Bath City Guide - excursions

Longleat
Longleat is regarded as the best example of high Elizabethan architecture in Britain and one of the most beautiful stately homes open to the public. The magnificence of the House itself is matched by the splendour of its surroundings; a spectacular mixture of landscaped parkland, lakes and formal gardens. In 1949 Longleat became the first stately home in England to open its doors to the public and a few years later opened the first safari park outside Africa - visitors can drive through eight enclosures where a wide range of animals can be seen, including: elephant, rhino, giraffe, monkeys, lions and tigers. Longleat has become one of the UK's most popular family tourist attractions. It has been the home of the Thynn family for more than 450 years and is currently lived in by the eccentric 7th Marquess of Bath, Alexander Thynn.

Berkeley Castle
Berkeley (pronounced 'barkly') is a perfectly preserved 840-year-old castle with a keep, dungeon and splendid staterooms with the original tapestries, furniture and silver. It was most famously the scene of King Edward II's gruesome murder in 1327. It is believed that Edward was deposed by his French consort, Queen Isabella, and her paramour, the Earl of Mortimer. The castle also played an important role in the English Civil War (1642-1649). The oldest part of the castle was built in 1153 by Roger De Berkeley, a Norman knight, and has remained in the family ever since. The surrounding meadows, now the setting for pleasant Elizabethan-style gardens, were once flooded to make a formidable moat.