We went up to Longleat today which has a house and a Safari park, and a lot more that we didn’t see. We got a bit of a late start and it takes about 2.5 hours to get there. We actually drove right past Stonehenge. I took a quick video when we drove by it on the way home.
Longleat is a home that’s been in the Thynne (I think you pronounce it “thin”) family for over 450 years. The current owner is part of the 14th generation that have lived and owned the house for his family. The house is best known as an example of high Elizabethan architecture in Britain. It was built in 1541 and was previously an Augustinian priory that was conv
erted in to a country house. I ask you, does this picture of the house look like a “country house?”
Although, the house that was first built was destroyed by a fire in 1567 and since then the house has gone under many different changes and renovations. Between 1914-1918 the house became a relief hospital in World War I. 1966 is when the Safari Park opened on the grounds.
Since we got there with little time to see all of what Longleat had to offer, we went to the Safari park first. In the first section, you are allowed to get out of your car and see the animals which were zebras, giraffes, camels, wallabies, and maybe some other things that we missed. Makenna enjoyed this area, especially the giraffes. Then we drove on and saw flamingos, a tapir, a glimpse of a warthog, and some white backed vultures, one of which was feasting on some raw meat.
We also saw ankole which looks like a cross between an ox and a cow. There were white rhino’s and different kinds of deer. In the deer section, you could buy the special feed and give it to the deer. Makenna was really, really excited seeing the deer come up so close to the car to eat. They wouldn’t eat out of the cup but I got quite a few around the car by throwing it at them and then closer to the car.
They also had pelicans which I guess is amazing because they’re the first bred and kept in captivity in England. Then it was off to the Tiger and Lion section. It was a bit frustrating as all these cars parked and just sat there to watch the tigers and we had to wait quite a bit to see them. After that, it wasn’t all that exciting to see. The Lions were pretty tame too. Unfortunately, the monkey area was closed, and when we drove past it, you couldn’t see even one.
We then raced to the house and it was huge! Overwhelmingly interesting and I couldn’t get enough. The ceilings were ornate and even the fireplaces were really interesting. Some of the furniture, especially this one cabinet was really neat. Unfortunately, no pictures could be taken in the house so you’ll have to look on-line at http://www.longleat.co.uk/ and look for the house link and then there’s like a mini-tour you can take and see some of the different rooms. Makenna became a handful in the house and Chris had to carry her quite a bit. When he tried putting her on his head, she’d either go rigid or just flop back off.
We finally got outside and went over to a petting zoo of sorts. We could see more animals, but the only animal that was really out for Makenna to touch was a spider. She started to really smack it so we had to walk away from that fairly quick. We quickly went through the area where the macaws were very loudly squawking and onto an area with small animals such as guinea pigs and what not. Makenna really enjoyed these small mice like creatures that were scratching at the cage. She thought they were hilarious to watch as they tried desperately to get out. When she saw the bunnies, she was more interested that within the bunny cage there was “Bob the Builder” trucks and even a mini “Bob the Builder.” I guess the bunny likes “Bob” too.
As the place closes at 4:30pm, we only had a quick few minutes to race over to the “teacup ride.” Or as Makenna calls it, “teapot” ride. She seemed to really enjoy it and I found that my constitution for rides has greatly waned since my childhood. I felt quite dizzy and nauseous after this kiddy ride. I think it was because I was trying to film Makenna while we were on it and then trying to show her where Chris was so I was getting dizzy. If you listen really closely in the video below, of her on this ride, you can hear a bit of her English accent when she says "it's really hawt."
The last stop was one of many gift shops they had. I found another cute hat that I bought for Makenna. Not as cute as the reindeer hat but it’s still cute and it’s for a bigger size. I’ll be surprised if she can still fit into the reindeer hat next winter so I figured I’d get this hat of a lion. It has long flaps that hang down the side so it will really keep her ears warm. She doesn’t seem to care for the hat – yet.
We were disappointed that we couldn’t do more but our tickets are good for another time – for the things we didn’t get to. The bad part is that we most likely won’t get a chance to go back.
Longleat is a home that’s been in the Thynne (I think you pronounce it “thin”) family for over 450 years. The current owner is part of the 14th generation that have lived and owned the house for his family. The house is best known as an example of high Elizabethan architecture in Britain. It was built in 1541 and was previously an Augustinian priory that was conv
erted in to a country house. I ask you, does this picture of the house look like a “country house?”Although, the house that was first built was destroyed by a fire in 1567 and since then the house has gone under many different changes and renovations. Between 1914-1918 the house became a relief hospital in World War I. 1966 is when the Safari Park opened on the grounds.
Since we got there with little time to see all of what Longleat had to offer, we went to the Safari park first. In the first section, you are allowed to get out of your car and see the animals which were zebras, giraffes, camels, wallabies, and maybe some other things that we missed. Makenna enjoyed this area, especially the giraffes. Then we drove on and saw flamingos, a tapir, a glimpse of a warthog, and some white backed vultures, one of which was feasting on some raw meat.
We also saw ankole which looks like a cross between an ox and a cow. There were white rhino’s and different kinds of deer. In the deer section, you could buy the special feed and give it to the deer. Makenna was really, really excited seeing the deer come up so close to the car to eat. They wouldn’t eat out of the cup but I got quite a few around the car by throwing it at them and then closer to the car.
They also had pelicans which I guess is amazing because they’re the first bred and kept in captivity in England. Then it was off to the Tiger and Lion section. It was a bit frustrating as all these cars parked and just sat there to watch the tigers and we had to wait quite a bit to see them. After that, it wasn’t all that exciting to see. The Lions were pretty tame too. Unfortunately, the monkey area was closed, and when we drove past it, you couldn’t see even one.
We then raced to the house and it was huge! Overwhelmingly interesting and I couldn’t get enough. The ceilings were ornate and even the fireplaces were really interesting. Some of the furniture, especially this one cabinet was really neat. Unfortunately, no pictures could be taken in the house so you’ll have to look on-line at http://www.longleat.co.uk/ and look for the house link and then there’s like a mini-tour you can take and see some of the different rooms. Makenna became a handful in the house and Chris had to carry her quite a bit. When he tried putting her on his head, she’d either go rigid or just flop back off.
We finally got outside and went over to a petting zoo of sorts. We could see more animals, but the only animal that was really out for Makenna to touch was a spider. She started to really smack it so we had to walk away from that fairly quick. We quickly went through the area where the macaws were very loudly squawking and onto an area with small animals such as guinea pigs and what not. Makenna really enjoyed these small mice like creatures that were scratching at the cage. She thought they were hilarious to watch as they tried desperately to get out. When she saw the bunnies, she was more interested that within the bunny cage there was “Bob the Builder” trucks and even a mini “Bob the Builder.” I guess the bunny likes “Bob” too.
As the place closes at 4:30pm, we only had a quick few minutes to race over to the “teacup ride.” Or as Makenna calls it, “teapot” ride. She seemed to really enjoy it and I found that my constitution for rides has greatly waned since my childhood. I felt quite dizzy and nauseous after this kiddy ride. I think it was because I was trying to film Makenna while we were on it and then trying to show her where Chris was so I was getting dizzy. If you listen really closely in the video below, of her on this ride, you can hear a bit of her English accent when she says "it's really hawt."
The last stop was one of many gift shops they had. I found another cute hat that I bought for Makenna. Not as cute as the reindeer hat but it’s still cute and it’s for a bigger size. I’ll be surprised if she can still fit into the reindeer hat next winter so I figured I’d get this hat of a lion. It has long flaps that hang down the side so it will really keep her ears warm. She doesn’t seem to care for the hat – yet.
We were disappointed that we couldn’t do more but our tickets are good for another time – for the things we didn’t get to. The bad part is that we most likely won’t get a chance to go back.
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