UK safari parks in winter. Would you bother?

[PeachesMcLean]

?

And is there a good time of day when the lions aren't all asleep?

DH wants a big day out to Longleat.

as long as it wasn't raining i'd go. the lions will almost definitely be asleep, they're only active about 2 hours a day in total, that's just what cats do! there is loads to do at longleat though, just watch out for the windscreen wipers and wing mirrors when you drive through the monkey bit! have fun

We went to Longleat in the height of a very hot summers day three years ago(yes there were a few) We found that the monkeys didnt want to play at all which was sad, we did have fun in the deer park though as you can open the windows and several heads + horns came through the back windows much to the screaming delight of the three children in the back!!

We went to Longleat in November when the weather was a bit like today, bright and sunny, but colder. It was fab - quite empty but every animal was out enjoying the sunshine so were closer to the roads where there was no shade, rather than being in near the trees iyswim.

It was a lovely day out - I even held a tarantula (can't go near house spiders still though!)

We went to Longleat in the summer holidays. The safari park was closed until 2pm because there were too many people waiting to go in. We decided to have a walk around. We got there for about 10 and were advised to head straight to the boat because it apparently gets busy in the afternoon. This was the highlight of the day. Sealions were jumping up and you could buy fish to feed them. We then went on a train ride and to pets corner and went to the safari park after lunch. It was like a traffic jam on the m25....it took us over 2 hrs to get through which was a bit of a nightmare but all the other things to do were fantastic.

I thought longleat was closed in the winter

Hm I just checked and I don't think it's open until 16th Feb. Seems weird that they would miss half term..is it half term in England next week?

While not being a safari park... I did go to Marwell Zoo last weekend. No Lions there, but they had tiger, snow leopard. At Marwell you walk around, so not great if raining - but fine if it's just chilly (wrap up warm). The tiger was wondering around at 11am ish, whereas the snow leopard was napping at around midday (having just been fed - another snow leopard was finishing off his/her meal, children liked watching that!).

So yes, can be worth going. And for timing wise, perhaps ask the safari park when feeding time is for various animals you want to see - then get to see them just prior to feeding time when they will be active and you could also see them being fed. Don't Miss the time slot, as they will then be sleeping off their meal!

Half term is W/c 18 Feb for Surrey and Hampshire. Don't know about Wiltshire. Half Term dates do vary a bit between schools.