A weekend in Longleat

Longleat is undoubtedly a paradise for children and lovers of large felines, but what can it offer a couple of big kids and a small dog who has no wish to be a lion’s breakfast?

If you are a motorhomer, the big questions when planning a few days’ break centred on a specific place are whether or not there is a campsite within striking distance and adequate motorhome parking at the ultimate destination.

Longleat neatly ticks both of these boxes with an excellent Caravan Club site, which is actually on the estate, and within a five-minute stroll of the village square around which most of the attractions are grouped. So we booked our pitch.

With childhood memories of visits to the famous safari park looming large in our minds, we set out in a state of anticipation. But did Longleat live up to our expectations?

The campsite

Having arrived on the estate, in order to reach the site one must drive along a seemingly unending woodland road, then past the magnificent Longleat House, and around the car and coach parks.

For a while you may wonder where you are heading, but in fact it’s a bit of a circuit, and when you get to the site it is indeed as close to the action as it is suggested to be.

This site has 165 pitches over 14 nicely landscaped acres, excellent facilities (including motorhome service point and waste disposal), and is staffed by friendly and efficient wardens. However, the real unique selling point of this particular site is its location, bang in the middle of this most famous of family playgrounds.

Downsides? There may be a bit of bustle around you. The site will be bursting at the seams in school holidays and you’ll be unlikely to get a last-minute booking. Go outside weekends and school holidays, though, and you should find it a little less chaotic, as, indeed, we did.

What to do

Our first project at any campsite, once we’ve settled onto our pitch, is a quick stroll to get our bearings. Out of the site gate it’s a left turn and within a very short time you find yourself passing the Adventure Castle (sadly, under 14s only), the safari bus stop and the famous hedged maze, with its central lookout tower and head-high yew hedges.

A few more paces brings you into the village square, with its shops, food outlets, train station and general aura of jollity. From here, you can walk down to the lake then around the house, and back through the stable yard to your starting point.

Dog owners will be pleased that, although the attractions do not permit dogs, there is almost unlimited walking available allowing you to tire out your pet before visiting the places he or she is not welcome.

Things we enjoyed...

Longleat House itself is an impressive pile, which was built in the 16th century and remains a family home to this day. A walk around the interior takes you from the Elizabethan grandeur of the great hall, through the centuries to the extensive ‘modernisation’, which took place in the late-1800s.

Some of the most interesting items are the exhibits from ordinary life, rather than the grand paintings, Sèvres and Meissen porcelain and family silver. We lingered longer at the dolls houses, the dress corridor (how tightly the ladies’ corsets must have been laced), and in the servants’ passages: peasant stock will out!

Outside in the fresh air, we packed ourselves into one of the little carriages on the Longleat railway and thoroughly enjoyed being jiggled around the countryside on a narrowgauge track that runs behind the campsite and alongside the lake: keep your eyes peeled for the giant ants (sculptures, rather than features from a nightmare) and the pelicans in their own offshoot of the lake.

Purists may like to know that the train is usually pulled by a steam engine on Thursdays and Sundays. Having seen the fringes of the lake it’s a must to then board a safari boat for a cruise, during which you will hope to see a pair of hippos, and also Nico the gorilla, who has his very own island in the middle of the lake – complete with satellite TV!

But one thing you are certain to see - and hear - is the sea lions. Once the boat has crossed a certain line on the lake, excited safari trippers are encouraged to throw scraps of raw fish from the boat: the sea lions appear immediately, and it’s really something to see. The honking and splashing are amazing, and one quickly becomes aware of just how big these boys and girls are. Stand back from the side of the boat if you don’t want a good drenching.

Back on dry land, Animal Adventure is what I think is known in certain circles as a petting zoo, in that some of the animals can be handled under the eye of experienced staff. As we wandered around - very much liking the guinea pigs, the prairie dogs (with which we lost a staring match), and the amazing butterflies - we saw people having close encounters with ferrets, tortoises, lizards, spiders (not scary really but we definitely don’t want one!), and some quite big snakes (time to go home. Now!).

This is one of those places that will score highly with children, and just as well with big kids like us – although, in common with any kind of zoo-like experience, we’re never quite sure just who is watching whom!

The safari park

Of course there are lions at Longleat, and for those intent on experiencing what is probably the closest you’ll ever get to lions, tigers, monkeys, wolves and more in the English countryside, there is an alternative to using the motorhome, which probably has too many interesting sticky-out bits to be sure it would get out of the monkey
jungle intact.

A limited daily safari bus runs (at extra charge) from the bus stop near the campsite and, although this is principally designed for those who arrive by motorbike, in soft top cars or on public transport, it would also provide the ideal alternative to chancing a motorhome safari. The bus must be booked at visitor information and spaces are limited.

Free attractions...

Once you are ensconced on site there are certain attractions you can enjoy for no outlay. The first of these is the grounds and gardens, where you can walk to your heart’s content – don’t miss the pet cemetery, the secret garden and the three mazes that are still in their infancy.

Around the central courtyard and in the adjoining stable block are the family bygones exhibition; meet my ancestors and life and times of Henry, Lord Bath; King Arthur’s Mirror maze; and the family state chariot – all of which are free. Plus, at the rear of Longleat House, inside a little house of its own is a fascinating scale model of the great house.

There is also plenty of retail therapy opportunity, ranging from ice creams to gifts and clothing, plus restaurants and take-away outlets.

Making the most of it...
To give time to fully enjoy the Longleat experience, we recommend purchasing Passport tickets to the attractions, and a minimum of three site nights, thus giving at least two full days on the estate.


Click here to download the full feature in pdf format, originally printed in the May 2011 issue of MMM.

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