We’ve always offered complimentary carer admission to assist visitors that need additional assistance to fully access our attraction.
Using Nimbus Disability to validate disability and accessibility requirements, removes the need for you to bring sensitive documents with you and saves you time and any awkwardness at admissions. It also helps our staff, who are trained never to assume a disability, easily recognise when visitors require an Essential Companion admission. Many of our visitors already use the Access Card scheme as proof of disability in order to receive a free carer admission.
Instead of adding a carer admission to your online basket or at admissions, and being asked for proof of disability, you now need to apply online through Nimbus Disability at least 7 working days before your visit. You will only need to do this once as all approved applications are valid for 3 years. If you weren’t aware of this new system on arrival then we will ask you to pay for admission and give you 30 days to register with Nimbus Disability. Once approved for a ‘+1’ Essential Companion, we will provide a refund where applicable.
You can either apply for a FREE Folly Farm Digital Access Card to visit Folly Farm only or you can upgrade to a physical Access Card for £15 which is accepted at attractions all across the UK. Both are valid for 3 years.
We understand this is a new system and many of you will be familiar with our old system so we will continue to accept proof of disability to receive an Essential Companion admission until 27 March 2026. After this date the only way to receive an Essential Companion admission is through the Nimbus Disability application process and on production of a valid Access Card or Folly Farm Digital Access Pass with a ‘+1’ symbol.
Click below to start your FREE application. There is also the option to upgrade to a physical Access Card, widely accepted across thousands of venues in the UK.
We are committed to making our services as accessible as possible and ensuring we understand and can effectively meet the diverse needs of our customers with disabilities. By working with Nimbus Disability and its recognised and award-winning Access Card Scheme, we can:
Our commitment to accessibility remains unchanged, and our friendly team is still here to support you if you have any questions or need assistance. For further support, please email info@folly-farm.co.uk or call 01834 812731.
An Essential Companion admission allows an additional visitor to enter the park accompanying a disabled visitor paying the standard admission, to assist with their visit, free of charge. An Essential Companion admission is available for visitors where support is needed that is significant, substantial and in excess of what could be reasonably expected of family/friends already accompanying the visitor. The support must be due to disability-related needs.
Following a successful application through our partner Nimbus, you just present your Access Card or Folly Farm Digital Access Pass at our admissions booths to receive Essential Companion admission. If you have not been awarded a +1, you are not entitled to free Essential Companion admission and will need to pay admission for everyone. If you have been awarded a +2 you will receive two free Essential Companion admissions.
If you have a ‘+1’ applied to your Access Card or Folly Farm Digital Access Pass and have purchased a standard price ride wristband then your Essential Companion can also receive a free Essential Companion Wristband to assist you on the rides. When wearing an Essential Companion wristband you will only be permitted to ride when accompanying the visitor that needs an Essential Companion. Essential Companion wristbands are only available at our admissions booths and our fairground side stalls.
Access Card and Folly Farm Digital Access Pass holders with a ‘+1’, who are also Annual Pass holders, will be able to add their Access Card or Folly Farm Digital Access Pass to the annual pass of the visitor requiring an Essential Companion to save them bringing their Access Card/Folly Farm Digital Access Pass on future visits.
By accepting the Essential Companion admission, your companion accepts responsibility for providing you with support when visiting the park. This includes supporting you with any additional assistance in the event of an emergency.
Essential Companion admission is available for visitors where support is needed that is significant, substantial and in excess of what could be reasonably expected of family/friends already accompanying the guest. The support must be due to disability-related needs.
Nimbus guidance for children under the age of 16; the ‘+1’ can only be considered where the needs are outside of the range of what can be expected of parental responsibility – even if this means that your child needs more support or supervision than another child of similar age.
If eligible, a guest may be entitled to more than one (but no more than 3), Essential Companion admissions. The number of admissions will be allocated depending on the assessment from Nimbus and with the appropriate +1/+2/! symbol, assigned to your application/Access Card.
Essential Companion admission is only available when accompanying a disabled visitor paying standard admission, we will not issue a companion admission for visitors who do not pay for admission (children under 2 years old). Essential Companions must be over 14 years of age. If aged between 14-16 years, they must be accompanying a guest over 16 years of age.
All applications need to be submitted via the Nimbus Disability website at least 7 working days before your visit, please use the link on this page to apply. Applications are free of charge for guests who only wish to register their need to visit Folly Farm. You will also have the option to upgrade to a full Access Card at a cost of £15.
Access Cards are valid for 3 years and are widely accepted across thousands of locations across the UK and beyond, including many other amusement parks and leisure attractions who offer similar assistance.
Free Folly Farm Digital Access Passes are also valid for 3 years, but can only be used to visit Folly Farm.
If you already have an Access Card or have previously applied via Folly Farm in the last 3 years, then you do not have to apply again.
If you are not able to use online forms and would be unable, because of the nature of your impairment, to apply online, Nimbus will be able to assist with telephone application. You can book an appointment for this by calling 0330 808 5108.
The Nimbus team will aim to process your application within 7 working days, although during peak dates this may be longer. We ask, where possible, to apply with at least 7 working days’ notice. You will have the option to give your planned visit date on the application, Nimbus will take this into consideration when processing your application.
If you already have a full, valid Access Card with a ‘+1’ symbol applied, you can continue to use this to get your free Essential Companion admission at our admissions booths.
If you have not been awarded a ‘+1’ icon on your Access Card, you are not entitled to free Essential Companion admission and will need to pay admission for everyone.
You will need to ensure you bring your Access Card with you for our staff to check on entry.
If you have a ‘+1’ applied to your Access Card and have purchased a standard price ride wristband then your Essential Companion can also receive a free Essential Companion Wristband to assist you on the rides. When wearing an Essential Companion wristband you will only be permitted to ride when accompanying the visitor that needs an Essential Companion. Essential Companion wristbands are only available at our admissions booths and our fairground side stalls.
If you have an Annual Pass with us and have previously had free carers, you will need to apply for Essential Companion admission through Nimbus when you renew your pass. You will be able to apply for a FREE Folly Farm Digital Access Pass or you can upgrade to a full Access Card.
If you’re applying for an annual pass for the first time, you will need to provide your Access Card/Folly Farm Digital Access Pass to our team on your first visit. If you have been awarded the ‘+1’ icon, they will be able to mark your annual pass with your Nimbus ID number so you won’t need to bring details on each visit and an Essential Companion will be added to your pass.
The Essential Companion will only be able to attend when accompanying the disabled annual pass holder.
We currently aren’t able to check your Access Card/Folly Farm Digital Access Pass details via our online booking system but this is something we’re working on with Nimbus and our ticketing provider.
You can still book online tickets for the rest of your party and then present your Access Card/Folly Farm Digital Access Pass details at our admission booths to receive free Essential Companion admission if you have been awarded the ‘+1’ icon.
If your Access Card/Folly Farm Digital Access Pass does not have a ‘+1’ symbol then you will be required to pay full price admission at the gate.
Unfortunately, due to the nature of the applications and to ensure that the team at Nimbus have enough time to process all your supporting documents, you will not be able to apply with less than 7 working days. Applications are still possible in less than 7 working days, however this provides significantly less time for an application to be reviewed.
Any visitor who has not applied online through Nimbus, or if they have applied but have not had a reply so have no confirmation or card details, will not be able to have free Essential Companion admission. All members of your party will have to pay for their admission to enter, as all visitors require a valid ticket. We will, however, offer a refund for your Essential Companion if you provide your successful Nimbus details with a ‘+1’ symbol applied, within 30 days of your visit. Please email info@folly-farm.co.uk with a screenshot of your printed receipt from your visit and your Nimbus details.
Please note, after the grace period to 27 March 2026, our staff are unable to review or approve any supporting documentation presented on arrival other than a valid Access Card or a Folly Farm Digital Access Pass. Any such requests will be declined, and all guests will be required to pay the full on the day admission price to enter the park. Thank you for your understanding as we move to this new system.
We ask for all visitors who require Essential Companions to apply through Nimbus, where possible.
If you are a private carer for a client, their guardian will need to apply through Nimbus in advance of your planned visit.
For groups visiting from care/residential homes, who are not able to apply through Nimbus (whether you’re bringing a large group, do not have access to the documents required when making an application or cannot due to GDPR), we will instead accept a dated, headed and signed letter from the manager of your organisation, to be presented along with your staff ID at admissions on arrival. The letter must state how many visitors are attending (their tickets can be prebooked online or purchased on the day) and how many Essential Companions are attending with them.
You will need to head to our admissions booths when you arrive with the letter and your staff ID and our team will be able to issue the required number of Essential Companion admissions.
We regret that we will not accept staff ID on its own; failure to produce a headed and dated letter alongside ID will require payment for all remaining visitors, no refunds will be considered.
If you have any concerns about applying through Nimbus when accompanying residents/clients, please email info@folly-farm.co.uk who will be able to assist.
If you have a ‘+1’ applied to your Access Card and have purchased a standard price ride wristband then your Essential Companion can also receive a free Essential Companion Wristband to assist you on the rides. When wearing an Essential Companion wristband you will only be permitted to ride when accompanying the visitor that needs an Essential Companion. Essential Companion wristbands are only available at our admissions booths and our fairground side stalls.
We do not offer fast track queues at our admissions or rides as this does not work for us operationally.
We have previously trialled these systems at admissions and priority queues actually end up taking longer to process than standard queues. We also don’t have the typically long queues associated with theme park rides on our vintage fairground rides so we don’t have any fast track queuing systems in place either.
However, we do understand that some visitors will have been assessed as having difficulty standing or queuing so we are more than happy for another member of the party to queue in their place. Thank you for your understanding.