Warwick Castle and Longleat - any tips?

wept

We ALWAYS take the safari bus - I think its an extra £5 but well worth it when you consider how much windscreen wipers and aerials cost!
Also the guides are brilliant and really informative - you can get off the bus near the giraffes etc and get up really close.
Have a great day - as others have said the safari boat is superb.

johnmc

Don't know about Longleat, but there is no way you will get round Warwick castle in a full day, let alone 3 hours.

"Locals" got a load of vouchers for various local attractions with the rates bill, one of them was pay for an adult, get one in free (I think?). They were published by the Tourist Information, so if staying in the area it's worth calling in there first.

This Voucher entitles the bearer to one free entry when accompanied by a person purchasing a fully priced adult ticket at the relevant Park or Attraction.
Appears to include Warwick Castle.

Of course, if you REALLY want to get in cheap, then join the Scouts. Warwickshire Scouts have a day booked later this year with admission at only one pound when in uniform!

Parking; there are a load of car parks in Warwick with Pay and Display. If visiting on a weekend the Council car park in Cape Road is FREE.

I believe that the Castles own car park also charges ..... money grabbers!

IMO the best way in is the train. The station is about half a mile from the front gate. Means less traffic for me to negotiate on my way home from work :-)

nej

When I went to Longleat, I had just bought a new car (red as well, which is the worst for the monkeys, apparantly) so wanted to take the Safari Bus.

The lady at the kiosk was very reluctant to let me go on it, as they prefer to reserve it for those who aren't able to take a car round. It took a lot of persuading to get on it (and she even said she wouldn't take her car round it!)

My advice is just say you have a convertible (cloth-type roof, not a folding metal one), they are not allowed through, or say you came on the bus.

After seeing the monkeys yank a few bits off, and seeing the large collection of bits at the exit, I'm glad I got on the bus!

monkeyspanner

absfabs wrote: »

Got my tickets for Longleat and Warwick Castle (tesco points) today, looking forward going there in the Easter hols!:j

Any tips as to what's best/what to leave out?

There'll be 3 adults and a 14yr old, and and one of us being disabled we will probably want to spend no more than 3 hours at each site.

Anyone got any experience driving through the monkey jungle? Would like to hear good and bad, so we can make the best informed choice :rolleyes:

Will 3h be enough for safari park and house at Longleat, or should we not even attempt this?

Grateful for any advice :A

Lots of Warwick Castle might be a problem for your disabled companion. Access to the main open area will be fine and probably the main parts of the castle also. There are quite a lot of exhibits and attractions in the smaller areas of the castle walls etc. and access is pretty restricted, spiral staircases and the like. The outside grounds should also be manageable but castles are normally built on easily defended ground and Warwick is no exception. I would see what information you can find about which parts of the castle will be easiest. There should still be loads to fill 3 hours.

Longleat is a good choice especially if you have passport tickets as you can revisit the grounds as many times in the season as you like and do a few attractions each time. If you want to go on the Safari boats get there early and do it first or you may spend a good proportion of your 3 hours waiting in line. I have done the monkey enclosure twice. Once in a company car so it didn't matter too much that they almost had my windscreen trim off. The second time they were too interested in dismantling the car in front, aerial, wing mirror and rear windscreen wiper as far as I remember. Only tip I have is keep moving! You do actually see quite a lot of the monkey enclosure shortly after entering the Safari park at the bottom end of the giraffe enclosure so you don't have to go in to get a close look. I would say 3 hours would be enough to do the safari park and a very quick trip round the house but it does depend how busy it is.