Last month when Sam and I visited Wiltshire, we took a day trip to Longleat Safari Park. I had wanted to visit Longleat for ages and it ended up being such a fun day out!
Safari Drive Through
When you arrive at the Longleat safari entrance they hand you a CD. This guides you through each section of the safari with some information about the animals. The first stop is the African village and walking safari where you can park your car to get out to explore.
You can even walk side by side with the Lemurs!
We then decided to brave the Monkey drive through. The monkeys will jump on your car and could possibly break something. Sam has to get a new back windscreen wiper! However, it is a lot of fun watching the monkeys jump all over other people’s cars and seeing the cute babies. If you don’t want to risk it then you can just take the by pass lane and carry onto the next part of the safari or take a bus which you can organise through Longleat here.
We then passed Annie the elephant!
Another fun part was the Deer enclosure where you can purchase a cup of deer pellets for £1 to feed them through the window. It was pretty busy and we were in the wrong lane so Sam thought it was a great idea to feed them a packet of shortbread biscuits. The Deer loved the shortbread and wouldn’t leave us alone haha!
Longleat House
Maze
Boat trip
On the boat trip you’ll cruise past Gorilla colony, seeing Nico the oldest male Gorilla in Europe in his own private home. Our tour guide told us that he has a T.V and enjoys watching Peppa Pig or spending time chasing the birds. You will also pass by the hippos which are pretty hard to see as they sleep a lot. The sea lions come right up beside the boat and you can buy fish to feed them, it was so funny listening to them bark for the fish!
How long does the Safari take?
The Safari drive through takes between 2-3 hours depending how busy it is and how long you want to spend in each area
Do you have to drive?
If you don’t fancy driving around the Safari you can book a safari bus service at Guest Services daily, these are subject to availability. There are also lot’s of areas near Longleat House which you can walk around instead of doing the safari.
On the safari drive the only toilet stop is at the African village, there are none after that until back at Longleat house and main square so make sure you visit before starting the tour.
Feeding the animals
- You can feed the Giraffe at 10.30am or 2pm at the African Village
- Feed the Deer for £1
- Opportunity to feed the sea lions on the boat trip for £1
Where to eat?
There are plenty of food options such as pizzas, burgers, sandwiches or snacks. You can eat at The Watering Hole Café, The Chameleon Tree Restaurant and Coffee House, The Orangery, Cellar Café or Pizza Piazza.
Location
Address: Longleat, Warminster, Wiltshire, BA12 7NW – if using a sat nav use this post code BA12 7JS
Longleat is just off the A36 between Bath and Salisbury
We had such a fun day at Longleat, make sure you arrive early as there’s so much to do and so many different areas to explore.
