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Minor M
  • 2 days ago
Inside.Longleat.2025.S01E02
Transcript
00:01With around 1 million visitors a year, Longleat House and Safari Park is one of Britain's busiest tourist spots.
00:08And we're going behind the scenes to find out what goes into keeping it all running seven days a week.
00:15Have a nice time.
00:16365 days a year.
00:19Welcome to your Longleat Safari bus.
00:22With lions and red pandas, monkeys and mazes,
00:26constant cleaning and maintenance, the staff have their work cut out.
00:32Everyone's smiling, everyone's getting ready to go, I think.
00:35That's because the sun's shining.
00:37Yeah.
00:38Now Lord and Lady Bath have granted exclusive and unprecedented access to the running of their stately home,
00:4675 years after it first opened to the public.
00:50From the extraordinary yet everyday.
00:53There's no other loo in the world with this view.
00:55To one-off spectaculars, we bring you a year in the life of a very special boat.
01:04This time, the park hosts its first icons of the Sky Festival.
01:11It's amazing to see a spitfire flying over Longleat.
01:15The hyenas are in need of some help.
01:19The play around hyenas is awful.
01:21I really wanted to make people fall in love with them the same way that we have.
01:25We reveal the remarkable story of how the house became home to a group of schoolgirls in the Second World War.
01:32Some of the girls had snowball fights, but apparently they got into terrible trouble for that
01:36and were made to walk up and down the lodge drive twice as punishment.
01:39And the pressure is on for Irish and Ian as they take Lady Bath's Longleat cake test.
01:46One of these is the traditional recipe that we have found in the archive and one of them is a new, updated, hopefully more delicious version.
01:54Longleat receives thousands of visitors every week.
02:05Thank you very much.
02:07All right.
02:07But certain much-loved events really pull in the crowds.
02:12Have a nice day.
02:13It's September, and to celebrate the 75th anniversary of the park's public opening,
02:20Longleat is gearing up for one of the biggest events in its history, the first ever Icons of the Sky.
02:26It will run for three days, and on each day around 100 hot air balloons will take to the skies.
02:36Plus there'll be Spitfire flypasts, helicopter displays and even wing walkers.
02:41And the person responsible for making it all happen is the park's project lead, Daisy.
02:49And with four days to go until liftoff, she's talking head ranger Bob through what happens where.
02:55This is where the launch site will be.
02:59See, so agile.
03:01And this, I think, is going to give it a much better view of where the balloons are.
03:05This is the best space on site.
03:07Hot air ballooning at Longleat is a much-loved tradition, going back all the way to 1824,
03:14when pioneering balloonist George Graham took off from Sydney Gardens in Bath and landed at Longleat.
03:22Various balloon flights followed, and from the early 70s to the 90s, balloon fiestas were a popular site.
03:31But although balloon technology has come on a fair bit since the 1800s,
03:34with all sorts of shapes and sizes now possible,
03:38there's one thing that today's pilots can't control any better than they could in 1824.
03:46Do you have any predictions on wind direction yet?
03:49No, we're going to currently look at that a little bit closer to the time, because let's be honest...
03:54Which way do we want it to be?
03:55Currently it's going every way.
03:56That way?
03:56Yeah, ideally.
03:58Yeah.
03:58Not towards Safari or Saltzwick.
04:00Daisy is keeping her fingers crossed.
04:02The wind won't take the balloons over the Safari Park.
04:06Hot air balloons passing low over the lion enclosure is, for obvious reasons, a definite no-no.
04:12If wind direction goes towards Safari, which would be that direction, we'd either have to call a no-fly,
04:19or all of the balloons would have to ascend, basically, to a certain height to be able to go over the Safari.
04:25If it's a little bit of a quicker crosswind, we won't be able to make them fly,
04:29because obviously it would be too risky for them being over the animal, so that would be a no-fly.
04:32Fingers crossed the wind plays ball, because around 100 grounded balloons would be a major disappointment.
04:40For the next few days, Daisy and Bob will be watching the weather, worrying.
04:49The park is home to over 120 species of animals.
04:54Over in the carnivore section, the big cats are always the most popular draw.
04:59But living just metres away is another animal, whose reputation precedes it, just not in a good way.
05:09Scavengers.
05:11Got a mischievous laugh.
05:14They're always the villain in films and wherever they're portrayed.
05:17Yeah.
05:18Little vultures, aren't they?
05:20They seem like vicious, angry dogs.
05:24They're scary, like, everyone has a bad rap for them, like the Lion King, they're all quite scary.
05:27Meet Ekoma and Nakuru, the park's two male hyenas.
05:32VIP manager Beth thinks they have a PR problem.
05:36Hello, boys.
05:37So, together with keeper Ian, she's on a mission to try and change people's opinions of these often misunderstood animals.
05:44Come on, then.
05:46The PR on hyenas is awful.
05:48They are scavengers, but they are also incredible predators.
05:51But they get that bad rap because they are portrayed to go out and steal food from the lions, from everything that moves, really.
05:59You know, they don't always do the nicest jobs in the world, but their job in the world is to clear the ecosystem, is to keep it clean.
06:05They're dustbin men of Africa, aren't they?
06:06A bit like the vultures.
06:07So, if there's a dead carcass around, lions will eat most of it, but they leave bits and pieces, and then the hyenas will come and clear everything away and get rid of all the disease and stuff.
06:16Absolutely.
06:16But they actually hunt and do their own feeding as well, and will take down animals.
06:21Yeah, they're incredible hunters.
06:22They're more successful than lions, for sure.
06:24But you just don't see that as much.
06:28But how is Beth planning to reverse the reputation of these hyenas?
06:33I really want to do an experience with them, to make people fall in love with them the same way that we have.
06:39Longleat already offers VIP experience packages, where guests can get up close and personal with lots of incredible animals.
06:46And Beth wants to create a brand new experience with the hyenas, Ikomo and Akuru.
06:53By helping people get to know them better, Beth thinks the public will come to love the hyenas as much as she does.
07:00Since working here at Longleat, I have fallen in love with hyenas, and now I want to share that love with everybody.
07:06I don't want to take anything away from the cheetahs or the lions or the tigers here, because they all deserve the attention.
07:11But these guys just aren't getting it, and that's what I want to get across to people.
07:14It's why they are so wonderful.
07:19Beth knows what she wants to do. Now she just needs to figure out how to do it.
07:30Far from the carnivore enclosure, Daisy's listening out for a completely different type of roar.
07:36This year, the Icons of the Sky Festival will feature planes for the first time,
07:41as well as Spitfires and Pyrotechnic planes, a team of wingwalkers will also be showing off their moves.
07:51So Daisy's come up to Gloucestershire to talk through plans with Emma and Kirsten.
07:57Hello! Hi!
08:00A.K.A. the Aerobatic Super Wingwalkers.
08:03So this is...
08:15This is one of the aeroplanes that we have.
08:18Wow!
08:18Can I touch it?
08:19Absolutely, yeah.
08:21It's beautiful, but it doesn't feel sturdy.
08:24This is fabric here.
08:26That doesn't feel like something I'd want to be stood on.
08:29So what's the main quality you need to be a wingwalker?
08:34You have to be slightly mad to start?
08:36A little bit.
08:37Just a little bit mad.
08:38Just a little bit mad.
08:39You have to really love it to be doing it as long as we have.
08:42I mean, how do you prepare for it? Do you have to be athletic?
08:47Yeah.
08:47So my background's in circus, trapeze, which was really fun, and Emma used to be a dancer.
08:53Oh my God!
08:54There's a lot of training that's involved as well.
08:57We do a lot of air shows, performing in all sorts of different places.
09:01We are very lucky.
09:02We just have to sit on the wing and wave.
09:05Oh yeah, just sit there.
09:06I don't...
09:07Oh, well, I think we know you're not just sitting there.
09:08I think we've got the easier job.
09:09Yeah.
09:10Top speed in our display is 165 miles an hour for us.
09:17And that's when we're diving in for the loop the loop, which is really fun.
09:22What will happen if it rains?
09:24Oh, if it rains, we will still perform.
09:28Having learnt a bit about wingwalking, Daisy can't resist the opportunity to sort of try it out for herself.
09:35So one leg goes over there.
09:37Right.
09:37Yeah, with this hand here, we're going to put it forward like that.
09:40So this is what we do when we are passing the crowd.
09:44This move makes me feel like you're a superhero.
09:46Now imagine doing this at over 100 miles an hour and a few thousand feet up in the air.
09:53What you girls do is amazing.
09:56So you're a little bit insane.
09:58Just a little bit.
09:59Just a little bit insane.
10:00Thank you for having us at Longley.
10:04Coming up...
10:05We're hopefully well protected.
10:09Dr. Tom comes face to face with a wolf pack.
10:13And the balloons and crowd begin to gather for icons of the sky.
10:19But the forecast leaves Daisy feeling under the weather.
10:23Currently we are on a 50-50, which is gutting.
10:26The icons of the sky festival is fast approaching, with its balloon, plane and helicopter extravaganza.
10:41And each of the three days will end with a spectacular and loud fireworks display.
10:46But as any of the 20 million UK pet owners will tell you, sudden loud noises, especially fireworks, can cause some animals distress.
10:58No matter what's happening at the park, the welfare of its animals always comes first.
11:03So conservation research manager Dr. Tom will be monitoring certain species before, during and after the fireworks to make sure they're not adversely affected.
11:15With their sensitive hearing, dogs can be particularly susceptible to noise.
11:20But with no domestic dogs at the park, Dr. Tom is monitoring the closest available alternative.
11:27So we are just about to go and install a camera trap so we can try and monitor the walls and parts of the wolf reserve where we can't really see from our kind of viewpoint.
11:42Dr. Tom and his team are using a combination of night vision cameras and tools called ethograms to monitor the animal's behaviour.
11:50In this area, we're going to have to have someone, another keeper, come and guard us, just so the wolves won't come near us.
11:58So if they do, they can kind of warn us and we can get back in the car.
12:03We're hopefully well protected.
12:23Dr. Tom is hoping that by using the camera footage and ethogram data, he'll be able to see what the animal's usual behaviour is like.
12:34And if anything like fireworks causes them to act differently or become distressed.
12:42So the camera we're going to be using is a night vision camera, so it can pick up activity daytime and nighttime.
12:47There's always a bit of excitement when you get out in an animal enclosure, even if it's just the camels and stuff.
12:55But yeah, here is a little bit different.
12:57Right, okay, so that's looking that way.
12:59So it's looking back across the reserve into the area where the wolves are sat now, and that's the area they kind of like to hang out.
13:04So if they're up here when we're doing the ethograms, this will catch it when we can't see them down there.
13:10Yeah, that'll be good.
13:11Dr. Tom's team will also be monitoring the red pandas, as their enclosure is closest to where the fireworks will be exploding.
13:19With the camera set, the team are ready to see how the animals will react to loud noises.
13:31It's just after dawn on Saturday, and icons of the sky has arrived.
13:37How are we?
13:38And amazingly, after all Daisy's weather worries, the winds are light and the balloons can take off.
13:45Yes!
13:47It is the day, it's the first full event day, the sun is shining, the skies are blue.
13:51This is literally all you can ask for with a balloon event, which is good weather.
13:55And look at this!
13:59Around 100 balloons are taking part in the festival.
14:04And over in another field...
14:06Yeah, this looks a good spot for us this morning.
14:09One of them is being prepared for launch.
14:13Pilot Gary Davis and his sister Alex are heading out for what they call a short hop.
14:19Yeah, that's it.
14:20Needed a bit of weight on it, Gary.
14:23Needed a bit of beef on that.
14:25Pull that, right, go on, pull it.
14:26Although the winds are light enough to fly, they're still blowing towards the safari, and are predicted to get stronger as the morning goes on.
14:35So the balloon marshals have ruled that the balloons mustn't go too high, and be back on the ground before the winds can whisk them away.
14:42Now we're all ready, we've done all our final checks, and we're now ready for takeoff.
14:45Okay.
14:50So you're away.
14:53See you in a bit.
14:54See you in a bit.
14:55Yeah, we're just getting, you know, the low-level winds.
15:10It's a bit variable in this bowl here.
15:12But the plan is just to sort of keep us up as long as we can, so we can keep into the estate.
15:18We don't have any control, generally, with direction.
15:22The only control you have is up and down.
15:26So we're just going to brush over these trees here.
15:30Looks like you need a bit more up, Gary.
15:35There you go, look at that.
15:37Amazing.
15:42And having to fly low means they can appreciate the splendor of the park even more.
16:02Beautiful, isn't it?
16:04Absolutely amazing.
16:06It's just an iconic building as well.
16:08Being able to fly around the stately homes, it's a privilege.
16:13You don't often get to do it.
16:15Why would you not?
16:15Why would you not want to?
16:22Whilst Gary flies, Alex is reading up on the very specific emergency procedures.
16:28So if you happen to accidentally have to land in the lions in an emergency situation,
16:34remain in your basket, because the lions like a hamper.
16:39Jokes aside, health and safety is paramount.
16:43So after their short hop, it's soon time to land.
16:48Yeah, we're going to land in this bit here.
16:50We're just going to play it very safe.
16:52Go over this.
16:54Not close enough, eh?
16:56Longley is just fantastic.
17:03It's one of our best at UK events.
17:05The weather's been kind to us.
17:08And, you know, everybody gets together and has some fun.
17:11With their morning flight finished, Gary and Alex are off to get some breakfast
17:15and get a prime spot for the upcoming aeroplane displays.
17:20Fantastic.
17:21Short but sweet.
17:25VIP manager Beth is out to change the perceptions of hyenas.
17:29She's decided that creating a hyena VIP experience is the best way to do this,
17:35so that people can get closer to these successful predators and learn more about them.
17:40Today, she's planning the new hyena experience with carnivore keeper Ryan.
17:45Right, we'll try not to spill any of this in your nice, clean truck.
17:50They need to test if the shy hyenas, who usually eat their food out of sight in their den,
17:55will come close enough to the fence to make a visitor experience possible.
17:58It's a privilege to spend these mornings with the animals.
18:03Driving into the reserves is one of the best feelings.
18:07Yeah.
18:09Everyone's smiling.
18:10Everyone's getting ready to go, I think.
18:12That's because the sun's shining.
18:14Yeah.
18:14Usually, the shy hyenas' food is left for them out of sight,
18:19so they can eat it at their leisure and in private.
18:23Good morning, boys.
18:24Beth and Ryan need to test if the hyenas will come and collect the meat
18:27that's thrown for them close to the fence.
18:30If they don't, Beth's idea for an up-and-close personal experience with the animals
18:35will be over before it's even begun.
18:38I reckon just about here.
18:40Yeah.
18:41Come on then, buddy.
18:42Right there.
18:45Nearly on his head.
18:47I don't think he realised that one.
18:48I don't think he did.
18:53Oh.
18:53Initially, it seems the hyenas might be too shy to come close.
18:58Give it time.
19:00But Beth and Ryan are nothing if not persistent.
19:03One more.
19:04Go on.
19:06Finally, their efforts pay off.
19:08It works.
19:09Oh, there we go.
19:10He has woken him up.
19:11Oh, amazing.
19:12Look how close they are.
19:13This is going to be awesome.
19:14Oh, this is amazing.
19:16It's all going well until someone gets a bit too excited.
19:21Oh, no way.
19:24That was a really bad throw, Ryan.
19:26I reckon just let's give it a shake.
19:28Oh, well done.
19:28And we've got it out.
19:29And we've got it out.
19:29This is awesome.
19:30We're throwing the chunks over.
19:32They're foraging for the chunks.
19:34You're seeing two different behaviours at play as well.
19:36You are seeing the Kuma is the more confident one who is coming in first.
19:40So he, you know, in the wild, he'd be the one taking on these lions.
19:43100%.
19:43And Nakuru, I reckon he'd be the one who come in sneakily afterwards, just get their scraps
19:48at the end.
19:49Nakuru, he's very calculated.
19:50He understands what's going on a lot better than Nakuma.
19:52He watches it, yeah.
19:53But what I think will be amazing is for the guests to see that they have their own characters
19:56and personalities.
19:57And hopefully that will help break down the negative connotations that these guys have.
20:02With the meet of success, Beth and Ryan are super happy with a Kuma and Nakuru's reaction.
20:09Test run complete.
20:11Yes.
20:12And now we just need to bring the guests.
20:15Bring some guests up.
20:17Nice.
20:20Still to come, has head ranger Bob met his match?
20:25I've done it long enough to know I can't really compete against the, what, 60-foot Rupert the Bear.
20:30Lord Barth has the best seat in the house as the planes take to the sky.
20:35So it's amazing to see a Spitfire flying over Longleat.
20:40This is my granny, Heather, sitting on the end here.
20:44And staff member Roz recalls her granny's Longleat adventures as a World War II evacuee.
21:00With the sun shining, visitors are now pouring into the park, which is great news for Daisy.
21:10Finally, I'm feeling a bit more relaxed that the sky is blue.
21:13The crowd are cheering.
21:15Yeah, this is feeling good now.
21:17But things aren't quite so good for head ranger and parking pro Bob.
21:20You can see the way the traffic's just slowing down, just where Rupert is getting inflated.
21:27But then I've done it long enough to know I can't really compete against the, what, 60-foot Rupert the Bear.
21:34Even I would stop to look at that, to be fair.
21:37On a day like today, the park can welcome up to 4,000 vehicles.
21:42And Bob usually has things under control.
21:47But today is proving a bit more of a challenge.
21:51As you can see here, we've got a bit of traffic.
21:53But as you can see, because they've got the balloons, some of them will stop, start taking photos, things like that.
21:58So we've got to try to get them to keep rolling, keep rolling, and not actually come to a full stop until they get to that car park over there.
22:04Back at the entrance, the queue of cars is mounting.
22:09Bob and his team need to keep things flowing.
22:13This is my 21st season.
22:15So I've been pretty much done traffic manager for 20 of them.
22:18With so many people arriving at once, Bob needs a bit of help to keep things moving.
22:24Primo's got the full-on team.
22:25So at the moment I've probably got about 22 people on the ground.
22:28But they're also doing the bins, the toilets.
22:31Three Ts.
22:32Toilets, trash, and traffic.
22:35You see, look at Josh's skills there.
22:37That took eight years to learn that.
22:39And then we've got Brian there.
22:40He's not doing a lot at the moment.
22:43But he is outstanding in his field.
22:48Soon, Bob and the team get traffic flowing again.
22:51Receiving.
22:53Can I send cars on again?
22:56Yeah, it shouldn't be a problem.
22:57I reckon you could send at least 50.
22:59Bob and his team have got everyone parked, just in time for the beginning of the spectacular air display.
23:05There are formation flypacks from the much-loved Tiger Moth biplane.
23:20Gazelle helicopters show what they can do.
23:23Father and son team, Tim and Tom Dews, fly loop-the-loops in their Grob 109B motor gliders.
23:34Into a beautiful formation loop.
23:36And, of course, winged walkers, Emma and Kirsten, wow the crowds with their incredible acrobatic moves.
23:47Now, smoke on.
23:49I'm diving.
23:50Down to three at 140 miles an hour.
23:54High up on the roof of the house, Lord Barth is taking it all in.
24:14And there's one plane in particular he's been looking forward to seeing.
24:18Who doesn't love a Spitfire?
24:22It's amazing to see a Spitfire flying over Longleat, particularly as they were built just down the road.
24:39Over 80 years before today's display, the park is thought to have seen Spitfires before.
24:45During World War II, witnesses described seeing a dogfight, probably involving Spitfires, in the skies above Longleat and the eventual demise of a German plane.
24:57In fact, the park is inextricably linked with both world wars.
25:01During the First World War, over 2,000 soldiers were treated here in a makeshift hospital.
25:07Ground floor rooms like the saloon and the state dining room were used as wards,
25:11with the Lord's bedroom turned into an operating theatre.
25:16The heir to Longleat at the time was John Alexander Thin, the current Lord Barth's great-uncle.
25:21He went off to fight in France and was tragically killed in 1916, aged just 20.
25:27More on him later.
25:29Many men from the estate went to fight in the Great War, including John Hales,
25:33grandfather of long-time staff member and estate surveyor Tim Bentley.
25:37John's picture can be seen in one of the permanent exhibitions on site.
25:42There's a photograph of my grandfather with the team of gamekeepers in 1919.
25:51So there he is, there's one on the end, with the Charlie Chaplin moustache, as it was in them days.
25:57He went off to the First World War, you know, had a tough time, but, you know, survived.
26:03So this is not that long after he came back to work at Longleat.
26:08And I've got a photograph of him taken only about two years before.
26:14And you just would not think it's the same person.
26:17But it's quite clear to see in the two pictures how moustache had aged in that time.
26:24I mean, it's like a, more like a 59-year-old than a 29-year-old.
26:29I don't know why I'm getting emotional, it's stupid.
26:36I didn't think I wouldn't.
26:37It's funny.
26:39Over 100 years later, the experience of those who fought in the trenches
26:44and the horrors they must have gone through still evokes great emotion.
26:49Happily, Tim's grandfather was able to rebuild his life after the war.
26:53You know, walk back to the peaceful lanes and woodlands of Longleat,
27:00back to his life as a gamekeeper, you know, to go on and have nine healthy children that lived,
27:09you know, they went on to live long lives.
27:13Thank you, Grandad.
27:15Yeah, we'll keep Longleat going.
27:18It'll still be here in another 100 years' time.
27:23Just 20 years after Tim's grandfather came home, the world was at war again.
27:31And once again, the estate played an important role.
27:35It was the site of numerous RAF storage depots
27:38and an American military hospital for 750 injured soldiers.
27:44Longleat also housed a school for daughters of officers of the army,
27:49where another staff member, Roz Hallam's grandmother, was a pupil.
27:52This is the view that my granny would have had from her dormitory window.
27:58This is my granny, Heather, sitting on the end here.
28:03She was a schoolgirl from the royal school in Bath
28:06and they were evacuated to Longleat during the Second World War.
28:10It is amazing to think that granny actually got to live here,
28:16but I think while it seems immensely grand living in a stately home,
28:21I think conditions were fairly harsh, obviously, during the war.
28:24So it wasn't much in the way of heating, rationing,
28:27so the food was fairly slim pickings, I think.
28:31Heather was a prolific writer,
28:33and some of her letters home give a real sense of life on the estate.
28:37So they had a particularly cold winter here
28:41where the half-mile pond froze over completely
28:44and the girls actually went ice-skating on the lake.
28:47Some of the girls had snowball fights and would make snowmen,
28:49but apparently they got into terrible trouble for that
28:51and were put on what she calls a criminal list
28:53and were made to walk up and down the lodge drive twice as punishment,
28:57which seems a little unfair.
29:00It's a long drive.
29:01Down in the cellar of the house,
29:05it's easy to imagine the mix of excitement and fear
29:08the girls would have felt when the first air raid sirens went off.
29:13We have had our first air raid warning in the school this week.
29:17They sent us down to the underground, where we remained for four hours.
29:21It was a most extraordinary sight to see the whole school
29:23sitting or reclining on camp stalls
29:25with capes over them trying to get comfortable.
29:28In the end, there proved to be some extra stalls
29:31and Betty Blunt and I got five between us and were quite comfortable.
29:35I got to sleep quite quickly when we got back to bed
29:37and we had breakfast half an hour later than usual.
29:42So as a 17-year-old girl,
29:44obviously very worried about her comfort and her breakfast,
29:47which is fair.
29:48I think I'd be the same.
29:50Thanks to Heather's letters,
29:52another part of the estate's history has been preserved.
29:58Coming up...
30:01I don't know what I was expecting,
30:02but I wasn't expecting them to be this calm.
30:04Beth and Ryan test out their hyena experience
30:07on some willing guinea pigs.
30:09The pressure is on for staff members,
30:11Irish and Ian,
30:12as they take Lady Bath's longleat cake test.
30:16One of these is the traditional recipe
30:18that we have found in the archive,
30:19and one of them is a new, updated,
30:22hopefully more delicious version.
30:23And how will the park's animals fare
30:26when icons of the sky goes out with a bang?
30:38Having established the hyenas will come close to the fence for food,
30:42Beth and Ryan have one more thing to do
30:44before they can launch the new hyena experience.
30:47Estate employees Amy, Andy and Lauren
30:51have been asked to swap the office for the outdoors
30:54to test the new set-up.
30:56So it's going to be a bit of a different change of scenery for you all,
30:59which is really exciting.
31:00If it goes well,
31:01the tour can be launched on the public.
31:04Cool, right, let's go.
31:05You all comfy?
31:06Beth on me there.
31:07If it doesn't,
31:08it's back to the drawing board.
31:11I'm looking forward to the hyenas.
31:13I don't really know too much about them.
31:15They make me a bit nervous.
31:17Yeah, I've been here nearly 15 years
31:19and I've always wanted to see something like this,
31:21so getting a chance to do it
31:22and being some of the first people to do it
31:23is really, really cool.
31:26I can't see you smile.
31:35Can you pull it up and play with us?
31:38Oh, hello, no girl.
31:40You're so cute.
31:41So, guys, what's your first impressions
31:46being this close to our hyenas?
31:48Already different.
31:50Really?
31:50Yeah, not what I was expecting.
31:52They're, like, they're softer.
31:53Yeah.
31:53You can see, like, their faces are not angry.
31:57Yeah.
31:57Yeah, exactly.
31:58This is perfect.
31:58That's exactly what I wanted.
31:59They've got really cool eyes.
32:02Yeah.
32:02They just seem really chilled out.
32:04Yeah.
32:04I don't know what I was expecting,
32:06but I wasn't expecting them to be this calm.
32:08And seeing them up close, like,
32:10they're really cute.
32:11Yeah, they are.
32:12So far, so good.
32:14But Willy Kilmer and Nakuru respond
32:16to being fed in the same way
32:17when more people are present.
32:19Come on, boys.
32:19Come on, boys.
32:23Come on, Nakuru.
32:24They're taking it in turn.
32:28They're good together, aren't they?
32:30I wasn't expecting that.
32:31When it comes to feed,
32:31I was expecting it to just be most powerful gets it.
32:34There we go.
32:35That's got to be the closest
32:36any non-keeper has got to the hyenas.
32:39Yeah.
32:41They're not fazed by us, really, at all, either.
32:44And their little faces are so cute.
32:47I never thought I'd say hyena is cute,
32:49but I'm going to say that now.
32:52I'll definitely slow down next time
32:54and tell other people to do the same as well,
32:56because they are cool.
32:57Opinion changed.
32:58Yeah.
32:59Yeah, yeah.
33:01Success.
33:02It looks like getting really close
33:03to the hyenas has had the desired effect,
33:06although Amy isn't ready for a cuddle just yet.
33:10I'm glad we're on this side of the fence.
33:12I'll say that.
33:14There's just enough time for photos
33:16with the stars of the show
33:17before it's time to head back.
33:19It's job done for Beth and Ryan
33:21as Ikoma and Nakuru
33:23have won their visitors over
33:25and challenged those negative perceptions.
33:28Let's go.
33:29Hopefully, it won't be long before the public
33:31get the chance to know
33:32these amazing animals a bit better.
33:35The heritage of Longleat is everywhere you look.
33:43Grand buildings,
33:45world-famous gardens,
33:48incredible decor.
33:50Come on into the next room.
33:52But who'd have thought cake would feature on that list?
33:55But this fruity number,
33:59often enjoyed with a slice of cheese
34:00by the fifth Marquess,
34:02is indeed a much-loved tradition.
34:05Recently, however,
34:06it has fallen a little out of fashion.
34:08To celebrate the 75th anniversary
34:11of the house opening to the public,
34:14the current Marchioness of Bath
34:15has decided to update the recipe
34:17and put it back on sale.
34:20So, the Longleat cake,
34:22as you know very well,
34:23is part of our history here
34:24that's been around for centuries and centuries,
34:26and we're bringing it back.
34:28The oldest surviving recipe dates back to 1878,
34:32and the cake is very much a part of the estate's history.
34:36I love the fact that, you know,
34:38it has such references to the history of the house,
34:41all the way back to the 19th century
34:42with its original sort of appearance in our archive,
34:46for, like, in the war as well,
34:47when the 9th Viscount Weymouth asked for it.
34:50He wrote home and asked for it.
34:51The 9th Viscount Weymouth,
34:53the current Lord Bath's great-uncle,
34:55was killed on active service during World War I.
34:59The letter he wrote home
35:00asking for Longleat cake
35:01to be sent to the front
35:03still survives in the archives
35:05and adds another layer of history
35:07to a constantly evolving recipe.
35:10It's popped up over the centuries, literally,
35:13and I love that tradition,
35:15and I love that we can have it now today.
35:17Lady Bath has commissioned a new cake,
35:19which will be placed
35:20in the estate's accommodation and shops,
35:23but she wants Irish and Ian to taste test
35:25the old version against the new one.
35:27It's tough working at Longleat.
35:29One of these is the traditional recipe
35:33that we have found in the archive,
35:34and one of them is a new, updated,
35:36hopefully more delicious version.
35:39Irish is in charge of guest accommodation
35:41and will be putting the chosen cake
35:43in welcome hampers.
35:45What do you think of the cake?
35:47I'm so excited for the new version.
35:48I love you.
35:49I love you.
35:50I'm obsessed with the cake.
35:51Always.
35:53Ian's tasting credentials
35:54are somewhat less obvious.
35:57Hello, and you just get cake
35:58because we love you.
35:59Yeah.
36:00You're just a Longleat legend.
36:02You get all the cake.
36:03Have you had it before?
36:04No, never.
36:05Oh, my goodness.
36:06So this will be complete new for me.
36:08Seems like reason enough to be here.
36:10Well, you can go first.
36:13Guest of honour.
36:13So, have a piece each.
36:15Sure.
36:17It's like a party.
36:19First up, cake A.
36:22Is that all right?
36:23It tastes really nice.
36:24To be honest.
36:25Quite nice bits of fruit in it.
36:27Yeah.
36:27I quite like it.
36:28It's quite dense.
36:29It's got quite a lot of fruit in it,
36:31so the fruit almost brings the sweetness
36:32to the cake, so I quite like that.
36:34Nice bits of fruit in it, though.
36:35Nice and soft.
36:36So it's not claggy.
36:38It's not sticking in your mouth.
36:40No, it doesn't clump together.
36:42I could eat three or four more, for sure.
36:44Well, you can.
36:46So cake A is a hit.
36:48How will cake B compare?
36:50Well, you can feel the difference.
36:51Yeah.
36:52It's a bit more...
36:52And the fruit has not spread throughout.
36:54It's all the way to the top, isn't it?
36:55It's a bit more soggy.
36:56So different, though.
36:57Mm-hm.
36:58Tastes all right.
36:59Mm-hm.
37:00It's a bit more...
37:01I want to say eggy.
37:02Yeah.
37:03It's got some nice, crunchy bits on it, though,
37:04on the outside.
37:05Mm-hm.
37:05They're quite nice.
37:06Mm-hm.
37:07It just feels a bit...
37:08I could eat loads of it, but...
37:11Still cake.
37:11I definitely prefer that one.
37:13Like you said, that's more of a...
37:15It's balanced, isn't it?
37:16...a Christmassy cake.
37:16Yeah.
37:17You know, it's got a nice flavour.
37:18Yeah.
37:19Whereas this one is quite pleasant,
37:21but it's quite soggy.
37:22No, I think I agree with you there, Ian.
37:25This one's the best one.
37:26The spices are all balanced, and it does...
37:28You bite into it, and it's just...
37:30It's Christmas.
37:32So Irish and Ian have both gone for cake A.
37:35But have they chosen wisely?
37:38All we've got to hope now is it's still worse than the job tomorrow.
37:41Yeah.
37:42With more on the line than they first thought,
37:45it's time for the moment of truth.
37:47Well, that is the new one.
37:51That's the new one.
37:51Emma's Kitchen version.
37:53That's good, then.
37:53That is as close as we think we can get it to what they used to make.
37:57Wow.
37:57Yeah.
37:57But I think our taste buds are different now.
37:59Yeah.
37:59I'm sure that was delicious in the 19th century.
38:03Maybe we can just tweak it slightly.
38:05Yeah.
38:06A little bit.
38:06Well, it's tweaked good.
38:07Your own twist on it.
38:08Thank goodness you like it.
38:09Can you imagine?
38:10Back to the drawing board.
38:10Yeah.
38:11It's a relief all round as the new recipe wins out.
38:21And with the staff's seal of approval,
38:23it won't be long before Longleat Cake is back on the menu
38:26and a new chapter in its history has begun.
38:29An action-packed day is coming to a close.
38:40With the darkness of night comes one final opportunity to wow the crowds
38:44and for the icons of the sky to really shine.
38:49So we've currently got our pyro planes in the sky.
38:52And even the event organiser is struggling to believe what she's seeing.
39:04Currently permazing everyone with the most ridiculous aerobatics in planes
39:08with fireworks strapped to their wings.
39:11Not something I would do.
39:14And now they're upside down.
39:18Wow.
39:18But yeah, just when they start to fly away,
39:21it means we're on the big countdown for the night glow, for the fireworks.
39:24And now they're on the big countdown.
39:54The fireworks light up the sky.
39:56Over in Wolfwood, the wolves being monitored
39:59are showing no signs of any distress or abnormal behaviour.
40:04And over in the walking safari,
40:07the red panda's behaviour is completely normal too.
40:10It's great news.
40:12The show can go on.
40:17Only minutes after the last firework fades.
40:22The crowd's vanish.
40:24Events one to events three.
40:35I can confirm that is sight clear.
40:40And Daisy's left to reflect on yet another incredible event.
40:46We did it.
40:47The balloons went up, the planes stayed in the sky and the fireworks went bang.
40:52Right, go warm up now.
40:54Thank you so much.
40:55Being the pro she is, Daisy's always thirsty.
40:59For knowledge.
41:00Today, I learned that when you go up in a flight and land safely,
41:06you're supposed to, as a tradition,
41:09have a glass of champagne.
41:11So, what better way to wrap this event than everyone to have...
41:17Oh, champagne!
41:24Yes!
41:25Next time on 75 Years at Longleat,
41:32Lady Bath introduces us to her favourite animals.
41:35So adorable.
41:37We reveal how Lord Bath's Corgi sparked a lifelong love affair for Elizabeth II.
41:45It's 60 years since Longleat Railway started.
41:49We meet the train drivers and their biggest fans.
41:52So I feel a bit mean sometimes when they think we're going to feed them.
41:58And all we've got is a pair of spanners, no fish.
42:02And how will the housecleaning team clean a 56-foot-high chandelier?
42:07It's a little bit of a heart-in-your-throat moment.
42:22We'll see you next time.