Park Profile
From family farm to family fun
Today, no longer a working dairy farm, Folly Farm boasts a petting barn, lovingly restored vintage fairground rides, an award-winning zoo and a whole host of indoor and outdoor play attractions. Bryony Andrews, editor of GlobalAmusements&
Play.com, spoke to operations manager Royston Badham to find out more about Folly Farm’s history and its plans for the future.
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In 1988, Glyn Williams had a ‘lightbulb moment’ whilst chatting to interested passers- by as they waited for his cows to cross the road near third generation dairy farm Folly Farm. Based on a busy tourist route to the popular holiday destination of Tenby in Wales, Folly Farm diversified into an educational attraction where visitors could come and see the cows being milked and learn about farming.
The bulk of Folly Farm’s visitors are families with children aged 0-9, but the zoo and its exotic animals mean it also aims to appeal to older children, young adults and adults with an interest in animals. “With such a broad target audience it’s important we offer something for everyone and with a zoo, farm, vintage fairground and the play we feel we really do,” said Royston. “Our development has been organic starting with the farm side of things which we knew well, then moving
SUMMER PART 3 2021
into the fairground which was a labour of love for Glyn, our director, who was passionate about rescuing and restoring old rides and preserving them for future generations. Our animals are at the heart of what we do and moving into more exotic species was a natural step. We’re proud to hold popular zoo species like meerkats, giraffes, lions and sloths alongside endangered species like our Eastern black rhino, Humboldt and Macaroni penguins, Eastern bongo and Bactrian camels and belong to 36 managed breeding programmes.” A stand-out visitor favourite among Folly Farm’s attractions is the new Sloth Forest enclosure, which is proving extremely popular, Royston told GAP. “Sloths seem to be having a bit of a moment in the spotlight, and our keepers worked hard during the second lockdown to build a new ‘retirement’ home for our ageing two toed sloths, Tuppee and Lightcap, so there’s been a lot of interest in that.
Folly Farm prides itself on its inclusivity, and is a three-time winner of Euan’s Guide for Most Accessible Attraction in Wales. As well as offering
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