Bath Children’s Literature Festival welcomes Longleat to the pride

Bath Children’s Literature Festival is delighted to announce that the 2025 festival will be staged in association with Longleat.

This autumn’s children’s literature festival will run from Friday 26 September to Sunday 5 October, bringing some of the biggest and best loved names in the world of children’s books to a family audience of thousands.

The new collaboration between the UK’s largest stand alone children’s book festival in Bath and Longleat in Wiltshire, one of the first stately homes to open to the public in 1949 and which created the first safari park outside Africa nearly 60 years ago, will provide exciting opportunities and a broader audience for both.

This year marks the 18th anniversary of Bath Children’s Literature Festival, which was founded in 2007 by John and Gill McLay who remain artistic directors.

Festival director, John McLay, said: “We’re thrilled to be working with Longleat this year. They are the perfect partner for the Bath Children’s Literature Festival. We both love families, and animals, and history, and we are both committed to entertain and educate young people in a fun way.

“Books are full of adventures in the imagination – at Longleat those adventures are real! The 2025 Bath Children’s Literature Festival in association with Longleat is shaping up to be another amazing year, and we’ll have plenty of events with animal connections to celebrate this exciting partnership. Look out for news of the line-up in the early summer.”

Scott Ashman, head of operations at Longleat, said: “Longleat has been in the same family for 16 generations and we have been providing great days out for families for decades. Both our organisations are focussed on ensuring children and young people enjoy opportunities and have fun while learning at the same time. We are looking forward to working with the festival to inspire children and bring imaginary worlds to life. This is an exciting chapter for us all.”

Members at Longleat and Friends of Bath Festivals will enjoy priority access to festival tickets.

If your children have been inspired by animal stories such as The Tiger Who Came to Tea, You Can’t Take An Elephant on the Bus, Giraffes Can’t Dance or The Lion Inside, they will love the chance to be part of this exciting collaboration and a new chapter in the festival. Take a look at our video for inspiration!

Our programme will be announced soon….it’s going to be grrreat so watch this space! Sign up to our newsletter to find out more.