Longleat

Longleat is a grand Elizabethan mansion in Wiltshire, standing on land once occupied by an Augustinian priory. The house was rebuilt after a fire in the 16th century and became a model of Elizabethan architecture under Sir John Thynn and Robert Smythson. It has been home to the Thynn family and their Marquesses of Bath since the 16th century. The estate covers thousands of acres of parkland, farmland and woodland, landscaped by Capability Brown in the 18th century. Longleat opened to the public in 1949 as the first stately home to welcome visitors, and its safari park, opened in 1966, was the first of its kind outside Africa. The house contains fine interiors designed by John Crace and others, and holds a collection of 40,000 books. Visitors walk through rooms such as the Great Hall, the Red Library and the State Drawing Room, each decorated with paintings, furniture and fittings from different centuries. The grounds include a hedge maze created by the 7th Marquess, who also designed several labyrinths. The safari park displays animals from giraffes and zebras to lions and wolves, with recent additions including cheetahs and koalas.