Longleat Safari Park

Longleat Safari and Adventure Park, in Wiltshire, England was opened in 1966 and was the first drive-through safari park outside Africa. The park is situated in the grounds of Longleat House, an English stately home that attracts tourists and is the current home of the 7th Marquess of Bath. The safari park was the first of its kind anywhere in the world and was considered to be a massive breakthrough in the way in which captive animals were kept, with the animals roaming freely and the visitors in cages. Longleat Safari Park and the concept of safari parks were the brainchild of Jimmy Chipperfield, former co-director of Chipperfield's Circus.
Today Longleat's collection comprises over 500 animals, and the whole estate is situated on 9,000 acres of Wiltshire countryside.