Along the rolling hills of Wiltshire lies the Longleat stately home, a well preserved example of Elizabethan architecture. The house is currently occupied by English politician Alexander Thynne, the 7th marquess of Bath.

The house is set within 4,000 acres of woodland and farmland with the world's largest hedge maze.

During a port visit to Portsmouth, England, Sailors aboard the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS George H.W. Bush (CVN 77) (GHWB) took the opportunity to embark on a Morale, Welfare and Recreation (MWR) tour to the Longleat House and Safari in Wiltshire.

"It was truly awe inspiring to see such beautiful scenery," said Interior Communications Electrician 2nd Class Lysa Chance. "Exploring both the hedge maze and the massive estate was breath-taking."

The Sailors were able to tour the 17th century mansion and observe the Renaissance artistry of the rooms.

The quarters that were available for tourists to explore included a lower dining room where Queen Elizabeth II dined to celebrate the 400th birthday of the house; a saloon; and the Red Library that houses more than 5,000 books, including some books that date before the house was built in 1580.

"The red library was extraordinary," said Chance. "Each book was so distinguished and old. What were those books about? Who read them before? It left me wanting to know more about the people associated with the Longleat house."

As well as the red library, the house includes many other rooms like the breakfast room. The breakfast room displays portraits of the seven marquesses and their wives the marchionesses. The "Marquess of Bath" was a title in the peerage of Great Britain given by King George III in 1789. Duke was the highest order in the peerage, then followed by marquess, earl, viscount and lastly, baron.

However, the Elizabethan house was not the main attraction at the site. To generate revenue to maintain the Longleat estate, a safari park was opened to the public in 1966.

"It was amazing to see acres of beautiful land, but to then see these exotic animals roaming freely on the land was priceless," said Aviation Survival Equipmentman 2nd Class Tricia Watts. "These animals were not cooped up in their cages like you would see at most zoos, but in fact, they were free and they were walking right next to the bus we were in."

The Longleat Safari and Adventure Park was the first drive-through safari park outside Africa and is home to more than 500 animals including tigers, lions, rhinos, elephants, monkeys, giraffes and wolves.

"I was a big fan of seeing each and every animal, but I was particularly impressed with the lions," said Watts. "They looked like such powerful creatures."

In addition to the drive-through safari, the park has a variety of small animal enclosures such as a walk-through monkey temple and a penguin island where visitors can observe marine life underwater. There is also a jungle cruise which is a half mile ride around a lake to see a gorilla colony, eastern white pelicans, two hippopotamuses and a group of sea lions.

At the end of the day, GHWB Sailors had the opportunity to enjoy a meal at a number of cafes within the park that served hot pastries, paninis and pizza.

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