"The Lions of Longleat" a Warminster Travel Page by Ken-out-of-Bath

As with "The Eden Project" in Bodelva, Longleat "in" Warminster is probably more famous than the town in its address.

At least Longleat has Warminster in the Address which can be found on VT. The Eden Project's Postal town of Bodelva is not listed so you need to post the tip on the St Austell Page - which is more than a few miles away.

Longleat house is a Stately home in every sense of the word. The house and grounds are immaculate and extremely well maintained.

The Safari Park celebrates its 40th anniversary this year and I'm certain that the success of the Park has resulted in the high standard of upkeep of the House.

We visited Longleat on a really warm, sunny day. I was very grateful for the car's air-conditioning as we drove amongst the animals.

The Lions, who had to sit out in the heat, were understandably lethargic. We even saw pheasants (or a mid-meal snack if you are a lion) wandering around the lion's den.

The other animals were also content to just sit around in the shade, it may be better to visit in the Spring or Autumn.

Did you know that, on average, Longleat’s lions eat 40 tonnes of meat a year? This equates to 2 nine-stone people every day.

So please eat well before your visit if you intend to leave your car.

Also, for the arachnaphobes amongst you; did you know that all the spiders in the world weigh more than all the people in the world?

Longleat have a zebra called "Spot" but I never saw a leopard called "Stripey"