first Safari Park, featured on BBC’s Animal Park.

A trip at Longleat will provide the perfect day out, as well as the opportunity to step back into more than 450 years of history.

The house is widely regarded as one of the best examples of high Elizabethan architecture in Britain. It was completed in 1580 and is now occupied by the 7th Marquess of Bath. This house has also been home to 15 generations of the Thynne family.

Longleat House also features:

• Art collected by 15 generations of the Thynne family
• Guided tours  including general house tours, butler, housekeepers and rooftop tours
• Formal gardens  first commissioned by the 1st Viscount Weymouth
• Parkland  900 acres of stunning Capability Brown
• Pleasure gardens  featuring the Pleasure Walk
• House exhibitions  curated to commemorate important events

Main Square

• Jungle Cruise:  a journey around Half Mile Lake, escorted by sea lions, sailing past the Gorilla island
• Koala Creek:  England’s only koala collection
• Jungle Kingdom:  the chance to get close to all sorts of exotic animals
• Adventure Castle:  the medieval fortress and adventure playground
• Gorilla Colony:  a lakeside retreat providing the perfect habitat for the gorillas
• Animal Adventure:  the animal handling hall offers another chance to get close to animals
• Monkey Temple:  stroll through and spot monkeys in the trees
• Hedge Maze:  one of the biggest hedge mazes in the world, with over two miles of path
• Longleat Railway:  climb aboard the Longleat railway for a unique view of the lakeside animals
• Family Farmyard:  a chance to meet some farmyard favourites
• Little Explorer’s Garden: a play area, inspired by nature, for smaller visitors

Safari Drive Through

The incredible safari tour lets you spot a range of animals including an elephant, macaque monkeys, wolves, tigers, lions, cheetah and deer. You can also visit:

• African Village and Walking Safari:  a stroll along the specially designed viewing platform to spot even more animals, plus the lemur walk-through
• Big Game Park:  an impressive herd of southern white rhinos as well as Bactrian camels, scimitar horned oryx, ostriches and Ankole cattle.

VIP Experiences

Longleat offer a range of VIP experiences giving you the chance to get up close and personal with your favourite animals on an immersive safari adventure.

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Warminster England, Wiltshire

Introduction.

Longleat is a landscape park covering around 505 hectares, with 19th and 20th century formal gardens of 2.5 hectares. The site is now primarily known as the safari park introduced by the Marquess of Bath in 1964.

The ground slopes generally from south to north.

The following is from the Register of Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest. For the most up-to-date Register entry, please visit The National Heritage List for England (NHLE):

A grand C16 mansion surrounded by formal gardens and pleasure grounds with elements of the early C19 layout, added to in the mid C19 by William Taylor, in the mid C20 by Russell Page, and in the late C20 by the seventh Marquess of Bath. These sit in extensive parkland, largely of mid C18 origin by Lancelot Brown, with additions by Humphry Repton who produced a Red Book in 1804, by Jeffry Wyatville, and by Russell Page in the 1930s.

This entry is a summary. Because of the complexity of this site, the standard Register entry format would convey neither an adequate description nor a satisfactory account of the development of the landscape. The user is advised to consult the references given below for more detailed accounts. Many Listed Buildings exist within the site, not all of which have been here referred to. Descriptions of these are to be found in the List of Buildings of Special Architectural or Historic Interest produced by the Department of Culture, Media and Sport.SUMMARY DESCRIPTION Longleat lies in a rural location on the western border of Wiltshire, c 8km south-west of Warminster. The park covers an area of c 505ha bounded to the north by country lanes and farmland, to the south by Horningsham estate village, and to the east and west by extensive woodlands. Shear Water is included as a detached area within the registered site. The ground slopes generally from south to north, with the house at the level of the lakes and the park laid out on slopes rising to the surrounding woodland on higher ground. The setting is largely agricultural land with substantial areas of estate forestry.

There are two main approaches to Longleat. One enters from Horningsham estate village in the south, through Wyatville's arched lodge (listed grade I) and along the straight south drive to the south front. Although the lodges are early C19, the drive itself is early C18 and was lined with a double avenue of elms; these were replaced with groups of Tulip trees by Russell Page in the mid C20. A second row of horse chestnuts has recently (2000) been planted. The second approach enters the estate woodlands c 3.5km to the east-north-east of the house and runs along the Longcombe Drive, planted with mixed exotics in the mid C19, to emerge on the top of Park Hill where extensive views look west across the park towards the house. The drive drops gently through the park, crosses the string of lakes, and arrives at the south front. Two further minor drives enter the park, one through High Woods to the west, past Wyatville's County Cottage lodge (listed grade II), and the second from the northern boundary beside Stalls Farm.

The gardens lie to the north and east of the house which sits to the west of centre of the park, c 100m to the west of the largest of the string of lakes, known as Half Mile Pond. The east front lawn is planted with two low mazes of box (late C20), the terrace below the east front running north parallel to the lake bank, through an avenue of pleached limes planted by Russell Page in the early C20, to a covered Palladian bridge (Wyatville, listed grade I) over an inlet from Half Mile Pond. Early C19 walled enclosures below the north front contain a rose garden (seventh Marquess of Bath, late C20) and the early C19 Orangery by Wyatville (listed grade I). A small garden, enclosed by a hedge, has been laid out by the seventh Marquess on the west front during the late C20. To the south-west of the house, c 250m from the south front, an ornamental iron gateway leads to a path through a wooded pleasure ground (Brown, mid C18) to the mid C18 walled kitchen garden which lies c 900m south of the house, on the southern boundary of the park.

The extensive parkland is almost entirely retained under grass and is scattered with parkland trees of various ages, the mature specimens being predominantly oak. A string of six ponds or lakes runs from Upper Pond in the south to Half Mile Pond in the north through the centre of the park. These were created by Brown in the mid C18 and altered by Repton in 1804. The ground rises sharply to the east as far as Park Hill and Prospect Hill, on the top of which a viewpoint known as Heaven's Gate (mentioned in Repton's Red Book) looks out over the park. The slopes are planted with hanging beech woods, proposed by Brown but planted towards the end of the C18. Beyond Park Hill dense woodlands of mixed conifer, hardwood, and ornamental species are cut through with rides and drives, the most formal of which is known as The Red Way, extending eastwards from the Longcombe Drive and into the estate woodlands (beyond the boundary of the registered site). The planting of the Longcombe Woods was started in the late C18/early C19 although much of its ornamental character dates from the mid C19 and parts of it were replanted after the Second World War. During the C19 carriage drives led from Longcombe Woods south-east into Aucombe Woods, in the south-east corner of which lies Shear Water, a boating lake created in the 1790s by the first Marquess. Repton's boathouse on its shore no longer survives.

The Longleat Safari Park, created by the sixth Marquess in collaboration with the Chipperfield family in 1964, is located in the north-east quarter of the open park and contains a heavily wooded area, developed since the late C18, which includes The Grove. Further late C18 hanging beech woods lie beyond the Safari Park along the northern boundary.

Note. There is a wealth of published material about this site. The key references are listed below.

J Kip and L Knyff, Britannia Illustrata, (1724-9)

C Campbell, Vitruvius Britannicus 3, (1725)

Country Life, 2 (14 August 1897), pp 154-6; 12 (18 October 1902), pp 496-503; 105 (22 April 1949), p 926; (29 April 1949), pp 990-3

J Sales, West Country Gardens (1908), pp 227-32

C Grosvenor and C Beilby, The First Lady Wharncliffe and her Family I, (1927), p 214

P J Toynbee (ed), Horace Walpole's Journals of Visits to Country Seats etc (Walpole Society XVI, 1927-8), p 45

D Stroud, Humphry Repton (1962), pp 131-2

D Lindstrum, Sir Jeffry Wyatville (1972)

D Stroud, Capability Brown (1975), pp 85-6

B Cherry and N Pevsner, The Buildings of England: Wiltshire (2nd edn 1975), pp 308-13

D Burnett, Longleat: the Story of an English Country House (1978)

J Harris, The Artist and the Country House (1979), p 69

G Carter et al, Humphry Repton (1982), p 163

Garden History XI, i (1983), pp 6-36

The Longleat Estate: a brief history, (Historic Landscape Management 1998) [contains a comprehensive list of references]

Maps [All reproduced in HLM 1998]

C Campbell, Plan of the gardens, plantations etc of Longleate..., c 1725 (in Vitruvius Britannicus 3, 1725)

J Ladd, Map of the manore of Horningsham in Wiltshire..., 1747 (private collection)

Enclosure maps for Horningsham and Corsley parishes, 1783 (Wiltshire and Swindon Record Office)

T Davis, Estate map, 1804 (private collection)

C Greenwood, Map of the County of Wiltshire, 1820 (Wiltshire and Swindon Record Office)

Tithe maps for Horningsham and Longbridge Deverill, 1844 (Wiltshire and Swindon Record Office)

OS 6" to 1 mile: 1st edition published 1884

OS 25" to 1 mile: 1st edition published 1884

Illustrations

Jan Sieberechts, paintings, 1675-8 (private collection) [reproduced in Burnett 1978]

J Kip and L Knyff, engravings of gardens, 1702-07, (in Britannia Illustrata 1724-9)

Archival items

The extensive Longleat archive is held in a private collection.

Description written: November 2000

Register Inspector: FDM

Edited: May 2005

Access contact details

The gardens are usually open daily, with some exceptions.

http://www.longleat.co.uk/plan...

The site is on the A362 Frome-Warminster road.

Marquess of Bath

Other Websites

• http://www.historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1000439
• https://www.historichouses.org/house/longleat-house/visit/

The following is from the Register of Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest. For the most up-to-date Register entry, please visit the The National Heritage List for England (NHLE):

www.historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list

This entry is a summary. Because of the complexity of this site, the standard Register entry format would convey neither an adequate description nor a satisfactory account of the development of the landscape. The user is advised to consult the references given below for more detailed accounts. Many Listed Buildings exist within the site, not all of which have been here referred to. Descriptions of these are to be found in the List of Buildings of Special Architectural or Historic Interest produced by the Department of Culture, Media and Sport.

HISTORIC DEVELOPMENT

In 1529 the priory which formerly stood on the site of the present Longleat House was dissolved and in 1546 the site, together with its mill, was purchased by Sir John Thynn who began to accumulate land and property. Following a fire which destroyed the priory in 1567, Thynn began the construction of a grand new mansion, designed by Robert Symthson (c 1536-1614), beside the brook which had powered the mill. The result, together with its enclosed formal gardens, is recorded in paintings by Jan Sieberechts, dated 1675-8, which show the house and grounds surrounded by an enclosed park grazed by deer. During the C17 the estate's land holdings in other counties increased, funding the grand expansion and development of Longleat. In 1683, Thomas Thynn, newly created first Viscount Weymouth, commissioned George London (d 1714) and the Brompton Park Nurseries to create a great formal garden in the Franco-Dutch style which covered c 28ha and included a canalised section of the brook, fountains, mazes, plats, and a large wilderness plantation known as The Grove. These gardens were recorded in engravings by Kip and Knyff between 1702 and 1707. The first Viscount died in 1714 and during the early part of the C18 the formality of the landscape began to soften. The second Viscount turned the Great Canal into a 'serpentine river' and created the South Drive, flanked by a double avenue, between Horningsham village and the south front of the house. In 1757, following his succession in 1751, the third Viscount Weymouth commissioned Lancelot Brown (1716-83) to lay out a park and remove the remaining formal elements of the gardens. Brown retained The Grove but altered the character of its planting to blend into the new park, and relocated the walled kitchen garden to a site reached from the house through a new wooded pleasure ground. He also created a string of informal lakes along the course of the brook. During the same period an area of rough pasture, moorland, and common was purchased to the east of the park which was enclosed and thrown into the park and farm (estate accounts). The third Viscount became the first Marquess of Bath in 1789, by which time his passion for forestry had seen an average of 50,000 trees planted annually on the moorland and common. In 1790 he began to create a large new boating lake, known as Shear Water, beyond the new plantations. The first Marquess died in 1796, to be succeeded by his son, the second Marquess who carried on his father's work on the landscape, commissioning Humphry Repton (1752-1818) to prepare a Red Book in 1803-04. He made alterations to the water beside the house, designed a gothic boathouse for Shear Water, and collaborated with Jeffry Wyatville (1766-1840) who designed the new stables and the Orangery in the gardens. Wyatville also added a north wing to the house and built the Horningsham Lodge and County Cottage. In 1852, Alexander Thynn, the fouth Marquess, laid out, with his Head Gardener William Taylor, complex formal gardens to the east and north of the house. At the end of the century he added ornamental plantings along the Longcombe Drive. Following the First World War the fifth Marquess simplified the gardens and in 1929 commissioned Russell Page (1906-85) to redesign both them and the approach to the South Front. The fifth Marquess was succeeded in 1946 by his son Henry who, in 1964, created a Safari Park in part of the park. The seventh Marquess inherited in the estate in 1992, since when he has added several new features to the gardens and has developed further visitor attractions on the north-west side of the house. The site remains (2000) in single private ownership.

• Lancelot 'Capability' Brown
• Mr Humphry Repton
• Mr George London
• Mr Henry Wise
• Jeffry Wyatville
• Mr Russell Page
• Mr Robert Smythson

Designations

The national heritage list for england: register of parks and gardens.

• Reference: GD1407
• Boating Lake
• Description: In 1790 a large new boating lake, known as Shear Water, was created.
• Earliest Date: 31 Dec 1789
• Latest Date: 31 Dec 1789
• Description: Nine granite standing stones to mark the millennium.
• Water Feature
• Description: Serpentine river, developed from the Great Canal.
• Description: Gothic boathouse for the Shear Water.
• Kitchen Garden
• Description: Lancelot Brown relocated the walled kitchen garden to a site reached from the house through a new wooded pleasure ground.
• Stable Block
• Description: A string of informal lakes along the course of the brook.
• Earliest Date: 31 Dec 1750
• Description: Longcombe Drive.
• Great House (featured building)
• Description: Elizabethan mansion house in Italian renaissance style.
• Earliest Date: 11 Dec 1566
• Latest Date: 11 Dec 1579

Educational

Principal Building

Recreational

Open to the public

Civil parish.

Horningsham

• Carter, G. et al, {Humphry Repton Landscape Gardener 1752-1818} (Norwich: Sainsbury Centre for Visual Arts, 1982), p. 163 Humphry Repton landscape gardener 1752-1818
• Sales, J., {West Country Gardens} (Gloucester: Alan Sutton, 1980), pp. 227-32 West Country gardens : the gardens of Gloucestershire, Avon, Somerset and Wiltshire
• {English Heritage Register of Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest}, (Swindon: English Heritage, 2008) [on CD-ROM] Historic England Register of Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest
• Stroud, D., {Capability Brown} (London: Faber, 1975), pp. 85-6 Capability Brown
• Pevsner, N. and B. Cherry, {The Buildings of England: Wiltshire} (Harmondsworth: Penguin, 1975), pp. 308-13 The Buildings of England: Wiltshire
• Harris, J., {The Artist and the Country House} {London: Russell Chambers, 1979), p. 69 The Artist and the Country House
• Stroud, D., {Humphry Repton} (London: Country Life, 1962), pp.131-2 Humphry Repton
• Historic Land Management {Longleat Heritage Management Plan Revision of Heritage Management Plan} (2003) Longleat Heritage Management Plan Revision of Heritage Management Plan
• Historic Land Management {Longleat Historic Landscape Management Plan} (1998) Longleat Historic Landscape Management Plan
• Historic Land Management {Longleat Conservation Plan} (2012) Longleat Conservation Plan

Parkland Conservation Plan - Consultation Draft, Vols 1 &2 - Hard copy

Historic Landscape Management, Lyng, Norfolk - 2012

Report on the History of Landscape - Digital copy

Elizabeth Banks Associates - 1991

• Check prices

Find your break

Highlands End

Graston copse.

Immerse yourself in the animal kingdom with a visit to the UK’s original safari park. Are you ready for six and a half miles of incomparable drive-through experience with over 40 different species to see? Enter a land of adventure where lions roam, tigers stalk and monkeys swing.

In the main square there is plenty to see, including koala creek, giant otters and crocodiles, a jungle cruise on the lake, the gorilla colony, jungle kingdom, monkey temple, the bat cave and more. There are family-friendly activities including the hedge maze, the family farmyard, adventure castle and the longleat railway.

Make your visit even more memorable with a VIP experience. Feed the gorillas, get up close and personal with penguins or go behind the scenes with red pandas. Explore the Longleat House with its sweeping corridors and grand rooms that transport you back in time. Exploring this stunning example of high Elizabethan architecture is a day out in itself. Discover 15 rooms of the stately home, see the art collection, explore the formal gardens and view the exhibitions.

Events throughout the year include a food & drink festival, the sky safari with hot air balloons, firework displays and the festival of light, which is not to be missed. Longleat is open throughout most of the year and tickets can be booked online in advance or on the day upon arrival.

Book online to guarantee your entry

Where to find Longleat

Based on 21606 reviews

Warminster, Wiltshire, BA12 7NW

/// hope. quilt. racing

55.2 miles from Highlands End and Eype Beach

56.0 miles from Golden Cap

56.3 miles from Graston Copse

48.8 miles from Sandyholme

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Wiltshire and Somerset

Travel guide.

• Things to Do

Wiltshire and Somerset › Attraction

Longleat house and safari park.

A magnificent Elizabethan house built in the early Renaissance style, Longleat House was owned by the seventh marquess of Bath. On first glimpse, it's romantic enough, but once you've been inside, it's hard not to be dazzled by the lofty rooms and their exquisite paintings and furnishings.

The house is quite grand, but the attractions that have opened around it are a bit of a cheesy tourist trap, although thousands of visitors are fascinated by the extra amusements.

From the Elizabethan Great Hall and the library to the State Rooms and the grand staircase, the house is filled with all manner of beautiful things. The walls of the State Dining Room are adorned with fine tapestries and paintings, whereas the room itself has displays of silver and plate. The library represents the finest private collection in the country. The Victorian kitchens are open, offering a glimpse of life "below the stairs" in a well-ordered country home. Various exhibitions are mounted in the stable yard.

Adjoining Longleat House is Longleat Safari Park. The park hosts several species of endangered wild animals, including rhinoceroses and elephants, which are free to roam the surroundings. Here you can walk among giraffes, zebras, camels, and llamas, and view lions and tigers, as well as England's only white tiger, from your car. You can also ride on a safari boat around the park's lake to see gorillas and to feed sea lions. You can see the park by train, for a railway adventure, or visit the tropical butterfly garden. The park provides plenty of theme-park amusements as well, including an Adventure Castle and the world's longest maze, the Maze of Love.

Note : This information was accurate when it was published, but can change without notice. Please be sure to confirm all rates and details directly with the companies in question before planning your trip.

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Frommer's only recommends things we think you will enjoy and that will make your trip both authentic and unforgettable. Our experts personally appraise each choice in terms of their overall enthusiasm for it.

Our star system does not denote hotel amenities but it does denote the level of our approval. A place with one star is worth a look—after all, it made the list. A rating of two stars means it's excellent, and three stars is the highest praise we give.