When Lord Bath introduced lions to his estate in Longleat back in the 1960s, even he could not have envisaged the success of this tourist attraction.

And thanks to the huge increase in visitors, 2009 will see even more attractions being added to the safari park, house and grounds.

A major new £1 million interactive animal experience called Animal Adventure opens in the summer, incorporating an avian academy, butterfly world and a whole host of other hands-on animal experiences.

Linked to the popular pets corner, Animal Adventure will bring visitors even closer to the world of the smaller, furry, feathered and scaly creatures. The park offers plenty of fun activities for youngsters. Fans of the CBeebies show Lazytown are in for a treat as Sportacus will be making daily appearances to help them get active in funny, colourful and fast-paced ways in the Longleat Marquee from Monday, July 27, to Sunday, August 16.

And to whet visitors' appetites, the Junior Rangers are presenting podcasts on iTunes, and on Longleat's own website, showing how they look after the animals.

Of course, the old favourites are still there too. As well as the safari park, which has many representatives from the animal, bird and reptile kingdom, a certain black and white cat is also looking forward to meeting visitors along with his famous owner Postman Pat.

They will be at the park during the summer along with Tractor Ted, The Owl and the Little Princess. The best way to visit all the attractions is with a passport ticket, which offers 50 per cent off the combined individual attractions' admission prices, as well as unlimited access to the gardens and grounds. It can be used over several visits.

The passport gives visitors entry to the safari park, adventure castle, hedge maze, miniature steam railway, the motion simulator, Old Joe's Mine – with its bats and rats – pets corner, Animal Adventure, the Postman Pat village, safari boats to meet the seals and visit gorilla island, tea cup ride, King Arthur's mirror maze, the life and times of Henry Lord Bath, Family Bygones and Meet My Ancestors.

And, of course, you can see the treasures of Longleat House, which was built in the reign of Elizabeth I, and has its own ghost. There's also a chance to see how the current Lord Bath lives, and take a look at his infamous murals.

The Longleat passport ticket costs £23 for an adult, £15 for a child (three–14 years) and £17 for a senior (over 60).

The attractions open at weekends until Sunday, March 29, and then daily from Saturday, April 4, to Sunday November 1.

Special events include the Longleat Easter Choc Trail – March 10-13; Storytime with Postman Pat – May 9 and 10; Joanna May Art Exhibition – May 18-31; Tractor Ted – June 6 and 7; CBBC's The Owl at Longleat – May 28; Longleat International Horse Trials – June 19-21.

For anyone wanting an out-of-hours visit to the estate, then the new Longleat House VIP Tours are available in March, November and December. You get a personal visit to the hidden parts of Longleat House, rooms not usually open to the public, and a two-course lunch in the Cellars Restaurant.