Mummy Diaries | A day out at Folly Farm

Massive delay on this post because my laptop stopped working and I had to wait for the new one to arrive. But if you read my last post, or saw the photos on my Insta grid, you’ll know we visited Folly Farm while we stayed in Pembrokeshire.

It was a no brainer, because Alfie loves the farm and zoo – we picked up a flyer and the place looked incredible. I have to say, we were super lucky to get in as we hadn’t pre-booked and the man at the entrance was asking for our Event Brite code, which of course, we didn’t have.

Tickets are priced at £19.95 (adult) and £17.95 (children), while toddlers (2 years old) are at a reduced cost and under 2s are free. This is for day entry, and although you’ll need extra money for some of the rides and other attractions, the set price covers everything else. It’s impossible not to spend more though.

Folly Farm covers an incredible 120 acres, and there is so much to do and see. The map breaks it down into the different areas: barn, zoo, play and fairground, which is how I’ll set out the post – so grab a cuppa and read on to find out all about our day out.

Barn & Farm

The Jolly Barn is also the gateway to the underpass – taking you to the farm paddocks, Land Train and the piggery. We rode the Land Train either side of spending time in the barn. The train runs every 20 minutes and the ride is about 15 minutes – taking you all around the paddock, while the driver explains the animals en route, as well as some general information about the site. We saw beautiful red deer – all does; furry alpacas and llamas; gorgeous shire horses; and no end of sheep, including an exclusive Welsh breed. The piggery was so cute, many breeds of pig could be seen, although they were all sleeping when we entered the barn.

The Jolly Barn was not just home to a variety of farmyard animals, but the farmhouse and play equipment – as well as an interactive milking area. In terms of animals, you can expect to see sheep, horses, donkeys, poultry, guinea pigs and even a massive spider in a toilet! It needs to be seen to be believed, but yes, it’s as creepy as it sounds.

Zoo

The zoo area covers a large expanse of the site and is split into many different sections. We didn’t even manage to see it all. I wish we had gone into the Asian Adventure areas – I love red pandas. Luckily, we made it to Giraffe Heights, where there were about four giraffes and some zebra. Penguin Coast wasn’t too far away and was home to – you guessed it – penguins, and flamingos too.

Pride of Pembrokeshire was where the lions were, and although it took a while to spot them, it was so worth it when we finally did – they were so majestic. It gave me all The Lion King vibes. We saw Barbary Macaques, which I had seen previously in other zoos as well as Gibraltar, where they are much cheekier and scarier.

We also went in some of the inside tunnels – there was a walk-through where the sealions swam overhead. We also saw many different species of fish, birds, reptiles and amphibians. There are so many animals to see, and believe me when I say, it’s difficult fitting everything in.

Time to play

When it comes to playing, Folly Farm have thought of everything to let your little ones’ imagination run wild! Release your inner swashbuckler with the pirate adventure play, be like Bob the Builder with the Big Dig (£2 or 4 tokens to play), the sand diggers or destruction playground; or be inspired by life on the farm with the pedal tractors.

It’s in the play zone that you can also ride The Pembrokeshire Wheel, a giant Ferris wheel (£1 or 2 tokens per person) – we did, and it was great fun. There’s also the paratroopers ride and go karts. See how easy it is to while away the hours? Time certainly flies when you’re having fun…

Fairground

Saving the best until last and there’s even an indoor vintage fairground with rides and arcade machines aplenty. Much of the arcade takes coins, with lots of 2p and 10p slots – while the bigger machines are 50p or even £1 a pop. There are plenty of machines to get change or to buy tokens, which you can use in the play area as well as the vintage fair. Tokens are 50p each and all the attractions range from 1 to 2 tokens per person.

There are height restrictions on many of the rides, although the minimum height for most is 1m to ride with an adult, and then 1.2m to ride alone. Thankfully, we got Alfie measured and he was exactly 1m so could ride on almost everything.

He loved the ghost train and wasn’t fazed or scared of it at all, in fact, he laughed most of the way around. He wanted to go on it again and again – but as we all had a ride, once was enough. Alfie and I also went on the Jets – one of those traditional rides, where you just go round and round, but can then pull a lever to go up and down in your individual carriage. We were the only ones on it, and it was so nostalgic. Ash took Alfie on the Caterpillar, which went round way too fast for me. Even watching it made me feel dizzy. Apparently, it was a popular ride in the 1950s, going round at great speed, before the cover plunges everyone into darkness and the ride speeds up even more. Slowly, the ride comes to a stop and the cover is removed once more – I suppose like being in a cocoon!

Towards the back of the fairground, in between the café and burger bar, there’s also a massive soft play, called Carousel Woods. It’s got tubes, slides, climbing nets and rope walks. I thought it was a bit big for Alfie, but he enjoyed himself on it. There are two smaller areas for younger children, which I think would have been better suited – but he didn’t want to leave!

As you can see, it really is a great day out for all the family and it’s so easy to spend the whole day there without getting bored. We left via the gift shop but didn’t buy anything. I would highly recommend and know if were ever to go back that, we would re-visit for sure.

Love, Lucy xx