Longleat

We bought an annual ticket because we found we were going so often it was costing a fortune. It is very very expensive.

You do get a great deal for your money. Even getting there just after it opens and staying till closing time there isn't enough time to fit everything in (extended hours over the summer helps).

Feeding the various animals costs another

My 15 and 18 yr olds made us go -courtesy of Tesco vouchers!
A thoroughly enjoyable day out. Highlights included the meerkat enclosure where they run free and watching my worldly 15 yr old ds feeding fish to sea lions in the lake. and of course the monkey on the windscreen. Something for everyone, friendly staff and very well kept.

Longleat is great fun and well worth the price of the passport if you live close by!

We live about 40 minutes away, and went 3 separate days using the passport.

If it is a nice day and you want to get some good fun on the cheap (and kids are under 10), just pay for the castle playground and the animal adventure. You see animals, you have fun, and you can walk around the grounds for free and even spot hippos in the lake! Bring a picnic and your day is complete!

Longleat is a beautiful Elizabethan house in Wiltshire, the seat of the Thynne family and home to the 7th Marquess of Bath.

The house is set in amazing parkland designed by Capability Brown and has been turned into a safari and adventure park which is absolutely brilliant for children.

You can hand feed deer, visit the new monkey kingdom, see the wild animals (from the safety of your car), visit the adventure castle (enough in itself for one day), attempt the hedge maze and they have one off events for visitors such as Tractor Ted.

Find out more at www.longleat.co.uk

We live very close to Longleat and have often used it for day trips. If you are local it is fantastic to buy the passport tickets, which seem like a lot but are worth it even if you have to pay for an attratction again because you have already done it, you will not have to pay to enter the grounds and gardens again. The best bits for younger children (mine are now 7 and 4) are the adventure castle, pets corner, postman pats village, the train, the boat, and of course the safari. Other attractions are good too but more for older children (such as the maze and simulator). There are loads of places to have a picnic in the grounds too. They do sell food there but it is quite expensive and not that great! Even if you do not decide to go into the main house and gardens of Longleat, there are many lovely walks that you can do for free such as Heavans Gate and Shear Water. These are my kids favourite places to go for a family stroll.

I went here with my niece and nephew - we were actually staying at Longleat Centre Parcs just around the corner, and it meant there were no really early starts to get there in time or anything. They are 8 and 10 and it was a really great day, even though the weather wasn't fantastic. My niece especially loved the lions, it's got her started on wanting to be a big cat vet when she's older.....

I like Longleat. We bought passport tickets, so that you don't have to try and cram everything in one day. You could perhaps do the safari, the maze and the train ride on one day and then go back another day and do the Postman Pat Village, the Adventure Playground, the simulator ride, the house and the safari boats.

We have been to Longleat a few times and always enjoy it. We went to Centerparcs this summer so visited again, you can pay to visit all attractions or pay to see the bits you want. We skipped the safari park and went to visit Postman Pats village as our DS was under 3 it was free! You can visit the cafes or take a picnic for a very inexpensive trip with toddlers.

We had such a brilliant day out here, it's much more than a Safari Park, it has a petting zoo, where you can even 'pet' a snake!! The House and gardens, a Boat Safari, where there are Hippos wading amongst other things (including Gorrilla Island) There is a little train ride, a maze, Postman Pat village, loads and loads!!! DS1 loved it! (but not more than me!) Highly recommended. You can even come back for free for the rest of the season and view the attractions that you didn't manage to see the first time round!

Okay, maybe that was a bit misleading!
We had a fabulous day out in beautiful Longleat recently and I just wanted to pass on a few top tips.
When you arrive, avoid going straight into the safari park. It is so busy in the mornings because that's what everyone seems to do first. You feel obliged to keep moving, or end up waiting for ages behind someone who seems to have stopped for no reason.
Instead head for the safari boats in the grounds. The queues for the boats in the afternoons are ridiculously long, yet it is a real shame to miss the boats as they are great fun.
I suggest going to the attractions first and then to the safari park at about 4.00 or 4.30. (Might be wise to check last enrty times with staff as it changes throughout the year.)
It's a fair drive from the other attractions to the safari park and not brilliantly sign posted so allow plenty of time to get there. But boy is it worth it at that time!
We were the only ones in the monkey jungle and the cheeky little things flocked to our car. Another fun thing about visiting the safari park in the afternoon is seeing all the number plates, windscreen wipers and bits of trim that the monkeys have managed to tear from cars during the day. (Just don't enter the monkey jungle the day before your MOT is due like we did because you'll find yourself having to explain the missing pieces!)
Also, I think the lions and tigers are fed when the park closes so they're getting pretty hungry by that time... Lots of pacing around and eyeing up the passengers in the cars.
Oh! And be sure to look out for poor Winky the tortoise in pets corner. Bless her!bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/2090012.stm
It's also worth noting that children can get into Longleat free with a Blue Peter badge. I suggest you encourage them to try to win one because they're fab! There are LOTS of other places where you can save money too. Take a look at the Blue Peter website for some ideas of how to win one... My son won one in a competition but I've heard you can get them by drawing pictures, writing stories and poems, helping others and the environment etc.
Longleat is one of my favourite days out - but it's even better without the queues!

A really lovely day out for the whole family.

If you are only able to go for one day try to arrive really early as it is hard to pack everything in. Small children, say under 4, find the lions boring ime so you could miss that bit out if you were pushed. Monkeys essential for all ages though.

We love longleat.. we even love walking along the enormous avenue as part of the day out and the kids get to pick which 3 things we do that day (making the tickets last a few trips) The restaraunts offer a good variety of food and the Indoor celler cafe offers some lovely calm cool on a hot day! They also have fantastic picnic areas. They do the BEST choc brownie ever.

So much to see and do you need longer than one day, the passport ticket works out excellent value. Our favourite attraction was the safari park, dd's were fascinated by the animals being so close to the car.

Lovely place to visit.

Buy a ticket and you can return another day to do the things you missed.

It is a great, full day out. Suitable for all ages.

Lots to see and lots to do!

Great day out (blazing sunshine helped!) Especially enjoyed the parrot sow, butterfly house, adventure playground and safaris (both by boat and car). Something for all ages - a great day out.

MNHQ NOTE: Longleat's passport tickets offer great VFM, allowing you access to all eleven of Longleat's attractions. Each attraction can be visited only once, but if you don't manage to visit them all in one day you can come back again at any time that season and use the remaining sections of your ticket. Buy tickets online for the best deal.

Longleat is fantastic. We spent the best part of 2 days there and all of us really enjoyed it. The adventure playground area is brilliant. The only drawback is that it is so big, my son got a bit lost a couple of times. There is plenty to see and the surrounding area is beautiful and worth a visit. Though it was busy both days, it never felt too crowded.