In October, we had a fun packed day at Folly Farm Adventure Park and Zoo. Folly Farm was decorated for the Halloween Season. Now, it will be all festive ready for Christmas.
There were lots of pumpkins!
They also put lots of special activities on for the occasion. At first Izzy was a bit scared to go inside the Creepy Pet Handling section within the Jolly Barn, but I convinced her to come and see the mice, rats and cockroaches. It was quite funny as she had just relaxed and was watching the mice, when a father came in and decided to scare his son by jumping out on him. When he noticed us in there too he apologised in case he had scared us- but we were laughing as we saw the funny side, of course!
Within the Jolly Barn, you can see all your favourite farm animals- goats, sheep, donkeys, rabbits, horses, chickens and lots more. From the Jolly Barn, you can catch the Land Train and take a tour of Follywood Country Park- where you will see deer, shire horses, llamas and Percy’s Piggery. We haven’t been on the train for a while so that’s a must for the next summer visit!
There are also small indoor play areas within the Jolly Barn- kids love getting on board their own tractor and combine harvester. There is even a life sized plastic cow to milk.
Leaving the Jolly Barn we get to Folly Interactive, an education based sensory centre. Here you can interact with the exhibits and experience animals such as the Royal Python Snake and Armadillos up close.
Outside Folly Interactive we come to the Dragon Adventure Park. The kids love to play here.
As well as the climbing frame and slides, there are also sand diggers and a giant sand pit in this area. There are lots of picnic benches too, so we ate our picnic and then went to play again.
There are pedal tractors aimed at the under 4’s (but my over 4’s didn’t realise that at the time- oops!).
After a play in Dragon Adventure they then moved onto the Pirates Adventure where they played on the Jolly Rodger with some friends who we bumped into there.
We then explored Folly Zoo. There is an Island for the Red Ruffed and also Black and White Lemurs.
Of course there are the fascinating Meerkats.
Living happily with the Meerkats are African Crested Porcupines. These have often been curled up or sleeping when I’ve visited in the past so it was lovely to see them awake and so lively on this occasion.
Next we spotted the Ocelot in his home. Hopefully in the Summer, we’ll see him outside exploring again.
Then we went to see the new Rhinos. Izzy and I went to see them when they first arrived but it was the first time the other kids got to see them.
We saw the female Manyara. She was indoors in her home.
We then saw these really cute and interesting animals- Cusimanse. They were so friendly and fun.
They spotted Caitlyn holding a bright green carton and ran up to it.
They then followed her everywhere she went.
It was adorable. There are even some smaller babies keeping warm inside their enclosure. They are such cuties. I’ll edit the film soon so you can see them running about after her.
Next we walked past the Lion Enclosure, Pride of Pembrokeshire . Luna and her cubs were very active and playful on this visit.
They had left marks on the glass and as I walked Izzy to the toilet, I saw Danny watching them with one hand on the glass. One of the lions then put their paws up to his as if to hive five him. I can’t believe I was too far away to get a picture, it was such a great moment.
We passed the beautiful pink flamingoes.
Then we went to the Penguin Enclosure. The penguins were in a playful mood too and followed the kids fingers and food. It was amazing to see them play.
We watched them catch and eat their fish too.
We could have watched them all day.
Our day was going so fast and we hadn’t had time to see everything. We went to see the Giraffes and the Zebra. As it was near the end of the day, the Giraffes had been brought inside.
When they are outside, there is a Giraffe viewing platform which brings you to the same height as the tall giraffes. It’s amazing when they come to see you.
There was just enough time left for a quick play at Carousel Woods- a free indoor playground- and a few rides at the Vintage Fair. This photo is of Danny about to go on the Caterpillar ride.
Once the ride builds up speed, the cover comes over you , turning the ride into a caterpillar. I imagine many couples took their first kiss on this ride many years ago. I have a book somewhere that explains the history of all of the vintage rides at Folly Farm. One rainy day I should come and photograph the kids on every ride. The old fairground machines are fun too.
While Danny went around on rides on his own. Rebecca went on rides, such as the Dodgems with Cerys. I wanted to make sure that Izzy had the chance to go on a ride, so I asked Caitlyn to take her on the Merry Go Round. Just as we paid our token, Izzy decided she didn’t want to go on it so Caitlyn ended up on the ride on her own- sorry Caitlyn! We used the remaining tokens on the Fairground Games and then made our way out.
There is too much to do in one day at Folly Farm, if you are visiting while on holiday you could buy a Boomerang Ticket and come back for a second visit the same week for half price. For locals an annual pass could be more value for money if you plan to come here throughout the year (more than three times). You can also cash in your Tesco Clubcard vouchers for Folly Farm Tickets tickets.
As there is so much to do, have a look online first and make a list of which activities you really want to do and which animals you really want to see so you can do them first and then enjoy the rest of the day. Remember to check for special events too- currently Santa’s Grotto and the Jugglestruck Show.
Folly Farm is a great place to visit whatever the weather as there are so many indoor activities too.
Current prices are: £10.95 Adults and £9.99 Concession (this will go up to £12.95 and £10.95 in peak season). Remember to check opening times and prices before you visit.
Folly Farm has been voted #1 Family Activity in Pembrokeshire on Trip Adviser- well done +Folly Farm Adventure Park and Zoo .
We were given tickets to Folly Farm for the purpose of this review. All views and opinions are our own.
