Summer Review

Well folks, it's been a while since I blogged but there's a good reason for that...we've been very busy indeed!

On this last day of August I'm pleased to report we've had eight record breaking days this year!  We've opened our Big Wheel ride, we've relaunched the old Pets' Centre as an education based sensory exhibit, we've launched a Welsh Language Trail and we've hosted six television characters including Peppa Pig and Thomas the Tank Engine. 

Not bad work but does the fun stop there? No way! 

We're still open daily until 30th October which includes our Spooky Halloween half term frolics and then we're open for Winter Weekends in November and until December 18th with our Santa's Grotto.

Here's some of our Summer highlights in photos!

Big Wheel Launch

Business and Tourism Minister Edwina Hart and Councillor David Pugh opened the Pembrokeshire Wheel.

New Ride

The Pembrokeshire Wheel in glorious sunshine.

Peppa Pig at Folly Farm

Peppa Pig and George appeared at Easter and in the again in the Summer.

Close Encounters with a Royal Python

We unveiled Folly Interactive, an education based sensory exhibit.

Dakari Middleton Zebra Foal

We made National headlines with the birth of this baby Zebra named Dakari "Middleton" after the Duchess of Cambridge.

Troop of Tractors 2

We took delivery of fifty shiny new John Deere pedal tractors.

Red River Hog Piglets

We were taken by surprise by the arrival of these little cuties as mum Roxie must have already been pregnant before she joined us a month before.

 

 

Things to do with the kids this Easter

Hello Nell the Newshound here and I've been tasked with the job of creating a list of things to do with the kids this Easter in Pembrokeshire.

So here goes...

1. Say hi to Peppa Pig

2. Touch a snake

I touched a snake at Folly Farm

3. Go on an Easter Card Prize Trail

4. Take a ride in a Big Wheel

The Pembrokeshire Wheel at Folly Farm

5. Play on a Pirate Ship

6. See a Giraffe

Giraffes at Folly Farm

7. Watch a rabbit being taken for a walk

8. Drive a Go-Kart

Go-Karts at Folly Farm

9. See a Shire Horse

10. Eat Candyfloss

And where can you do all the above? In one place?  Folly Farm of course!  Peppa Pig is here on Good Friday and Easter Saturday.  You can meet a snake in our new Folly interactive exhibit.  You can see Giraffes and 200 other exotic animals at our zoo.  You can go on our new ride The Pembrokeshire Wheel.  Plus much, much more! And that's just at Folly Farm, there's tons of other things you can do in Pembrokeshire this Easter, so make a break of it!

If you're looking for a great value family day out eat to keep the kids entertained this Easter then look no further!

Ta dah!

There were some serious hours put in last week to get Folly Interactive ready open on Saturday.  But we did it!

Huge thanks to Tim (without whom there be no Folly Interactive) and his all zoo keeping staff, Malcolm Murphy of Scenic Signs and Gilding, Gareth and Huw the carpenters, the electricians Ivor Rees, Andrew Lowe of Signature Design, Pete and Max at SignBox, South Wales Live Foods for Casper the Albino Python, Vaughans Electrical Retailers of Haverfordwest for the telly, Victoria in Marketing for her educational nouse and sign erecting skills and, for fear of turning into Helen Bonham-Carter accepting an Oscar, anyone else who helped out. 

We're chuffed to bits with our new exhibit.  Hope you will be too.

Folly_Interactive_12

 

Folly_Interactive_29

The A-Z of Pembrokeshire

THE A-Z of PEMBROKESHIRE

There's so much to do in Pembrokeshire.  We've got the whole alphabet covered!

A just has to be Award-winning.  Award-winning attractions, accommodation and coastline.  The Grove in Narberth, Clydey Cottages in Llancych, Folly Farm near Tenby were all winners in the National Tourism Awards for Wales and Pembrokeshire's coastline, all 186 miles of it, set in the only coastal National Park in Britain was recently voted the second best coastal destination in the whole wide world by National Geographic.

Freshwater EastB is for Beaches.  What else?  From Barafundle Bay to Broadhaven from Newgale to Newport, with over 50 beaches no other county in Britain has as many Blue Flag and Seaside Award Beaches as Pembrokeshire.  Check out all the beaches in Pembrokeshire here.

C
is for Coasteering.  If you want to get closer to Pembrokeshire's stunning coastline then try coasteering.  Invented in Pembrokeshire it involves, climbing, scrambling and swimming around the coastline for access to the best bits you otherwise can't reach.  Check out Celtic Quest Coasteering for an award-winning coasteering experience.

Coasteering in Pembrokeshire

D is for Dogs.  Pembrokeshire welcomes your furry friends, from dog-friendly beaches to dog-friendly accommodation.  Check out Visit Pembrokeshire's woofie website.

E is for Eco.  Asheston Eco Barns near Newgale offers visitors a holiday experience with a light eco-footprint and they've just picked up the Best Sustainable Tourism Business award at the Pembrokeshire Tourism Awards for 2011.

F is for Food.  Pembrokeshire produce is fantastic and visitors to Pembrokeshire can order it direct to their holiday homes via Pembrokeshire Produce Direct.  There are award-winning places to eat too.  The Stackpole Inn has just won Best Eating Out Experience at the Pembrokeshire Tourism Awards 2011, The Swan Inn at Little Haven was voted the AA Pub of the Year for Wales and Cwtch of St Davids has received many accolades the most recent being the Which? Good Food Guide 2011's Best Family Restaurant in the UK.

G is for Giraffes.  Pembrokeshire is the only place you can see Giraffes in Wales and Folly Farm has five!

Giraffes at Folly Farm 

H is for Hostels.  Pembrokeshire offers the whole holiday experience from hotels to hostels.  Check out the five star Bunkhouse or the YHA website for all its Pembrokeshire hostels.

I is for Islands.  Caldey, Ramsey, Skomer, Grassholm, Skokholm and St Margarets are the six islands off Pembrokeshire.  Caldey is inhabited by monks and Grassholm is inhabited by 30,000 gannets!

J is for Jelly Egg.  A fabulous gift shop in the boutique haven of Narberth.  Visitors might be interested to know it's also one of the largest retailers of Crocs (those uber-comfortable plastic shoes) in the UK!

K is for Kites.  North Pembrokeshire in particular is great for spotting this once threatened bird of prey.

L is for Language.  Pembrokeshire speaks two languages.  English and Welsh.  So don't be surprised by the road signs and expect to hear it in shops, cafes and on our televisions! 

M is for Mums.  We love mums at Folly Farm.

N is for Night-Ops.  Battlefield Live near Llanteg offers outdoor combat gaming using infra-red (a pain-free alternative to paintball) and now they are doing it under the cover of darkness!

O is for Outdoor.  Pembrokeshire is peCycling in Pembrokeshirerfect for outdoor types.  From beaches to walking, from golfing to surfing, from coasteering to paragliding, from mountain biking to outdoor pursuits!


P
is for Porpoises and Seal Pups.  You'll see lots of them off the Pembrokeshire coastline and if you're really lucky you may even see some whales!

Q is for Quality.  The quality of Pembrokeshire as a tourist destination was recently recognised at the National Tourism Awards for Wales with four Pembrokeshire businesses collecting a total of five awards.

R is for Rambling.  With 186 miles of coastal path, that's an awful lot of rambling!  You can find Ramblers Cymru here.

S is for Surfing.  Cornwall's got Newquay.  Pembrokeshire's got Newgale.  Surf's up!

T is for Toddlers.  Pembrokeshire's great for child-friendly accommodations, attractions, restaurants and beaches.  Check out Toddle Pembrokeshire, Away with the Kids and Baby Friendly Boltholes.

Kids at Folly Farm

U is for Undercover and Folly Farm has invested in lots of undercover facilities for when the beach just isn't an option. 

V is for visitpembrokeshire.com, the county council's site dedicated to all you need to know about holidaying in Pembrokeshire.

W is for Wheel and Folly Farm's new ride for 2011 is a really big one!  You can play the Big Wheel Bonanza for the chance to win tickets to Folly Farm by entering the code follyfun4u on the homepage.

X is for X-Factor and Pembrokeshire certainly is popular with the A-listers.  Narberth is a particular favourite of Jonathan Ross and his wife Jane and Tess Daly and Vernon Kaye have also been spotted shopping there.  The Grove was the base for Cate Blanchett and Russell Crowe during the filming of 'Robin Hood' which was filmed at Pembrokeshire beach Freshwater West, also the location for a scene in the last of the Harry Potter movie meaning Pembrokeshire sand has seen some real star action! 

Russell Crowe on Pembrokeshire Beach

Y is for Yurts.  You can stay in one at award-winning glamp-site Trellyn Woodland Campsite. Voted the coolest campsite in the whole of Wales by Cool Camping magazine and recent winner of Best Holiday Park at the Pembrokeshire Tourism Awards.

Z is for...er...ummm...  thankfully Folly Farm has some Zebra.

Folly Farm Zebra

 

February Half Term Frolics

This February Half Term there's been some fun Farmyard Frolics going on in the Follies Theatre...

Resident animal agility trainers James Coxon and Vicky Shelton and their cast of canine stars have this year been joined by pigs and ducks for the fabulous new theatre show...Farmyard Frolics.

As well as a new Pig Mastermind sketch, they are practising duck herding which should be ready for the Easter performances and this year Fraggle the Terrier is riding a tractor!

Don't miss this brand new show!

Farmyard Frolics Animal Show at Folly Farm

New Ride for Best Family Attraction

Well hello there.  I'm Farmer Glyn and I'm full of the joys of Spring this February half term as we've announced a new ride coming to Folly Farm in 2011.  Yes that's right, The Pembrokeshire Wheel, a 25m Big Wheel will open this Spring at the Best Family Attraction in Wales.

This new wheel is twice the size of our current Big Wheel, which is fun enough but the new one will be absolutely fantastic and because of its elevated position at the highest point of the park you'll be able to see for miles! 

The best thing is unlike our current Big Wheel, there are no height restrictions for children as long as they are accompanied by an adult so this new ride is perfect for all ages from babies to grandparents and with circular carriages carrying upt o six people the whole family can ride together.  It really is the best family ride!

Another Award Nomination!

I've got some great news...Folly Farm's new website has been nominated for another award!  Last night we were announced as having made the shortlist for the Best Marketing Campaign at the Pembrokeshire Tourism Awards which will be held at Kiln Park, Tenby on March 11th. 

Our digital marketing strategy, for which we we honoured at the National Tourism Awards for Wales in the category of Best Digital Marketing, formed the basis of our submission but we've got some stiff competition from Celtic Quest Coasteering, Godremamog Mill near Boncath and the team behind Pembrokeshire Fish Week.

The Chairman of Pemrbeokshire Tourism, Huw Pendleton, commented that he was "delighted" and "impressed" by the quantity and quality of the submissions particularly in the new business and marketing categories so keep your fingers crossed for us! 

As sponsors of the Best Day Out/Experience category, the award we won last time, we'll be judging the shortlist of Heatherton, Celtic Quest Coasteering and Pembrokeshire's Coastal Path...I can't wait, it's going to be a really fun-packed day!

Very Special Events

Wow, bow, wow!  Nell here with some very special news about some very special events to report!

What do Peppa Pig, Fifi, Thomas the Tank Engine, Roary the Racing Car and Fireman Sam all have in common?  Well I can reveal they'll all be making appearances at Folly Farm in 2011!

Peppa's here at Easter and then we have an Amazing August for you...Peppa's back again but so are Fireman Sam, Thomas and The Fat Controller, Fifi and Bumble and Roary and Big Chris.

So you can come and say hi to them all...great news for annual pass holders and there's no extra charge for the character appearances, they're just in addition to all the other fabulous things you can do on a day out at Folly Farm!

Join us for some very special days in 2011!

New Giraffe

Well the photos of our new giraffe "Sillan" are back and...Sillan the Giraffe at Folly Farm

...he is a beauty!  Distinguishable from Rafiki, Zulu, Taharqa and Rian by his little left horn, Sillan, fondly referred to as Little Bighorn, joins the ranks in Folly Farm's purpose-built £1m Giraffe House enclosure. 

Sillan joins the Giraffe Herd at Folly Farm

Sillan arrived last Thursday (18th November 2010) from South Lakes Wild Animal Park in the Lake District in a specially built giraffe transporter and is settling in well with his new housemates.

Pembroke 21C gets Folly Farm's Vote

Tomorrow the voting lines open for ITV Wales Tonight's Peoples Millions competition.   The "Pembroke Eats to Live" campaign is bidding for £50,000 to complete the Foundry House community centre which will provide a community cafe, local produce shop and catering standard kitchen to provide catering skills training for young locals and courses for parents of low income families on how to prepare healthy meals on a budget.

Pembroke 21C staff serving hot chocolate to Folly Farm visitors

Staff and volunteers of Pembroke 21C were at Folly Farm on Saturday gaining some valuable catering work experience in the Carousel Cafe.  They served hot chocolate to visitors and helped to clear tables whilst publicising the campaign and encouraging visitors to vote.

Folly Farm is backing the Pembroke 21C and is encouraging you to vote too.  Click the link below tomorrow morning (Tuesday 23rd November) to get the number you need to vote as soon as it is released at 9am.  You've got until midnight to register your vote and help the community of Pembroke!

http://www.peoplesmillions.org.uk/2010-finalists/wales/pembroke-eats-to-live