Can you imagine going camping and listening to lions roar? That’s exactly what happened to us. And no, we weren’t camping in South Africa. We were actually in Wiltshire to be precise, on the edge of the Somerset border. Right next door to Longleat Safari Park at Longleat Club Site.

In fact, Longleat Caravan and Motorhome Club Site is within easy walking distance to the main square of Longleat Safari Park. I’m the Community Manager at the Caravan and Motorhome Club so I took the opportunity to book a few days away with my family in the staff caravan. The Adria caravan was all set up for us on arrival and we were ready to start our family adventure!

Caravanning in the rain…again!!

If you follow my blog you’ll know that last time we went caravanning we got rained on…a lot! And it seems we still have the camping curse because this time, even though it’s June and we are officially in British summertime, it rained again…a lot! We still had a wonderful time but I can’t imagine how fabulous it would have been with the sun shining.

We arrived on Sunday but had originally planned on getting there the day before. Somehow I had completely forgotten I had signed up to the MacMillan Mighty Hike on the Saturday. I think I must have blanked the 26 mile hike over the South Downs out of my mind! As such we had to put our trip back by a day and I arrived with aching legs, a bad toe and a limp! But a wonderful sense of achievement and worth the delay for such an amazing cause.

As soon as we arrived on site the heavens opened. Despite this we were greeted with friendly smiles from the staff on site and lots of helpful information about the site and local area.

The Royal Oak Pub

We unpacked the car and made up the beds. As evening was approaching we decided to head off to the local pub, The Royal Oak. This is a really lovely pub just a very short drive away, or about an hours walk, from the site. The food is a little on the pricey side but delicious. There’s a wide selection of meals on the kids menu too.

Both me and Mark had burger and chips with Wookey Hole cheddar cheese melted on top. We’re on holiday after all and I had walked a marathon the day before! Sam had fish, chips and peas with a chocolate brownie and ice cream for dessert. You can see from the picture below, this mostly ended up on his face!

Longleat Club Site

Back to the Club Site and the sun had come out as the evening drew in. Just enough time for us to go and explore the campsite.

First up, Longleat Club Site is in a really unique position right next to the Safari Park. The lake with the sea lions is behind the site and you can hear the sea lions bark for their fish, which is really magical. What really gives the site the wow factor is listening to the lions roar! We first heard them roar in the play park and I couldn’t quite believe how near they sounded. Another creature that has been heard on site is Dennis the Koala bear. He’s a character and has been making a bit of a ruckus trying to get his lady loves (the female koalas) attention; the young flirt!!

The facilities

Although run by the Caravan and Motorhome Club, you don’t have to be a member to stay here. You will however get a discount on site prices if you are a member. They also have a camping area, so if you have a tent it’s a great place to stay. There are showers and toilets that are kept clean daily. Also 2 baby and toddler rooms with bath, shower, hair dryer and mini-toilet; perfect for my potty training son and great to be able to still give him a bedtime bath. There’s also a laundry room and a family games room, which has a pool table, table tennis, colouring and a TV playing CBeebies.

The site also has a really nice play area with slide, swings, playhouse and other play equipment, which Sam loved! Just a short walk away is Longleat Safari park village square, accessible with a ticket during Longleat opening hours.

On the first evening it was warm enough to take Sam to play in the park and explore the site. Then back to the caravan. He had great fun before eventually falling asleep, snuggling up to his new Zebra hot water bottle (which we were kindly gifted) whilst me and Mark enjoyed a glass of wine or two in the awning.

Day Two: Wookey Hole

Having tasted the Wookey Hole cheese and wanting more (I have a mild to medium obsession with cheese) and also having very happy memories of visiting as a child, we decided to head off to Wookey Hole for the day. We couldn’t find any discounts or offers so we purchased the tickets online. £18.95 per adult and £15.15 for children aged 3 to 14 years old for same day online prices.

The Caves

The weather had predicted rain all day so we thought caves would be the perfect option but actually the downpour didn’t start until later in the day. On arrival we headed straight for the cave tour where we were met by the very excellent tour guide, Phil, who made the magic of the caves come alive.

We entered the first cavern of the cave where the story of the Wookey Hole Witch was told to us. I have been fascinated by the Wookey witch since a child. Indeed any stories of women who were believed to be witches, Mother Shipton in Yorkshire being another legend that I have found so interesting. These women who were accused of such atrocities because they were different and chose solitude. Were they really evil, were they mad or were they just misunderstood by the people of their time?

The Wookey Hole Witch

Legend has it that the Wookey Hole Witch was turned to stone by a monk who sought to rid the villagers of the evil witch that dwelled in the cave. The villagers blamed this woman, who lived in the cave with her dog and some goats, of all the wrongs that fell upon the village. The monk chased the witch down a narrow passageway, now referred to as ‘hells ladder’, into an inner cavern. The monk blessed some water and threw it on her and she turned into stone. There’s even a small stone in the cavern, known as the Witch’s kitchen, which is said to be the witch’s dog.

A fascinating legend from the dark ages and a little unbelievable. But in fact in 1912 a 1,000 old almost complete skeleton of a woman was actually found in the caves along with goats bones, a dagger and a polished alabaster ball. The skeleton is said to be the bones of the witch so it’s likely there is some truth in the myth of the Wookey Hole Witch.

The witch’s spirit is said to remain residence of the caves, looking after all the creatures that live in the caves today (bats, frogs, eels and the cave spiders).

Interesting facts about the Wookey Hole Caves

• The temperature of the caves is a constant 11° Celsius which may be one of the reasons the Wookey Hole Witch, and also from another time, men from the iron age, lived in the caves due to the mild temperature throughout the year.

• Archaeologist’s finds indicate that humans have lived in and around the caves for a staggering 50,000 years.

• Animal bones from the ice age have been found in the caves including mammoth, bear, rhinoceros and lion.

• The celts used a chamber of the cave as a burial chamber.

• There are no fish in the underground waters of the cave but divers have seen eels, frogs and freshwater shrimps.

Other attractions at Wookey Hole

After exploring the stunning caves we walked through the Fairy Garden and Dinosaur Park, admiring the giant gorilla on the way.

The rain did eventually arrive so we headed inside to enjoy the soft play, walk through the museums, explore the vintage arcade (which my son thought was scary!) and walk through the hall of mirrors. Unfortunately the circus wasn’t on as we visited during the week so the only thing we had left to do was a quick stop at the gift shop where we treated Sam to a weird fluffy ball he was adamant he wanted and bought a huge lump of the Wookey Hole Cheddar Cheese for us.

I have very fond memories of Wookey Hall with my family when we visited when I was a kid. I remember us laughing and jumping out at each other in the mirror maze with my brother and Granddad, who both are sadly not with us today. So it felt, not just nostalgic, but quite emotional as well revisiting Wookey Hole with my own little family; imagining how much fun it would have been if my brother Simon could have been with us, making my son laugh. I know they would have been the best of friends.

Wookey Hole is most definitely one of those magical places where special memories are created that last a lifetime. I hope to be able to return again one day soon. Maybe when Sam is older have a go at the adventure caving experience, which looks amazing!

Rain, rain and more rain…

Back on the Club Site after a quick stop at Waitrose to buy some treats, we were stuck inside the caravan and awning due to the non-stop torrential rainfall. We had hoped to explore the Club Site some more or go for a walk but the rain was relentless. Never mind, it was cosy in our caravan and we had a delicious evening meal of fresh French break, cheeses, olives and other delicious treats and a lovely bottle of Bolnore English red wine.

An early night and it’s off to Longleat Safari Park tomorrow…Don’t forget to subscribe to my blog to make sure you don’t miss part two of our family caravan adventure at Longleat Club Site.

Watch our Longleat caravan adventure vlog:

If you want to read about our last caravanning adventures check out my blog post caravanning in the rain; yes there’s a theme going on here)!