Folly Farm Adventure Park & Zoo - Tenby
- Jennifer Kozyra
- May 31
- 7 min read
Updated: Jun 1
Folly Farm is one of West Wales’ top family attractions, nestled just outside the seaside town of Tenby. It’s the perfect place for a day out, come rain or shine, with plenty of it's activities inside as well as outside. From a zoo packed with amazing animals to a vintage indoor fairground, huge play areas, and a working farm. Whether you’re visiting with toddlers, teens, or grandparents, Folly Farm has fun for the whole family—whatever the weather!
Top Info
📅 Open daily
⏰ 10 - 5pm
😃 Best suited for age 3 - 13 but the whole family will enjoy
⏰ A full day out attraction
🌧 🌞 Perfect for all weathers
🦁 See animals at the zoo
🐖 Indoor farm animals
🚜 Tractor Land Train Ride to see the rare breeds
🎡 Vintage Fairgroud - pay extra for rides
🪙 Purchase a writeband for £15pp or tokens for rides
🛝 Adventure playgrounds inside and outside
📚 Extra activities during school holidays
🐕 No dogs allowed
🎟 Free return visit within seven days
♿ Fully accessible
🎟 Annual pass available
☕ Lots of cafes & food outlets on site
🍞 Gluten free & Vegan options
🥪 Picnics allowed
🚻 Lots of toilets
👶 Baby changing facilities
🪣 The whole place is clean and tidy
🚗 Free parking
⭐ Ratings from the kids
13 year old ⭐⭐⭐
" Some of the animals were interesting and i liked how we could see them really well. The pigs were really funny"
10 year old ⭐⭐⭐⭐
"My favourite animals were the meerkats, pigs and the bats were amazing. The indoor play area was my favourite thing to play on.
Mum’s Rating: ⭐ ⭐⭐⭐
Folly Farm is a "must do" full day out when visiting Tenby. There was so much to do indoors that it really saved us when it was a wet and windy day. It was almost like 3 different days out in 1. The zoo animals were fantastic as the enclosures were alot smaller than other zoos we have been to so we got to see the animals alot better and up close. There was so much to look at and do inside the Jolly barn and i really enjoyed the Tractor Land Train around the outside farm, seeing and hearing about the rare breeds. One of our favourites was the piggery as there was a family of piglets which were so expressive and fun to watch.
What really stood out was the sheer amount of play activities available. From outdoor playgrounds and a huge indoor climbing structure to vintage fairground rides and countless arcade and fairground games, there wasn’t a dull moment. The fairground rides do come at an extra cost, but I actually liked that — it gives you the freedom to decide how much you want to spend. I was genuinely impressed by the number and variety of rides, and the ones we went on were great fun.
The food we bought wasn't that impressive, especially for the price, but my general rule for days out like this is pack and picnic 😀
The 4 Zones at Folly Farm
🦁 Zoo – Home to 750+ animals including giraffes, lions, penguins, and rhinos
🐷 Jolly Barn – Indoor farmyard with goats, pigs, donkeys, and more
🎠 Vintage Fairground – Indoor traditional fairground with rides like dodgems and a carousel
🧗 Adventure Play – Indoor and outdoor play areas suitable for all ages
🐧 The Zoo
Folly Farm’s zoo is truly something special, home to over 100 different species, including lions, giraffes, penguins, zebras, camels, bongos, lemurs, meerkats, tapirs, Barbary macaques, and patas monkeys. One of the zoo’s proudest achievements is housing the critically endangered Eastern black rhino.
🦒 It’s also the only place in Wales where you can see giraffes — and not just from a distance. Thanks to the cleverly designed Giraffe Heights walkway, you can meet them at eye level, which made them one of my personal highlights. The enclosure offers a fantastic view, letting you fully appreciate their size and beauty.
🦇 Another unexpected favourite was the fruit bats. Unlike other zoos, where they’re usually kept in dark, hard-to-see enclosures, Folly Farm displays them in a bright, open space. When we visited, they had just been fed and were clambering over the fruit, making them absolutely fascinating to watch. It was the first time we’d really had the chance to see bats up close so spent quite a bit of time watching them.
🐑 The Farmyard
The Jolly Barn, once the farm’s dairy parlour, is now home to an incredible variety of animals — from ferrets and mice to miniature ponies, shire horses, donkeys, and goats. It’s a lively and interactive space.
🐄 There are several fun, hands-on activities with a farming theme, including "milking" a model cow and playing a round of Battlesheeps. Throughout the day, there are "meet an animal" sessions which allow children to get up close and personal with some of the animals, a lovely opportunity to learn more in an engaging way. Altogether, the barn is packed with things to see, do, and discover, especially for little ones.
🚜 Just across the road, you’ll find even more animals, alpacas, turkeys, goats, giant rabbits, ducks, and sheep. We enjoyed going on the Land Train tour, which takes you on a 20-minute ride around the farmyard area. It was relaxing and informative, and the farmer giving the tour was clearly passionate about his animals, especially the rare breeds.
🐖 Another standout was the Piggery, where a family of piglets stole the show. They were full of energy, fighting over milk, snuggling up together, and generally being funny and entertaining.
🎠The Funfair
The funfair is a fantastic addition to Folly Farm — something you wouldn’t normally expect at a zoo or farm attraction. With over 18 classic British fairground rides, all housed under cover, it’s a perfect option for rainy days.
🎟 The rides aren’t included in your entry ticket, but you have two flexible options: buy a wristband for £15 per person (as of May 2025), which gives you unlimited rides for the day, or purchase individual tokens — most rides cost just 1 or 2 tokens, priced at £1 each. A handy tip is to walk around the funfair first to check which rides your children are tall enough for and which ones you want to go on, before deciding how many tokens or whether a wristband makes more sense.
💰 Since my children are older, we opted to buy a few single tokens and spent around £10 on rides we knew they'd enjoy. Every ride we went on was great fun and a lot cheaper than other fairgrounds we have visited.
🎡 Some of the rides include the Dodgems, Golden Gallopers, the Cakewalk, Rock 'n Roll Waltzer, and the Royal Coronation Speedway. All the rides have a charming vintage look, beautifully lit and full of nostalgic character. The sound of laughter, the colourful lights, and the music created a lovely, old-fashioned fairground atmosphere that added real magic to the day.
🛝 Adventure Playgrounds
As it was a wet day during our visit, we mainly made use of the indoor play areas. Folly Farm has created multiple play areas both indoors and out so no matter the weather, there’s so much to keep children entertained and happy.
Indoor Play
I was genuinely surprised by how large the indoor play area was, far bigger than I expected! Even older children will find plenty to enjoy here, which isn’t always the case. Carousel Woods is a huge indoor adventure playground themed like an enchanted forest. With a towering wooden climbing structure, packed with tunnels, slides, rope bridges, and climbing nets. It's suitable for younger visitors too, there are smaller wooden play areas and two soft play zones, one designed for toddlers and another specially for babies. It's also surrounded by seating and places to get food from so a perfect lunch time rest and play stop.
Outdoor play
There is plenty of outdoor play equipment for children to enjoy including the Pirate Adventure playground where they can explore a life-size pirate ship, climb forts, and navigate rope bridges. The area features climbing ropes, slides, tubes, and netted rope walks.
If construction is more your thing head to the Destruction Playground with construction themed sandpit area complete with sand diggers and large wooden play equipment. For younger children there is a smaller sandpit with buckets and spades.
☕ Food & Drink
There are quite a few places to get lunch or a snack on the site. We personally ordered lunch from the Carousel Cafe which is inside the indoor play area. This cafe mainly does sandwiches and kids lunch boxes. I was disappointed by my sandwich, it was pepperoni and mozzerella but didn't really come with much filling. I took it back and the staff were very good about it and made me a fresh one.
Other options for food include:
• The Hungry Farmer - this is the main restaurant which has table service and proper mains like burgers, sausage and chips, pasta Bolognese, chicken strips, curries, salads, and hot filled baguettes
• Carousel Burger Bar - a bit like a certain fast food chain although a bit dearer serving up burgers, hotdogs, chips and kids' meals.
• Cwtch Coffee - A cozy coffee shop with drinks and locally produced cakes
• Funfair Food -
Located within the vintage fairground, this outlet offers quick snacks like hotdogs (including a vegan option), topped fries, doughnuts, and candy floss.
• The Dairy Shed - Serving locally made Upton Farm ice cream, ice lollies, and a selection of hot and cold drinks.
🥪 Picnics Welcome
Folly Farm makes it easy to bring your own food, with plenty of spots to sit and enjoy a picnic — including a few indoor picnic areas, which are especially handy on rainy days. Personally, I like bringing a picnic as it helps keep costs down during family days out. That said, we still enjoy treating ourselves to a hot drink or an ice cream while we’re there.
One of my top tips for days out is picking up a meal deal from a shop on the way. It’s quick, convenient, budget-friendly, and still feels like a treat without the hassle of packing food from home.
Press Visit May 2025
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