A day out at Longleat with Children

This post on a day out at Longleat with Children will cover:

• Longleat Safari and Monkey Drive through – hints and tips!
• Longleat House and Grounds, including the railway and HUGE Maze
• Where to eat
• Longleat Festival of Lights – a spectacle not to be missed!

Why we decided on Longleat for a day out

We’ve had so many people tell us we should go for a day out at Longleat in Wiltshire with our children, and ideally during the Festival of Lights at Christmas. So, finally after years of missing out on the (very) popular tickets I booked us tickets for New Years Day.

We had decided to make a short break of our visit and had booked an Airbnb nearby. That meant on the morning of our visit we could be there at 9.30am as it opened.

Prices

We paid £34.15 per adult, £25.60 for our 5 year old (3-15years) and our 2 year old was free (0-2years). This was for a Festival of Light Day Ticket the prices normally are:

£29.70 Adults

£22.27 Child (age 3-15)

2 and under go free.

On the day that we visited they offered any one who got to the Safari gate by 10am a money off voucher for various things inside Longleat. We actually used quite a few of the vouchers throughout our day. It’s worth bearing in mind that it take 15 minutes to get from the entrance gate to the Safari gate. Longleat is BIG.

Longleat Safari Park

I think I’ve wanted to go to this Safari Park my whole life! It’s big and took us 2.5 hours to get around and this is considering it wasn’t that busy when we were there. So go to the toilet, take drinks and be ready to spend a little while in the car!

The first stop is the African area where you can get out to do the Lemur Walk Through which was amazing. The Lemurs are so active and cheeky, it was amazing to get up close. The walk is fairly short so easy enough for us without a buggy. After a hot chocolate and a toilet stop we were ready to enter the Safari for real.

One of the first areas you come to is the Monkey Drive Through. Now, if you are worried about your car, or really don’t fancy cheeky monkeys climbing all over it, there is a by pass route at this point. But if you’re up for it, be prepared, they are crazy!

The monkeys for us, were a highlight of our whole holiday. The girls thought they were hilarious and it was unlike anything we’d done before. We laughed and laughed. It was great.

Once that was completed (we particularly liked the keeper at the end of the enclosure with a stick to bat off any monkeys who may still be clinging to your car!) it was off to see the other enclosures. These include Big Game Park, Cheetah Kingdom, Lion Country and Tiger Territory. As it was quiet we got to drive at our own pace through these seeing these incredible creatures. It can be bumper to bumper during busy times, which I expect gets frustrating so aim for quiet times if at all possible!

The two and a half hours flew by. The girls LOVED it. We LOVED it. A must do if you’re ever in this part of the World.

What else is there to do at Longleat with Kids?

So we finished in the Safari Park about midday and headed straight to the Longleat House and grounds for some lunch. The Chameleon Tree Restaurant and Coffee House is huge with plenty of food options and places to sit. We all enjoyed a hot meal and there were very good vegetarian options.

After this we had some time to explore before the Festival of Lights turned on at 4pm. There is SO much to see, we easily filled our time and still didn’t manage to see it all.

We started with the Longleat Railway which is a short train ride around the grounds.

After this pretty little ride we headed into the Longleat Hedge Maze, with over a mile and a half of paths it can take up to 45 minutes to find your way out. I went in with our 5 year old whilst the youngest napped and we managed to do it in 20 minutes!

Our daughter then went to play in the adventure playground and soft play and she had a great time. It’s big, varied and fortunately, quiet when we went.

After this we headed to see some of the animals, including Koala’s, Bats (the cave SMELLS!) and to hand feed some Lorikeets. This was a big highlight of the day and a moment our eldest won’t forget in a hurry.

After this we went to watch a festive show which included flights from various Owls. It was pretty spectacular! And indoors so nice and warm.

As dusk approached we just about had time for a quick look around the spectacular rooms of Longleat House. There was unicorns to find in some of the rooms which kept our children entertained whilst we admired the house decorated for Christmas. Again, it was also a welcome respite from the cold outside.

Longleat Festival of Lights

By the time we were finished in the house it was about time for the Festival of Lights to begin.

We headed to the singing Christmas Tree which started the evening off in style. After this we explored the exceptional grounds admiring the endless displays of lights, all following this years theme of Myths and Legends. It was busy, but not overcrowded and it was easy to push the double buggy around (the girls were both tired by this point so it was great to have it for them).

Two hours later and we felt we’d seen everything. It was time to thaw out in the car with a picnic and then drive home.

Final thoughts on a day out at Longleat with Kids

It was EXCELLENT. We now know why so many people have recommended a day out at Longleat with kid to us in the past. From the cheeky monkeys in the Safari drive through, to the huge hedge maze and on to the incredible festival of lights there were so many highlights of the day.

Check out our You Tube Video here for more on our brilliant day out! (don’t forget to subscribe!)

For more days out in the UK check out our blog posts on Legoland Windsor here and Alton Towers here.