I’ll start this post off by wishing my readers a Happy New Year for 2017. I hope you’ve all had a wonderful festive season. Things have been quiet lately on my blog; we had a very busy December which included a quick trip to Sweden for my sister’s wedding, not to mention all the Christmas preparations, and so unfortunately blogging has had to wait for a bit. I’ve got lots to write about and hopefully (kids permitting) I’ll be able to settle down into posting on a regular basis!
One of the best things we did this Christmas season was to visit Longleat Estate in Wiltshire for the annual Longleat Festival of Light. Longleat is not just one of England’s finest stately homes; it is also the site of a safari park, so we went in the hope that everyone would find something to enjoy here.
Longleat Safari
We decided to do the safari first as we thought we might get stuck in traffic if we left it for later in the day. As you drive into the safari area, don’t forget to stop at the African Village. I’d advise stretching your legs and using the loo before the point of no return. You can also get a great view over the safari fields and see lemurs, wallabies and giraffe up close.
You are given a CD guide to play in your car while you drive around the safari. The first part of the safari is through the herd animal paddocks.
These animals are free to roam everywhere so you might get a traffic jam if the zebras decide to stop in the road in front of you. You can see plenty of animals including an elephant, Annie, who was rescued from a lifetime in a circus.
There’s a monkey enclosure which you can avoid if you like (we did!) as they will sit on your car and they will pull off any aerials and windscreen wipers they can get their hands on. The entrance to their enclosure is decorated with their spoils, including hubcaps, parking sensors, and many wipers. We saw several casualties (wipers, not monkeys). If you don’t mind risking damage to your car, drive on in – kids will love it.
The big predator pens are one of the highlights at Longleat safari. Wolves, tigers, two lion prides and cheetahs (complete with two fluffy cubs!) await. We had good views of all the animals, especially of the regal tigers, who strolled right past our car. The husband was tasked with taking photos of them as they were on his side, but we don’t have a single useable picture as he stuck his thumb over the lens.
Longleat’s Main Square
Decked out for Christmas and full of lanterns ready to be lit in the evening, the Main Square was looking great. We popped into the Arctic exhibit where there was an interactive projection with arctic animals. There was a seasonal train ride and meet Santa grotto but as this was at an extra cost we’d decided in advance to skip it.
There is so much to see in the Main Square and we knew that we wouldn’t manage to see everything. Kids of all ages will love the giant play castle and the hedge maze. We went into the Jungle Kingdom to see more animals including porcupines, maras and an anteater. Tiny monkeys scampered over ropes and rocks at the Monkey Temple, delighting the kids. The rainbow lorikeets were nowhere to be seen which was disappointing as the Cub had wanted to feed them.
There’s also an animal interaction hall with tarantulas and snakes, a bat cave, and a boat trip around the lake. We nearly joined the queue for the boat trip but it was too cold to stand about. Instead I got a coffee at the Orangery cafe and the Cub had a scamper in the gardens.
Longleat House
The interior of Longleat House is beautiful and quite impressive, especially the panelled banqueting hall. There is plenty of history to discover here as the house dates from around 1580. It’s filled with paintings and furnishings collected over centuries.
The house had a lovely festive atmosphere and was decorated as an Edwardian Christmas. Some of the staff were dressed as servants or the inhabitants, adding to the effect. We followed a route through select rooms; much of the house is off-limits to visitors as the family still live there.
The house often has an exhibition on; when we visited there were some rare Beatrix Potter books to tie in with the lantern display outside.
Longleat Festival of Light
Each winter, Longleat hosts a stunning lantern display. This year is the UK’s largest lantern festival ever, and a specialist team from Sichuan Province in China helped to build the displays on site. They used 20km of silk and more than 30,000 bulbs!
We’d seen the lanterns in the day as we walked around the grounds but when we came out of the house dusk had fallen and the lanterns were illuminated. There were two separate themes to the lanterns this year; one area celebrated the 50th anniversary of Longleat Safari and the other was dedicated to Beatrix Potter’s classic stories, marking 150 years since her birth.
The Cub knows a lot of the Peter Rabbit characters so she was especially taken with these lanterns. They were set out in scenes from some of the best known stories and the Cub had a great time finding her favourites. The Tales of Squirrel Nutkin and Jeremy Fisher were the most impressive, set out on the river. The whole effect was very charming.
Around the other side of the house, the safari animals were throwing a party. I liked that a lot of thought had gone into designing the lantern display and that there was a story being told. Each lantern was beautifully designed and the whole effect exceeded our expectations.
An avenue of lions greeted visitors and penguins played in a band next to the huge pile of presents. The multi-layered birthday cake was over 20m tall – that must have taken quite some building. Monkeys capered about on a huge dragon barge next to a giant hippo.
The Cub thought that the penguins playing guitars were the best bit. It really was beautiful and even the drizzle and the cold didn’t stop us all enjoying the atmosphere. The kid both loved our day out here and we will be returning in the summer – we’ve still got lots to see at Longleat.
Know before you go
Buy your tickets in advance online from Longleat’s website. There are a few tickets left for the Festival of Light which has been extended for the next two weekends only. Check opening times on the website especially if you visit in the winter as Longleat isn’t open every day.
Longleat can get very busy. Go as early as you can and try to plan out your day. You probably won’t be able to fit everything in; we missed some of the Christmas stuff, the boat ride and the play area and we were there all day.
We tried to get around the safari as quickly as we could as the Cub and Bee were getting restless and we also wanted to see as much of the estate as possible. I still think it took a good hour to get through and at busy times it can take longer. I’ll say it again – visit the loo first! You really don’t want to be desperate and stuck in the middle of the lion enclosure.
We didn’t eat at Longleat as for once I’d been prepared and packed lunch for us all, but there are a few restaurants and coffee shops in the Main Square.
You’ll need a car to get to Longleat. If you need to stay nearby, Bath isn’t too far away and shouldn’t be missed.
Finally, a note on the photographs. You can’t take photos inside Longleat House so the images of the interior were kindly provided by Longleat.
I love anything related to lights! Glad you added a map because I was wondering where Longleat was. Those interiors are amazing. Great post!
Thanks Lillian. It’s so beautiful inside. We’re quite good at preserving these old houses in the UK; I’m a bit of a sucker for them! Worth visiting even when the lights aren’t there.
That’s quite the setup. It would be interesting to see who was hired to design/manufacture the decorations. I see a lot of inspiration from classic literature, such as Alice in Wonderland. Thanks for sharing!
Thanks Milosz. I think the team came from Sichuan province in China. And I loved seeing my childhood story favourites in lights!
Wow! That is one of the best light displays I’ve ever seen! The little ducks were so adorable and the large, lighted flowers are simply stunning! Thanks for also providing the “know before you go” information. So useful!
It was better than we were expecting. I’d been meaning to go for a couple of years; finally managed it!
Longleat is one of my favourite days out in the UK! Although I’ve never actually been inside Longleat House, nor have I visited for any of the special occasions. The lantern display looks so cute, and definitely unique in a way that only a safari park could pull off!
I’d been years before and I remembered the safari but not much else. I’ll go back in the summer as I want to do the boat ride and peek upstairs in the house!
I’m not much into safari parks, but I do like visiting historic homes, and, of course, seeing decorations and lanterns. It looks like they have some very creative lantern displays. Thanks for sharing!
They were really beautiful; we loved them. While the safari was fun, personally I preferred the house and the lanterns.
The light festival is really well done. The safari looks like a really fun time too. I’ve done one of those safaris before. The monkeys get crazy haha.
I think going through the monkey enclosure would be a highlight but there was no way my husband was taking our car in!
What a treat for the kids (and you too) before Christmas. Had to laugh about the “Monkey” cage. Don’t think I would chance going through it either! Loved how they decorated Longleat House for Christmas, it’s so festive and all the decorations too!
It was lovely inside the house, like stepping back in time. We all had a great day.
Those lights look incredible! This sounds like the perfect activity for families
It was a really special day out. We all got into the Christmas spirit!
Looks like such a fun place to bring your kids. Love the lanterns of course but also the beautiful furnishings inside Longleat.
We all had a great time. The lanterns and the house were the best bits!
Both the interior and exterior of the home are exquisite. And once the lights come on it looks like the perfect place to stroll through with little ones.
It’s a fab day out for everyone; the lights just make it extra special!
That’s incredible – so much to captivate the imaginations of kids and adults. I could spend hours just exploring inside Longleat – the Christmas decor is so beautiful. I know a few kids who would gladly skip that tour, heading straight for the safari and on to the lights!
Our kids actually really enjoyed the house; my little girl liked chatting to the actors/guides inside. She was a little nervous about the lions though!
I love exploring historic, beautiful castle/mansion/homes so this is my kinda post. Thanks for the gorgeous pictures. The light festival looks stunning as well and you photographed those lights really well. My shots always look like crap. LOL
Thanks Melody. I really stuffed up some night photos in Petra so I wanted to make a good job of these. Turns out I had to set the camera to auto instead of faffing about with the ISO.
It’s always so strange to me to see Christmas light photos…with no snow! What an incredible display and way to spend the season. We do something similar, the kids love all the lights, it just feels so magical!
Ha ha, not much chance of snow in South West UK! It’s been a couple of years since we had any more than a light dusting. Snow would really have added to it, but the atmosphere was lovely enough!
I did not know about this cute Light festival. It seems that light and colors are always a good combination for kids!
Enchanting for adults too! Everyone looked pretty impressed!
Wow I would definitely want to visit the park next time I’m in the UK.
It’s a pity you need a car for it (still can figure out some public transportation I guess).
Hopefully I could catch the Festival of Light some day.
Thank you for sharing this experience 🙂
Bistra
Hi Bistra, while you do need to get to Longleat by car, you can take a train to Warminster station which is about 5 miles away and get a taxi from there. I think there’s a safari bus so you’d still be able to do that if you wanted.
I love to visit a light festival. I used to live in Taiwan and I love visiting the lantern festival. Love your photos, so beautiful!
I love lanterns too; while I haven’t yet been to Taiwan (on the list) I saw some lovely traditional lanterns in Hoi An Vietnam. Though these are a little bit different!
I lived in Plymouth for 13 years and Longleat was somewhere I always wanted to go. Sadly I never made it. I had no idea they did things like this light show, I wend to something like this in Liverpool just before Christmas. Such a great night out.
It was a great day out, and worth visiting if you’re nearby. I think it’s only the last few years they’ve started doing the light festival but I hope it continues.
Having been in Vietnam recently I just love anything with lanterns and light. This would be a great festival to be part of.
You went to Hoi An didn’t you? It’s stunning there, one of my favourite places! These lanterns were very different but beautiful too!
Excellent trip! Kids must loved it!
We all did! It was all great fun.
Those lights are cool and the Longleat house amazing! Strange to think of people still living in residences like that.
Yes, I always wonder how much of the house they use. The tour takes you through quite a few rooms but nowhere near half of the rooms that must be there!
That place is so well decorated. It would have been a great sight with all those colors. I bet the kids enjoyed this one.
They certainly did. It was lovely inside but I can’t imagine living somewhere so ornate!
Looks like it was an amazing trip – I was scampering around looking for some of the Jungle Kingdom pics to no avail would love to know more about that experience – really cool light show too 🙂
Seeing all the animals up close on safari along with the vibrant light show would be fun for kiddos and adults alike!
Longleat house looks so charming! Beautiful night images.
I’d never heard of Longleat before this post, now I know somewhere else I need to add to my bucket list! The festival of light looks so cute, I’d love to go see it myself.
Longleat looks like such a fun place to visit with the kids. Kids must have been really happy with the safari. I loved the entire light display was based on two themes. 🙂 Loved all the pictures.