Longleat Safari Park sits on the grounds of Longleat House in Wiltshire, England, and holds a unique place in wildlife tourism history: when it opened on April 5, 1966, it became the world’s first drive-through safari park outside Africa. The park was the brainchild of Jimmy Chipperfield, a former director of the famous Chipperfield’s Circus, who partnered with the 6th Marquess of Bath to turn part of the aristocratic estate into a place where visitors could drive their own cars past free-roaming lions.
The concept was an immediate sensation. In its very first year, Longleat drew roughly 486,500 visitors in over 106,000 cars, proving that Britons would happily queue for hours to see lions strolling past their windshields. Six decades later, Longleat remains one of the UK’s most popular family attractions, now spread across the wider Longleat estate and home to hundreds of animals representing dozens of species, from rhinos and giraffes to red pandas and koalas.
Stats at a Glance
- Location: Wiltshire, England
- Opened: April 5, 1966
- Size: 9,000 acres (Longleat estate)
- Animal count: Over 500 animals
- Annual visitors: About 790,000 (2025)
- Famous for: First drive-through safari park outside Africa
The Safari Experience
Visitors drive their own vehicles through a series of reserves, encountering African lions, tigers, rhinos, giraffes, zebras and wolves along the way. Beyond the driving safari, the park includes walk-through attractions such as the Monkey Temple, opened in 2012, where visitors cross rope walkways above a colony of monkeys, and a Jungle Cruise boat ride around Half Mile Lake, home to sea lions and Longleat’s famous gorilla colony on Gorilla Island.
Koala Creek, which opened in 2019, made Longleat the only place in Europe housing southern koalas, brought over from Adelaide Zoo. In 2022 the park celebrated the first southern koala joey born in Europe, a milestone that underscored its ongoing role in conservation breeding programs alongside its origins as a tourist novelty.
History and Legacy
Longleat’s safari park was a radical experiment for a stately home estate: the Marquess of Bath and Chipperfield gambled that opening the grounds to drive-through lions would draw crowds and help fund the upkeep of Longleat House. The gamble paid off so well that it inspired a wave of similar safari parks across Britain and Europe through the late 1960s and 1970s.
Today the park is part of a broader Longleat estate offering mazes, a miniature railway dating to 1965, and seasonal events, but the drive-through safari remains its signature draw. Ownership passed to Ceawlin Thynn, the 8th Marquess of Bath, in 2020, continuing the family stewardship that began the park nearly 60 years earlier.
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Longleat Safari Park FAQs
When did Longleat Safari Park open?
Longleat opened on April 5, 1966, as the world’s first drive-through safari park outside Africa.
Who founded Longleat Safari Park?
It was created by circus showman Jimmy Chipperfield in partnership with the 6th Marquess of Bath, who owned the Longleat estate.
How many animals live at Longleat?
Longleat is home to over 500 animals across a wide range of species, including lions, tigers, rhinos, giraffes, gorillas and koalas.
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