Longleat House
Longleat House
4.5
10:00 AM - 6:00 PM
Monday
10:00 AM - 6:00 PM
Tuesday
10:00 AM - 6:00 PM
Wednesday
10:00 AM - 6:00 PM
Thursday
10:00 AM - 6:00 PM
Friday
10:00 AM - 6:00 PM
Saturday
10:00 AM - 6:00 PM
Sunday
10:00 AM - 6:00 PM
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- Beth H150 contributionsGreat tour with PiperWe had a lovely tour of the house with Piper, he was very knowledgeable. Made the whole 1hr tour interesting that didn't realise it had been that only. He was good with the kids that were on the tour to. Would really recommend if you are interested in the history of the property.Visited October 2023Travelled as a coupleWritten 21 October 2023
- Eldar M49 contributionsWONDERFUL HOUSE TOURSimon our tour guide was friendly and informative and really brought the place alive. Simon answered all of our questions, there was nothing he didn't know, he is a credit to your organisation, and we would like to thank him for such an interesting tour. The house is magnificent and grand, and hopefully in the future we will be able to see some of the 7th Marquess of baths art. But because they are done in thick oils, they are quite pungent. I would highly recommend a visit to the house and grounds. We also found the safari, boat trip etc all to be an excellent day out. In fact a couple of day to appreciate this wonderful place.Visited August 2024Travelled as a coupleWritten 16 August 2024
- NKayNorth East England, United Kingdom1,673 contributionsLongleat house reviewAnd to look around the beautiful house on Thursday 15/08/24. It was a guided tour and the gentleman who was our guide was a lovely man but he did go on and kept repeating the same information to everyone individually which got really repetitive and a bit boring. It really slowed the tour down but with him being so lovely I don’t think anyone wanted to say anything to him in fear of upsetting him. I ended up leaving early as my legs were aching from standing around and waiting around for ages. I understand these tours are guided but I could have done the whole house within the time we had done one room. I would love to visit again to complete the tour but probably won’t due to to how long the tour takes to get started and how long the tour takes with all the repeatingVisited August 2024Travelled with familyWritten 18 August 2024
- Robin D69 contributionsThe house tour was well worth the time. Lisa was a great guide.We typically avoid tours but took this one to get a look at Longleat and our guide, Lisa was just fabulous. She was incredible knowledgeable, relatable, funny and personable, making the tour fly by. The house and its history and stories are remarkable, well worth the trip. We were there over the same weekend as the 'Icons of the Sky' event. That was a fun addition to our experience. We also took in the gardens, great and the safari tour, not so great. If you have seen the animals in the wild, as we have, forgo the safari. If you haven't seen these animals except perhaps in a zoo, then it may be with it. Just head the warnings about the monkeys biting pieces off your car. They will, they did.Visited September 2024Travelled as a coupleWritten 15 September 2024
- DaveA66Bedford, United Kingdom97 contributionsTour of the houseWe turned up early (as we always do 🙄). We got on an earlier tour as wasn’t overly busy. Our tour guide, Zoe, was brilliant. I was not as bothered initially as my wife, but from an interest and value for money perspective I was enthralled. Zoe not only knew her facts but every question thrown at her was answered, she was a lovely and a delight to listen to her so many thanks Really nice house, which you get to see a good proportion of. Well worth the extra tenner eachVisited September 2024Travelled as a coupleWritten 29 September 2024
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4.5
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TractorRides
United Kingdom32 contributions
June 2021 • Family
An experience of two half’s one excellent, one not so good.
We decided to spend the morning exploring the grounds of the house before driving through the safari in the afternoon.
The house was spectacular and formal gardens were beautiful. We thoroughly enjoyed the boat ride to feed the sea lions, seeing a verity of animals in the Jungle Kingdom and although we didn’t find time for the train ride or maze these did look like a great deal of fun.
Unfortunately many of the other attractions seemed to either be closed for repair or only partly open. The Rocking Rhino ride was closed and on one of the hottest days of the year the water park in the Adventure Castle play area was only partly working.
At lunch time we tried to dine at the Chameleon Tree Restaurant but more than half the venue was shut. In the remaining open portion tables were dirty left unclean and no air conditioning meant the dining experience was like sitting in a sauna. The queues for service at the tills were very long as the restaurant were very understaffed with only one till operational and the food offering seemed to be reduced compared to what one would normally expect. The situation seemed to be the same at the Picnic Basket and Ice Cream kiosks where lines of people were nearly 30deep in the afternoon just to buy an ice lolly.
On speaking to a annual membership holder it seems Covid has resulted in cuts being made and belts tightened that may explain these reductions in the attraction offering and staffing levels. Whilst understandable for an attraction that must have found it hard to survive economically through Covid restrictions it has to be said that these clearly have a negative impact on the experience of visitors and result in a feeling that the attraction did not offer good value for money considering the high ticket price.
Notwithstanding the above issues our afternoon drive through safari experience was second to none. Taking tome to drive through the animal enclosures at our own pace and see so many wild animals so close up was spectacular and will live long in the memory. Feeding the deers through open car windows and a very friendly giraffe that escorted us around the park we’re particular highlights.
I think on balance we had a great day and would recommend this to others. But I would recommend taking a pre packed picnic rather than relying on purchasing food at the venue.
We decided to spend the morning exploring the grounds of the house before driving through the safari in the afternoon.
The house was spectacular and formal gardens were beautiful. We thoroughly enjoyed the boat ride to feed the sea lions, seeing a verity of animals in the Jungle Kingdom and although we didn’t find time for the train ride or maze these did look like a great deal of fun.
Unfortunately many of the other attractions seemed to either be closed for repair or only partly open. The Rocking Rhino ride was closed and on one of the hottest days of the year the water park in the Adventure Castle play area was only partly working.
At lunch time we tried to dine at the Chameleon Tree Restaurant but more than half the venue was shut. In the remaining open portion tables were dirty left unclean and no air conditioning meant the dining experience was like sitting in a sauna. The queues for service at the tills were very long as the restaurant were very understaffed with only one till operational and the food offering seemed to be reduced compared to what one would normally expect. The situation seemed to be the same at the Picnic Basket and Ice Cream kiosks where lines of people were nearly 30deep in the afternoon just to buy an ice lolly.
On speaking to a annual membership holder it seems Covid has resulted in cuts being made and belts tightened that may explain these reductions in the attraction offering and staffing levels. Whilst understandable for an attraction that must have found it hard to survive economically through Covid restrictions it has to be said that these clearly have a negative impact on the experience of visitors and result in a feeling that the attraction did not offer good value for money considering the high ticket price.
Notwithstanding the above issues our afternoon drive through safari experience was second to none. Taking tome to drive through the animal enclosures at our own pace and see so many wild animals so close up was spectacular and will live long in the memory. Feeding the deers through open car windows and a very friendly giraffe that escorted us around the park we’re particular highlights.
I think on balance we had a great day and would recommend this to others. But I would recommend taking a pre packed picnic rather than relying on purchasing food at the venue.
Written 22 July 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
LJS1976
Taunton, UK21 contributions
Aug 2020 • Family
We visited the park today as a family of 6. We were expecting some of the exhibits and attractions to be shut however, disappointingly most of them were. The maze can only be pre booked on the day and arriving at 11 am meant it was already fully booked. There were a lot of annoyed visitors being turned away. Understandable to put in place social distancing measures apart from that customers are then expected to queue cheek to jowl for an hour to wait for the train with no staff monitoring or encouraging social distancing. They then put in place social distance on the train which is pointless when an hour has been spent standing in a queue together. The boat wasn’t running due to high winds although there were none and it hit 22 degrees while we were there. I contacted Customer Services and was sent a bland blanket email response which was disappointing. They weren’t interested.
Don’t waste your money. It definitely isn’t worth it at the moment. The only saving grace was the Safari which was great. Def better places to go, particularly with teenagers. We had been really looking forward to visiting the park but it did not live up to our expectations.
Don’t waste your money. It definitely isn’t worth it at the moment. The only saving grace was the Safari which was great. Def better places to go, particularly with teenagers. We had been really looking forward to visiting the park but it did not live up to our expectations.
Written 26 August 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
MuttsC
Knaresborough, UK43 contributions
July 2020 • Family
We booked 2 days at longleat as a little break away for the kids since our main holiday was cancelled. I was a bit worried about if we’d get the right experience since it had only recently reopened after the pandemic closure. I booked the bronze VIP tour so we could do the safari park ride in a landrover with a tour guide. It was one of the best days the kids have ever had. We spent 3hrs on the safari ride with a driver called Richard. He was a great guy, informative, interesting and very comical, even despite the screen up separating us we had a great laugh with him, we saw far more of the animals we would have done in our own car and learnt so much about the park. He even stopped for us to grab lunch so we didn’t have to walk back up for it. After lunch we were on our own to explore the walk around parts. I was really impressed with the park, the guidelines were being followed but it still felt like a nice normal day out. The park is immaculately clean, the animals very well cared for and every toilet block has someone monitoring it, cleaning each cubicle after use. Most things are open with just limited numbers in each so we did have a bit of a queue for the popular areas but that’s not the parks fault. There was plenty to do if you didn’t want to queue. All in all we had a great day out and was really impressed by the quality of the park and the staff that worked there.
Written 24 July 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Gareth
Cardiff, UK122 contributions
Aug 2021 • Family
Here's my pros and cons... the safari is entertaining for the kids (be prepared for monkeys removing your Ariel and wipers unless you remove your Ariel first and use your window washers as defence). The queues can be considerable everywhere during school holidays (so be prepared to wait for food, drink, boat trip, train ride, toilets). The boat trip and train ride are very entertaining for the kids. We went in August 2021 and it didn't advertise anywhere that Lady Bath had locked down her house because of covid-19 so you can't go in the house even though Lady Bath is very happy for you to pay £122 for you to go onto about 10% of her estate. Slightly had the feeling of being ripped off there. Not a bad place to go but I'd suggest that you wait until the house eventually opens up to the general public before you part with such an amount of money.
Written 23 August 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Carl L
Chandler’s Ford, UK16 contributions
Dec 2022 • Family
I've really loved visiting longleat in the past, however, I'm sad to say that we won't be returning anytime soon. The Christmas festival of lights seemed like it could have been good, however, longleat had sold far too many tickets and as a result no one could enjoy the experience. We arrived on Wednesday 28th December 2022 with great anticipation of a lovely family day out but what ensued was endless queues. It took over 2 hours to go around the safari, and we missed large parts of it. Even arriving early the animals are often locked in behind fences with only the poor monkeys braving the cold and wet weather. I'm sad to say that over the years, it has become less and less like a safari, and more like driving around a zoo with the animals in cages/pens. With never an apology or explanation, as to why?
The Roald Dahl festival of lights might have been good but the sheer number of people made the experience impossible. Luckily we brought some food with us and ate in the car during the "drive thru zoo" queue, as the catering outlets looked completely overwhelmed. I do wonder what Alexandar Tynn (7th marquess of Bath) would make of it all?
But all in all not a very good day and a waste of £80+ and all the driving ☹️ please try and get things back to how they were.
The Roald Dahl festival of lights might have been good but the sheer number of people made the experience impossible. Luckily we brought some food with us and ate in the car during the "drive thru zoo" queue, as the catering outlets looked completely overwhelmed. I do wonder what Alexandar Tynn (7th marquess of Bath) would make of it all?
But all in all not a very good day and a waste of £80+ and all the driving ☹️ please try and get things back to how they were.
Written 29 December 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Matt K
2 contributions
Mar 2022
If you ever ride a bike — as I know many parents do — I implore you never to visit this place. Because they treat cyclists with less respect than their animals.
On Saturday, I was enjoying a lovely 100-mile ride through Wiltshire, and my route took me into Longleat. It’s a truly breathtaking place, and I was propelled to the mansion by one of the most perfect tailwinds I’ve ever experienced. I’ve had a rough year so far, and for the first time, I felt great.
When I got to the mansion, I decided to take a photo of the magnificent lion sculpture in its grounds. I observed a “no bikes” sign, so I got off my bike and pushed it to the lion, took a quick snap, and continued on my way. The grounds were completely empty at this point and I was endangering absolutely no one.
As I was leaving the grounds, a huge security vehicle pulled up in front of me, and a security guard jumped out and approached me. He told me that he’d had a report that there was a cyclist in front of the mansion. I explained that I’d just wanted to take a photo of the lion, so I’d got off my bike and pushed. Then came the killer line:
“You have a cycle. Therefore you are a cyclist. And cyclists aren’t allowed in there.”
There you go. Longleat basically thinks that if you even so much as own a bike you are a sub-human species. I pointed out to him that as I wasn’t on the bike I was technically (and legally) a pedestrian, and the poor man looked a bit embarrassed about the whole thing.
I completely understand that Longleat is private property and that cyclists are only allowed there by permission, but this outdated and frankly pathetic attitude speaks volumes about the people who own and run the place. If they were more welcoming to cyclists and opened a cycling-friendly cafe they could probably make a fortune; as I said before, it’s a wonderful place to ride through.
If you and your family are staying at Center Parcs and rediscovering or indulging the joy of cycling, please think carefully about whether you want to visit Longleat. Take your kids for a bike ride around Shearwater instead; it’s just as nice and you won’t be funding aggressive, regressive hatred towards a group of people who are simply doing something they love.
On Saturday, I was enjoying a lovely 100-mile ride through Wiltshire, and my route took me into Longleat. It’s a truly breathtaking place, and I was propelled to the mansion by one of the most perfect tailwinds I’ve ever experienced. I’ve had a rough year so far, and for the first time, I felt great.
When I got to the mansion, I decided to take a photo of the magnificent lion sculpture in its grounds. I observed a “no bikes” sign, so I got off my bike and pushed it to the lion, took a quick snap, and continued on my way. The grounds were completely empty at this point and I was endangering absolutely no one.
As I was leaving the grounds, a huge security vehicle pulled up in front of me, and a security guard jumped out and approached me. He told me that he’d had a report that there was a cyclist in front of the mansion. I explained that I’d just wanted to take a photo of the lion, so I’d got off my bike and pushed. Then came the killer line:
“You have a cycle. Therefore you are a cyclist. And cyclists aren’t allowed in there.”
There you go. Longleat basically thinks that if you even so much as own a bike you are a sub-human species. I pointed out to him that as I wasn’t on the bike I was technically (and legally) a pedestrian, and the poor man looked a bit embarrassed about the whole thing.
I completely understand that Longleat is private property and that cyclists are only allowed there by permission, but this outdated and frankly pathetic attitude speaks volumes about the people who own and run the place. If they were more welcoming to cyclists and opened a cycling-friendly cafe they could probably make a fortune; as I said before, it’s a wonderful place to ride through.
If you and your family are staying at Center Parcs and rediscovering or indulging the joy of cycling, please think carefully about whether you want to visit Longleat. Take your kids for a bike ride around Shearwater instead; it’s just as nice and you won’t be funding aggressive, regressive hatred towards a group of people who are simply doing something they love.
Written 14 March 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
CAN745
Rayleigh, Essex16 contributions
Sept 2023 • Couples
Extremely expensive and not worth the money. Paid just under £80 for 2 people with no concessions for over 65s. They then want another £5 each to go in the house and if you don’t want to get your car ruined by monkeys and deer, suggest you go on the bus for another £9 per person (we didn’t) - the buses were rammed anyway and they won’t let you book the afternoon bus until an hour or so before it left which means coming all the way back to book it. If we’d done these things it would have cost us almost £110. Certainly wouldn’t go back. Heaven only knows how families can afford it.
Written 17 September 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
maziejane
england92 contributions
Dec 2019
Our second visit with the kids did not disappoint, spending the day in the activities area and the winter safari was amazing.
We loved the light exhibition and in particular the Night Story where there are birds of prey used in the story.
Kids favourite was the safari and the boat trips.
Well worth a visit regardless of the time of year it is a lovely place.
We loved the light exhibition and in particular the Night Story where there are birds of prey used in the story.
Kids favourite was the safari and the boat trips.
Well worth a visit regardless of the time of year it is a lovely place.
Written 4 February 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Matt_ayers80
London, UK184 contributions
June 2020 • Family
We came for a visit just after the park had reopened following the lockdown due to Covid-19.
The Safari itself did not seem to impacted by the post lockdown distancing measures, probably in no small part due to the fact we were in our own car. The rest of the attractions did have some distancing measures and there are distancing marks all round the park. There were a few bits closed although this may be due to maintenance or the fact they could not reasonably distance.
The boys had a great day out and loved all the animals. The park seemed well cared for and the animals looked healthy. We were able to see most of the safari animals close up, they were all fairly close to the road which was great (although as wild animals I’m sure that can’t be guaranteed).
I was pleased we took our own lunch, the queues at lunchtime for the food places looked quite long, even taking into account distancing measures.
The toilets also had very long queues owing to distancing and regular cleaning / disinfecting.
For somewhere that had just reopened they were making the best of the situation. The staff were friendly and helpful.
The Safari itself did not seem to impacted by the post lockdown distancing measures, probably in no small part due to the fact we were in our own car. The rest of the attractions did have some distancing measures and there are distancing marks all round the park. There were a few bits closed although this may be due to maintenance or the fact they could not reasonably distance.
The boys had a great day out and loved all the animals. The park seemed well cared for and the animals looked healthy. We were able to see most of the safari animals close up, they were all fairly close to the road which was great (although as wild animals I’m sure that can’t be guaranteed).
I was pleased we took our own lunch, the queues at lunchtime for the food places looked quite long, even taking into account distancing measures.
The toilets also had very long queues owing to distancing and regular cleaning / disinfecting.
For somewhere that had just reopened they were making the best of the situation. The staff were friendly and helpful.
Written 30 June 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Sunset1966
Trowbridge, UK6 contributions
Dec 2019
For my husband's birthday what could I buy him that was special? Feeding the tigers at Longleat of course!!
We had to arrive at 0830am and were slightly earlier! We were greeted by Steve who invited us into the hut for a hot drink and to wait the keeper and the other 2 guests (who were late!!!).
Two other members of staff turned up (sorry I cannot remember your names). But can we just say what a pleasure it is to meet and interact with the Longleat staff. You are a credit to yourselves and to Longleat. Friendly, chatty, answering questions etc.
We then met Hannah who was our keeper for the VIP tour. Off we went in the zebra Land Rover to meet BIG RED.
What a beauty he is, AND HUGE!! Hannah was informative and again answered all our questions. Showed us how to feed Big Reg and then it was our turn. He is amazing and soooo gentle. He also "talks"!! The cubs and mum were out the back but we could see them.
After the VIP tour we were then able to visit the rest of Longleat, which we have done many times before being local, but, you never tire of the animals, the park, the whole experience.
The lady in the house in the Great Hall was also friendly, informative and willing to chat
All in all The Thynne Family have done a wonderful job with Longleat and it is worth buying a year pass, and visit as much as you can.
The VIP experiences are not cheap but you get 20% off with a year pass.
Brilliant.
We had to arrive at 0830am and were slightly earlier! We were greeted by Steve who invited us into the hut for a hot drink and to wait the keeper and the other 2 guests (who were late!!!).
Two other members of staff turned up (sorry I cannot remember your names). But can we just say what a pleasure it is to meet and interact with the Longleat staff. You are a credit to yourselves and to Longleat. Friendly, chatty, answering questions etc.
We then met Hannah who was our keeper for the VIP tour. Off we went in the zebra Land Rover to meet BIG RED.
What a beauty he is, AND HUGE!! Hannah was informative and again answered all our questions. Showed us how to feed Big Reg and then it was our turn. He is amazing and soooo gentle. He also "talks"!! The cubs and mum were out the back but we could see them.
After the VIP tour we were then able to visit the rest of Longleat, which we have done many times before being local, but, you never tire of the animals, the park, the whole experience.
The lady in the house in the Great Hall was also friendly, informative and willing to chat
All in all The Thynne Family have done a wonderful job with Longleat and it is worth buying a year pass, and visit as much as you can.
The VIP experiences are not cheap but you get 20% off with a year pass.
Brilliant.
Written 1 January 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
I am staying on the Caravan and Motorhome site for 3 days. I have a day ticket for 1 day but would like to go into the grounds for coffee, walks etc on the other days. Can I buy a ticket that excludes the safari?
Written 18 August 2022
John M
Bristol, United Kingdom
Can anyone recommend a restaurant/pub just out side of the estate..?
Written 26 December 2018
Go into Warminster the local pubs do family meals
Written 6 January 2019
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