[NT73]

In Longleat. The Marquis of Bath's stately pile. The first safari park in the uk.

#1 White Rhino.


#2.Tiger. Its friend died a short while ago. Now there is one.


#3 Longleat. It is a beautiful house and grounds and the tourist trappings (snacks and drinks and souvenirs) are tastfully kept to a minimum.

[Toad]

Lovely color saturation on these 2. Great depth...

[Wedding Shooter]

That is an amazing building. We have nothing like that here in Australia.

[NT73]

England is full of them. Some are ruins, and some are well cared for. Longleat is in Wiltshire in the western half of southern England, south of Bristol. ( you will have to 'google earth' for it.)
The Marquis said on the TV programme, that his ancestor wanted to build the biggest and posing-est house at the time.
Now he was a man of the court, meaning he had the Kings favours, but the court men usually fell out with the King and lost their heads. So he went west, away from the bright lights and built a big house, almost a palace.
Queen Elizabeth 1st later, decided to go and visit, but LB decided it would cost too much and may displease her because of the size and grandeur of the place. He used plagues and servant strikes and bad robbers around, to fob her off. But she was smart and eventually went and was suitably impressed by his ' making her visit pleasant'.
So he kept the house and his head.
LB has a private roof garden on top of the house, among other things disclosed. He is a 60s hippy type, very oddball but also very astute.

[smarti77]

That is an amazing building. We have nothing like that here in Australia.

Thats not true - we have loads of famous and interesting buildings in Australia. Theres the Sydney Opera House, and the um .... the a...um....... No, you're right thats pretty much it.

Great shots - Looks like an interesting place. Thanks for the background story too.
Shane