LONGLEAT - A Magnificent House & Estate
Longleat house stands on the site of a medieval priory of the Black Canons. At the time of the dissolution of the religious houses it was bought by Sir John Thynne, who lived there till it was burnt down in 1567.
He spent twelve years supervising the construction of the magnificent house which has been home to his family ever since. It was built using the then newly-popular Italian style, and a descendant of Sir John, the fourth marquesss of Bath, employed Italian craftsmen to make the internal decorations and the furniture match.

In the eighteenth century the celebrated landscape gardner, 'Capability' Brown was employed to lay out the formal gardens, orangery, and terraces. This he did with his usual genius and complete lack of regard for cost.

The present Marquess of Bath has turned the inner section of the estate into a wildlife park.
The Lions of Longleat are now famous worldwide.
Jody the Lioness is famous at EdinburghZoo Today Longleat largely pays for its upkeep with the revenue from tourism.
First opened in 1966, The safari park continue to play a major role in the world programme of the breeding and conservation of endangered species. They operate under the slogan of ' Preserving the past and protecting the future'.

THE WORLDS LONGEST MAZE

The Maze was commissioned by Alexander Thynn, the Seventh Marquess of Bath and designed by Greg Bright, an authority on the subject.
It was laid out in 1975 and is planted entirely of English Yew of which over 16000 plants were used.
The Maze is three dimensional in that there are six bridges built from timber. Additionally there is a viewing tower, again constructed of timber and thatch, at the Maze centre. The design provides for two sections, the first being relatively easy whereas the second part leads to a more challenging route.
The Maze covers an area of approximately 1.48 acres (0.60ha.) and the pathways cover 1.69 miles (2.72 km). The Maze was extended in 1989 by 150 metres but this section will not open until 1999. Although the performances of visitors accepting the challenge vary greatly the normal time taken for the first section is from fifteen to thirty minutes and the second section one hour.

The Maze appears in the Guinness Book of Records as the World�s Longest Hedge Maze.

It is as famous and more difficult that the mazes at Leeds castle, Hampton Court or Hever Castle

African Safari Park

Part of the estate was turned into a broad-acred Safari Park in 1966 � the bizarre brainwave of the late circus showman, Jimmy Chipperfield. The story goes that he was so inspired by his numerous African excursions that he wanted the public to see lions roaming the English countryside.

In November, 1964, the showman struck a deal with the sixth Marquess and, two years on, the world�s first drive-through wild animal park came into being. Lions including "Carla", Europe�s only white lion and tigers; wolves and other wild animals run free over the English estate. More recently, additions have included an Elephant and Rhino House; a swimming pond for the tigers; an extended Giraffe House and an Education Centre.

The monkeys are a naughty but fun sight to see but "driver beware" when driving through their enclosure. On the day we visited we saw cars being swarmed by the little monkies and we had our car "attacked" with the rubber from the sunroof being peeled off by two very clever and destructive monkeys. If it wasn't for our quick and careful movements in retrieving this from the peeling window, we would have lost the sunroof rubber seal forever.
and we did see more than a few lying on the ground in the monkey area..and a few windscreen wipers and aerials..

If all this isn�t quite enough to make your head spin, Lord Bath has been granted planning permission for a new Passenger Balloon Ride at Longleat. With a generous helping of helium, the gondola is to carry up to twenty five people to a height of 150 metres (500 feet) above the ground.Promising to give people stunning views of the Lions, Labyrinths and grounds.

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