Longleat Safari Park

We were a little pressed for time and I was going to give this a miss, but Dad wanted to do it, and I'm glad we did! It's a miniature steam railway which runs from a station on the main square (where I've put the flag), through woodlands and a tunnel, then alongside the lake for a way. If you are a steam enthusiast I'm sure that's enough, but if you are not The railway is the only way to get a good view of Longleat's pelicans, which are in a fenced off area of the lake so the sealions don't eat them. As with many of Longleat's attractions I got a bit extra than I expected too. You get to see the outflow from the lake which is quite pretty, and a couple of large sculptural artworks in the woods. We also got another view of the hippos which had moved up the lake since we'd been on the safari boats!


There's also a great collection of old advertising signs on the platform.


The carriages were pretty tiny. There's a designated disabled one, though it didn't look that different to the normal ones. Seats face forwards and back, and my mum did think we'd go out and back, facing the other way. In fact it's a loop except for the station, and each time the train comes into the station the engine is taken off, turned (on a turning circle) and taken to what was the back, but is now the front of the train. So 'forward' seats remain 'forward' seats for the duration of each trip, but become 'rear' ones on the next trip. If you get what I mean I'm glad I opted to sit in the next set of seats rather than opposite the parents!

I'd had one person's view of this that it was disappointing, so didn't really expect much but if you've got a passport ticket, you might as well


Basic set up is it's meant to look like an old mine (in case you hadn't guessed) with jokey signs and occasional aquariums with 'spooky' animals in. Sort of Longleat's equivalent of a ghost train. Though if you are scared of spiders and bats you should realise that the ones here are actually real


The main feature is a room with free-flying fruit bats. I'd heard they didn't do much, but I was luckier. The keepers put out some food while I was there and I got to have them swooping around me (felt like they were actually brushing me) and got close up views (within inches) of them feeding. I also had to watch my feet as they weren't past landing on the floor! As I think they are cute it was very tempting to stroke, but apparently that would not have been a good idea as they don't like being handled and have sharp teeth! I did have a good chat with the keepers


Back at the entrance they have various creepy/ things dug up / bat themed merchandise for sale: model bats or a fake roman coin are examples.


I'm not sure how lucky I was to see feeding going on. I guess they wouldn't do it when it was crowded for the safety of the bats! I enjoyed my visit, but could see how it wouldn't appeal to everyone. It's not Longleat's best exhibit. I think it could be improved by some more in-depth signage about the critters on display. Maybe maps of where they come from in the world some more scientific stuff for those not into the ghost train side.


And as a FYO for those who've seen it on telly: they no longer have rats in grated wells in the floor, as they were too difficult to clean out!

Though Longleat is generally excellent I think I do rate this as a 'must'. The experience starts with the walk to the landing through gorgeous gardens. Once at the landing boats leave for a trip round the lake on a regular basis. And waiting is not a chore as the meerkats enclosure is next to the queue!


Once on the tour is well hosted by the usual wonderful helpful Longleat staff, who have a wealth of snippets to tell. You get to see the now lone gorilla (with staff in constant attendance to keep him company, and his own Sky Plus: apparently he did have a remote but broke it), and the most dangerous residents in the park: the hippos. They were unusually active for us and we got to see one gape and chase seagulls.


The tour is accompanied by several adult sealions who sport around the boats. Pots of fish could be bought for 50p to feed them, though one of my bits ended up in a swooping seagull! Whoops! We also got to see this year's pups playing on a log before swimming out for a closer look at us (they are too young to eat fish as yet).


The boat is accessible, and I didn't really notice any 'motion' (though I'm pretty good on boats). There are sinks, soap etc to wash the fish off just outside the landing.


I've not told everything we heard, because I don't want to spoil it

Though most people going to Longleat think first of the Safari Park, Longleat is actually a whole complex of attractions. Apparently it used to be the case that the Safari Park had a completely different entrance to the rest, however we were able to drive between without going outside the grounds (which are huge).


I am reviewing the attractions separately as I visit them. Many of the attractions you can get separate tickets for. It's also possible to get a 'passport' ticket which allows you to visit attractions once each over several days, which costs £22 for an adult. I've got one of these, and have found you definitely need at least a couple of days to do it all! I hope to visit again sometime in the next few months Getting a passport will save you money if you want to visit everything and have the time. Otherwise consult the (excellent) website to plan your visit.


In general we were very impressed by Longleat. We actually visited on a quiet sunny day in spring, just after a bank holiday, which may have been a good time! I hear it gets packed at times. It was noticeable how happy and friendly the staff seemed. All happy to answer questions and even have a joke. We also noticed quite a few clever touches. For example in the main square by Pet's Corner, the Train Station etc, the tarmac is covered in mazes. Something for the kids to do while waiting to meet group members maybe?


An important tip from one of the staff: if you want to visit the house do not go in July and August, or on Bank Holidays or weekends. At busy times only the downstairs is open, so you'll miss a lot at those times. Since I still have the main house tour to do I'm going to have to plan my next visit well!


Visited and reviewed separately so far:


Safari Park
Lord Bath's Murals
Wessex Pavilion Restaurant
Pet's Corner
Motion Simulator


To visit and review later:


Longleat House
Grounds and Gardens
Safari Boats
Old Joe's Mine
Longleat Railway
Butterfly Garden
Longleat Hedge Maze


Longleat also has several attractions aimed at kids: Postman Pat Village, Adventure Castle and Tea Cup Ride. Unfortunately I don't have a kid so I'm not allowed

By far the most famous part of the whole Longleat thing, and I have to admit I didn't enjoy it as much as I'd hoped. A major factor was that we were in a bit of a hurry, so it was pretty much a case of 'got your picture?' right drive on Having said that, with cars queuing for the best views there was a bit of pressure to move on in some places anyway! And that was on a quiet day. I guess therefore it's fair to say that one disadvantage of the safari format is that it makes it difficult to stop and observe animals at length. It can also be difficult getting good pictures through a closed window!


As you go in there's a chance to park up and stretch your legs. You can wander up through the Wallaby Wood, and observe the giraffe from raised lookouts. In both cases you get a really good view, and it's nice to see the animals in enclosures which give them plenty of space to move around (the giraffe seem to choose to hang out close to the watching humans!)


Then onto the drive The area with monkeys is optional for those that wish to avoid getting their car trashed! We had been worried as we couldn't manage to get our aerial off. But a keeper I talked to in the loos (did I mention Longleat staff are very friendly?) reassured me that if we couldn't the monkeys probably couldn't either. Also problems mainly occur when cars are stopped, and it was a quiet day so no traffic jams. Apparently if monkeys start on you, the thing to do is to drive on slowly so they jump off. We went in, and though we thought for a moment they'd gone in for the day, eventually we spotted them and were rewarded with a close up of babies playing. The driver was too scared of damage to stop for long though!


The first few enclosures other than that you are allowed to keep windows open, which was a relief as the air conditioning had packed up. Driving past rhinos with the window open in the sunshine was everything the experience was billed to be. And the ostrich had kindly nested right by the road and dad was displaying at all the cars. Excellent! Unfortunately I didn't spot the 'you can get out here' sign by the tapirs until I looked at the photos. Shame as I like tapirs and really would have liked to get closer. There was also a chance to buy food to feed deer through the car window. We passed on that.


Then it was windows closed as we moved on to see the big cats and wolves So, no air con, windows which really needed more than the quick wipe I'd given them, and a camera without much zoom. Plus unfortunately it seemed all the 'dangerous' animals were having their late afternoon nap! One tiger was watching something outside the fence. Other than that most were just lumps curled up in the grass. The second large pride of lions showed a little more life. As cars queued for the closest spots to where they lay, they had their heads up, watching the humans It was very clear that we were the entertainment as far as they were concerned, and I don't think we were doing anything special. As we drove out of their enclosure a pheasant was pecking about near the gate. I wonder how safe it was.


So, in some ways it was a little bit of a let down. But I think that was partly luck, and being in too much of a hurry. If I went again I'd make sure to make the most of early opportunities to get out etc, and make sure the window was nice and clean! Once you've driven round, there's no going back to the start


And actually, having gone through my photos now, it's amazing how much there was to see. And I have got some good pictures I feel perhaps I'm being mean giving it 4 stars: it might have been a 5 star with more luck and more time!

The Wessex Pavilion is a cafeteria style restaurant that's ideal for grabbing a good tasty lunch. They serve good quality basic favourites: fish and chips, sausage and mash, or on the day we visited a vegetable chilli option. I actually tasted the chilli (the usual helpful Longleat staff member offered me a taste when he saw I was having difficulty choosing), which was really good with red kidney beans and crunchy onion, but I couldn't resist sausage and mash.


The food is available in adult or child portions. The adult ones turned out to be huge! I couldn't finish all of mine, which is a rare event! Along with the mash I also had peas and beans. I could have had onion gravy, but I like my food dry. It wasn't cheap at around £7, but seemed a lot better value once you saw the portion size.


The restaurant is pleasant and airy. The usual drinks and also cream teas are available. There's an outside seating area with a burger bar at the side.

This is an optional free tour available if you have a Passport or Longleat House and Grounds ticket. It's not available every day (so you may wish to ring ahead) and you need to book on the day at the house entrance. If you have a passport you can do this tour without having your Longleat House section on the ticket clipped, so it's OK to do them separately. Photography is not allowed, so no piccies, sorry!


The tour takes you in to parts of the house that are private and lived in. It's quite exciting at the start to be ushered past the general crowds and through a door marked 'Private'! Our guide also used the radio to announce our progress and knocked on doors! On my tour there were only 3 of us (there can be as many as 15 apparently). The guide was knowledgeable, lovely and approachable (something I've found with Longleat staff in general). The tour takes about 45 minutes, and there's so much to see it does go very quickly!


Lord Bath (Alexander Thynn, the 7th Marquess of Bath) has collected all of his work in his murals. Even early paintings have been cut out of frames and form a collage of images in the first room you see. If you like pretty pictures then they are probably not for you. On the other hand if to you art means someone following their vision honestly and fearlessly, and revealing themselves in the process, then this is definitely art. They are also of course pretty unique and very striking. Just for anyone who hasn't seen them on TV, the murals are heavily textured and often gaudy, sometimes sexually explicit (though we were given the option of declining a visit to the rudest room!). I found them fascinating. Some rooms have more serious themes, others are more light-hearted, including a series of rooms upstairs for his children. The guide's favourite of these was a bathroom in lovely blues etc with lots of fish and dolphins. I rather liked an underground fantasy room with cave murals. Many of the rooms also have mirror mosaic ceilings done by a relative of Lord Bath. The Underground room had mirror stalactites.


Though the murals are of course the focus of the tour, there are other things to be seen. I've already mentioned the ceilings, which are fabulous. There's also Lord Bath's private collection of Wessex art. Sadly time means you get whisked past the pictures that crowd some walls, but I noticed a Beryl Cook. And of course there's voyeurism seeing the remote controls next to the well-worn sofa and the wine glass overturned on a sideboard (though I think that might be a joke). I visited on Lord Bath's birthday, and we actually spotted him through a window, outside in the garden. Our guide told us she'd only seen him 6 times in 5 years working there, so it was a treat for her too!


As I said, not for anyone who just wants to look at pretty pictures. Otherwise definitely worth doing.

Scary, scary, scary, lol, got lost but then doesn't everyone, me and hubby were in there over an hour trying to get to the middle. Easy to get round in a wheelchair, nice wide access, thrilling experience a must try for anyone.

As with everything else at Longleat pets corner is a joy to withold. Nothing is left to chance, everything is put into place so you and your kids can have a fantastic time meeting the animals, petting and feeding them, great part of the Longleat experience.

Without a doubt the best animal park in the entire country that I've ever been to. It's so much nicer to see animals roaming around freely in large expanses of greenery doing what comes naturally. We were lucky enough to have wolves come right up to our car, we fed deer, saw giraffes up close and didn't lose our windscreen wipers to the Monkeys. Top tip go round first thing in the morning before the animals have been fed because that's when they're most lively otherwise they're all lazy sleeping in the afternoons and you may not get as much from your trip. The ticket price includes all of Longleats attractions and you can come back any day to use the entry as it's difficult to get round everything in one day. One carer gets in free with disabled, plenty of parking for the cafes and shops.

Longleat is by far one of the nations top attractions. The stately home, the residence of the rather colourful Lord Bath, is just exquiste inside, with tours and talks, the sumptous carpets, artwork and furnishings will amaze you and delight you. Disabled access is possible, ask a member of staff for help. When we went there was a dr who exhibition going on which was great fun, there was a boating/seal island lake where you can go out on a boat to see the seals which is great fun but again not that easy if you're in a wheelchair. The grounds are stunningly spectacular and often hold events like horse trials to the red bull air race, fantastic place to go. The ticket price includes entry to the safari park and all the onsite attractions but you can come back any time within a year if you don't manage to fit them all in on one day, also one carer goes in free with disabled visitors, blue badge and proof may be required. Lots of parking and great cafe in the basement of the main house. All in all thoroughly recommended.