Longleat is delighted to announce that the Postman Pat^® Village has been successfully relocated, revamped and refurnished and will open its doors to visitors on Saturday 24 May 2008!

The old favourites – Postman Pat^®, Mrs Goggins, PC Selby and the Reverend Timms have all been rehoused in this new Greendale Village. Ted Glen, the local handyman and inventor extraordinaire, has been given a new water mill home whilst Ajay, the stationmaster, will be working hard at the Greendale station!

As Tim Bentley, Longleat Attractions Manager said “Postman Pat is hugely appealing to our younger visitors and he has been sorely missed whilst the attraction has been relocated.

“All the work on this new attraction has been going on behind closed doors to ensure that we don’t lose the magical appeal that is Postman Pat – I have to admit that I’m as excited as any four-year old to see what the village will now look like.

“The joy with the move is that it’s given us the chance to give Greendale and its residents a spring clean. We will now have a dedicated Postman Pat entrance and shop, it is all very exciting,” he added.

A rhesus monkey has given birth to twins at Longleat Safari Park in Wiltshire. Multiple births are extremely rare in primates and these are believed to be the first twins born at the Park.

Initially keepers thought the mother may simply have ‘borrowed’ one of the babies from another female but they’re now convinced that both are hers.

Deputy head warden Ian Turner said: “In the past we have occasionally had instances where a baby has been picked up by another female – often an older sister – for a short period of time.

“However in this case she has been clearly seen suckling both babies over a period of weeks so we’re as certain as we can be that they are twins.

“With a baby on both arms, mum has had to resort to shuffling and climbing trees has proven to be particularly taxing. We’re ensuring however that she doesn’t have to travel far to get her food and both of the youngsters appear fit and well,” he added.

The Safari Park has also seen other new arrivals in recent weeks with the birth of a rare Père David’s Deer, an Eland Calf, baby wallabies and Rhesus Monkeys. Pets Corner staff have also recently announced the birth of five Asian Short Clawed Otter pups who are just beginning to pop their heads out into their enclosure.

Longleat is being invaded by an army of giant ants as part of an extraordinary new outdoor art installation.

The eight ants – each measuring up to five metres high - are the creation of Herefordshire artist Alan Ross and have been sculpted out of steel.

“I have been searching for something extremely unusual to go alongside the Longleat Railway for some time and then I heard about Alan’s work,” explained Tommy Parker, Longleat Grounds Manager.

“Longleat is home to some pretty extraordinary artworks – including the majestic Janus Arch – and we challenged Alan to come up with something inspiring and eye-catching yet family friendly.

“The field where the ants are to be homed, is a natural environment already inhabited by many native British species. We came up with the concept to exaggerate the ants’ size, build in the exotic feel, which is so typical of Longleat and its Safari Park, and leafcutter ants were decided upon.

Alan uses a combination of steel sheets and tubing to create his artworks which he then shapes using a plasma cutter before welding the sections together. The ants are his largest commission to date and took more than three months to complete.

Series 9 of the hugely popular BBC documentary programme ‘Animal Park’ is currently being filmed at Longleat. Get a sneak preview of filming first hand and see if you can spot the film crew or even the presenters, Kate Humble and Ben Fogle, as they go behind the scenes at this world famous Safari Park!

Keep up-to-date with the television listings for BBC Animal Park by visiting the Longleat website…
click here for further details

To celebrate the mini baby boom in the Safari Park, Longleat is offering 3 lucky people the chance to
win 2 adult plus 2 child Passport Tickets
valid for the 2008 season!

Click here to visit the competition section of the Longleat website

Longleat’s video podcasts have been soaring up the itunes charts and have recently appeared in the top five under ‘Kids and Family’.

Check out the latest podcast on the Longleat website. Enjoy exclusive footage of the latest baby animals in the Safari Park and Pets Corner; meet Ruth Charles, Head Guide of Longleat House, as she takes us behind the scenes to discover some of the more unusual of the House chattels; and get a sneak preview of Postman Pat Village before it opens!

Click here to view the Podcast