For anyone living in South Wales with a child aged twenty five or under, Folly Farm has to hold fond memories. Just as Tenby was the premier destination for Sunday School trips and school outings of earlier generations, Folly Farm has been the destination of choice for those too young for the thrills and spills of Oakwood Park or for family groups looking for a more varied experience than just a theme park.
A Little Bit of History
Folly Farm, situated on the A478 between Tenby and Narberth started life in the late 1980s as a venture into agricultural diversification. Farmer Glyn Williams and his wife Anne decided to capitalise on the public's interest in rural life, inspired by the comments of motorists who had to stop their cars to wait for the farm's herd of prize winning dairy cattle to cross the road from pasture to milking parlour.
Pembrokeshire has long been a popular tourist destination. In the eighties and nineties tourism operators throughout the county were realising that wet weather (undercover) activities were desperately needed by the tourists who flocked to the area's resorts from all over the UK and beyond.
The Williams family were at the centre of a "perfect storm" of good fortune; they were in the right place at the right time, the family had a keen interest in tourism trends and a coherent vision for the development of Folly Farm as a premier tourist destination. In addition, Glyn's passion for old fairground rides informed much of his vision for the development of an indoor attraction.
The development of Folly Farm is firmly rooted in the agricultural past. Its rhythms are those of the seasons, the traditional hiring fairs and the innovative use of basic agricultural machinery to create exciting and colourful fairground rides. The Folly Farm philosophy revolves around a desire to educate as well as to entertain. The "why" of the attraction is a powerful driving force behind its success. It matters that people have sat down and carefully planned the Folly Farm experience, making it much more than just a one-off day out.
A Leisure Experience with Added Imagination
What started off as a lovely day out at a farm with opportunities to feed lambs and goats, see birds of prey and just generally experience rural space and fresh air has somehow grown into a Farm Experience (the opportunity to see and interact with cows, horses,cows, pigs, sheep, goats and an assortment of chickens and bantams), a Play Experience (the beautiful play barn which contains Carousel Woods), an Imaginative Experience (which is the whole site), a Fairground Experience (a nostalgic journey around a beautiful, all-action Vintage fairground), a Wild Animal Experience (the Folly Farm zoo, with Wales's only giraffes in residence) and a Conservation Experience (the Inter-Active area, full of interesting animals, facts about their habitats, breeding habits and place in the world's eco-system). It would be a very difficult family group who couldn't find plenty to amuse them at Folly Farm!
Perhaps the most charming and delightful piece of imaginative development at the farm is the Carousel Woods undercover play area. The concept is one of a forgotten fairground, a carnival that came to town and fell asleep, so that it has become overgrown with trees and greenery. This gives the perfect excuse for carousel horses to fly high above the ground, for bits and pieces of escaped ghost train and oddments of kiddies roundabouts to appear randomly amidst the central adventure playground.
On one level, the adventure playground is just an adventure playground. On another level, it's a liminal experience, a starting point for an imaginative child who can choose to explore the real vintage fairground just around the corner with its music and rich cultural heritage or to venture out into the wildlife park and find a totally different reality or who can just stay in the moment, enjoying the fantastical reality of Carousel Woods.
The Appeal of Folly Farm
Folly Farm is a well researched, well resourced, well planned leisure day out. There are plenty of eating places, places to sit down and enjoy the ambience and plenty of hand washing facilities for anyone who's been feeding lambs or petting animals of any sort. The whole site is well sign posted so that finding the Go-Karts, the giraffes, the birds of prey or the Vintage Funfair is a straightforward task.
The unique appeal of Folly Farm is its awareness of life's possibilities and the way its story unfolds, revealing perspectives one might not expect to find in rural Pembrokeshire. It can be enjoyed as an exciting, all weather family day out or, more excitingly, as a taster for any number of wonderful, life enhancing experiences. Visiting Pembrokeshire is always a delight; Folly Farm is that little whisper of extra magic which gives you another reason (if you need one) to visit this beautiful place.
