Longleat has been welcoming visitors since the late 1940s. The house, considered to be one of the best examples of High Elizabethan architecture in England was the first stately home ever opened to the public on a commercial basis, in 1949.
In 1966 the first drive-through Safari Park outside of Africa was opened at Longleat. 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.
- Where: Longleat, Warminster, Wiltshire BA12 7NW England
- Phone:+44 (0)1985 844 400
- Visit their website
- Open:
- Longleat House every day, year round (except Christmas) 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. From Easter to September 30, the house is open from 10 a.m. to 5p.m. (5:30 p.m. on weekends, bank holidays and state school vacations)..
- All other attractions are open weekends in March, February school vacation and March 31 to November 4, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.(5:30 p.m. on weekends, bank holidays and state school vacations). The Safari Park closes at 4 p.m.
- Admission:Various prices or buy a Longleat Passport for better value.
The Longleat Passport at £20 for an adult, £16 for children and seniors - half of that for disabled visitors and their carers - is very good value. The price includes one visit to all of Longleat's paid and free attractions for a savings of more than 50% less than individual prices.
But the Passport's real advantage is it can be used throughout the Longleat season - until early November for most attractions and to the end of December for Longleat House. So if you don't manage to fit all of Longleat's attractions into on one day - and you won't - you can come again and again.
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, five miles from Longleat, is on the Cardiff to Portsmouth line.
For more information:
Murals and portraits by the current Marquess, Lord Bath, decorate the private apartments and can be seen on guided tours of the house.
Today the Safari Park and its neighbors happily co-exist, and the park plays a vital role in international breeding and conservation programs and education. Within the drive through park, visitors can have close encounters with Siberian Tigers, Wolves, Giraffes, Rhinos, gangs of Rhesus Monkeys and more.
- Safari Boats - a voyage to Gorilla Island, surrounded by sea lions
- Grounds and formal gardens
- Adventure Castle and Blue Peter Maze
- Butterfly Garden
- Hedge Maze - Big and scary!
- Longleat Railway
- Motion Simulators - height restrictions apply
- Old Joe's Mine (a bat cave!)
- Pets Corner - cuddly animals but also snakes, lizards and creepy crawlies
- Postman Pat Village (popular with little ones)
- Safari Boats
- Tea Cup Ride - height restrictions apply
- Summer Shows
- King Arthur's Mirror Maze
- Life & times of Henry, Lord Bath - objects, pictures and photographs from the collections of the 6th Marquess of Bath (1905-1992)
- Family Bygones Exibition
- Mystical Garden - For younger children
- Scale Model of Longleat House
- State Chariot - used by the 6th Marquess of Bath to attend the Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II in 1953.
