Staying safe at Folly Farm

Last updated: 17 May 2021

Enjoying a safe day out at Folly Farm

This is the third time we’ve re-opened following a national lockdown so we’re confident in the measures we’ve put in place to keep you, our staff, our animals and our wider community safe. This includes limiting the number of people into the attraction and introducing timed arrival slots to avoid overcrowding at the tills.

Following our social distancing guidelines to keep yourselves and others safe during your visit is everyone’s responsibility. Parents are responsible for ensuring their children follow these guidelines too.

Queuing warning

As a nation we’re pretty good at queuing and we’re afraid it’s the new normal with social distancing measures in place. Whether it’s your local supermarket or here at Folly Farm, we’re asking you to be prepared to queue so we can ensure social distancing requirements are met. When you arrive at the entrance tills our queues may look longer than normal but please be assured we are still limiting our numbers, it’s just the queues look longer with everyone spaced out 2m. You’ll also notice the number of tills we have open are reduced to comply with social distancing in queuing areas at our food outlets and we’ll be limiting the numbers of people permitted in our toilets so please be prepared for queues there too. We’re just trying to manage your expectations before you visit and ask for your support for our staff who are just following the guidelines.

Food outlets

Our food outlets are open but some do close in accordance with seasonal variations in visitor numbers and demand. The number of tills operating are reduced in order to comply with social distancing to protect our visitors and our staff. For this reason the queues may be a little longer than normal and we appreciate your patience and understanding at all times.

Face coverings are compulsory when queuing indoors for food unless you’re exempt from wearing a face covering.

You might want to bring a picnic with you which is fine and you can return to your car at any point during your visit to collect/return picnic bags. We have two indoor picnic areas, one next to the Tropical Trails exhibit and one inside our vintage fairground.

Face coverings

In line with Welsh government guidelines, the wearing of face coverings in indoor public spaces (such as queuing for takeaway food to eat outdoors and when using our toilets and visiting our gift shop) is compulsory. Thank you for your cooperation.

Visitors under the age of 11 and those with health conditions preventing them from wearing a face covering are exempt. If you are exempt it’s very helpful for our staff, and other visitors, if you can wear something which indicates this.

We’re asking our visitors to bring their own face coverings but we do have them available for purchase should you arrive without one.

Local lockdowns/higher alert levels

In accordance with government guidelines anyone subject to a localised lockdown or in a higher alert level which does not permit travel to attractions must not visit us.

Toilet blocks

All our toilet blocks are open including our Changing Places toilet which is located in our vintage fairground but can be accessed from the side of the fairground building. We’ll be enhancing our cleaning regimes in high touch point areas such as the toilet blocks. We’ll ask you to use the hand sanitisers located outside the toilets before you enter and to wash your hands thoroughly with hot water and soap before you leave. We’ll be advising on entry how many people/households should enter the block at one time. Please wear a face covering when using our toilets. We will not be manning our toilets so please help us to keep you and our staff safe by following these guidelines.

One way systems

We’ve got several one-way systems in operation to control visitor flow and queuing areas so please follow these guidelines help with social distancing.

Land train

We’re running a socially distanced land train ride continuously between 11am and 3pm.

Outdoor playgrounds

Welsh government guidelines state under 11s do not need to practice social distancing between themselves or adults but here’s some handy information based on the government guidance to help you play safely.

Playgrounds are really important for children’s development and well-being but it’s recognised that social distancing between individuals and household groups is more difficult in a playground setting. So, we’ll be taking other reasonable measures to mitigate risk including asking our visitors to wash or sanitise their hands on entry and exit and having enhanced cleaning regimes for these areas. We’re asking visitors to supervise the children in their care whilst they use our playgrounds and to wipe down the handles of play equipment such our pedal tractors and sand diggers before use with the cleaning materials provided. We’re also asking visitors not to consume any food or drink whilst using our play equipment. Please help us by following these measures and other public health advice, such as not touching your face, coughing into your elbow and catching sneezes and binning tissues, whilst using our play equipment.

Zoo talks

These will now be recorded and played on a loop through speakers spread around the enclosures to discourage crowds gathering at set times.

Animal meet and greets

These will not be taking place due to the fact they encourage crowds to gather at set times and not being unable to maintain a 2m distance between staff and visitors.

Animal experiences

We’ll be extending all animal experience purchased before or during lockdown until the end of 2021. We have been taking animal experience forward bookings throughout the lockdowns so if you have an animal experience voucher still to be redeemed then please get in touch via the form below. Please provide your first, second and third choice of date and we will email you back with confirmation of your booking. You must already have a valid voucher in order to enquire about booking a date for your experience. Unfortunately, penguin experiences have been removed from sale for now as we’ve got a backlog of bookings to work through. We’ll update our website and social media when these are back on sale.

Important health information

Wash your hands

We’ve plenty of hand-washing stations across Folly Farm with soap and hot water so please wash your hands regularly during your visit. We’ve also added additional hand sanitising stations so you’re never too far away from somewhere you can sanitise your hands. Please also follow public health advice regarding coughing into your elbow, catching sneezes in a tissue and then disposing of it in the bin and not touching your face.

Paws off

We’ve enhanced the cleaning measures we already have in place but we’re asking you to help us and yourselves by not touching fences, barriers, signs, windows and protective screens. You’ll see yellow lines painted in front of high frequency contact points such as the viewing areas into enclosures to remind you to maintain your distance from the glass. And “Paws Off” signs reminding you not to touch the glass or to keep your distance from our animals.

Paws Off – please don’t touch the glass!

Keep your distance

Please follow our on-site instructions and maintain the recommended 2m distance from other households and our animals. We’ve several one-way systems in place to help you keep your distance from other guests and we’ve put in place socially distanced queuing systems in our toilet blocks, takeaway food outlets and at the admissions entrance.

One way systems – please follow the penguins!

At some enclosures you’ll see signs asking you to maintain a 2m distance from those animals. These are animals which have been identified as being potentially at higher risk of infection from Covid-19. So, as with human to human contact we’re asking you to keep your distance from our animals and especially those ones identified as higher risk.

Don’t visit with symptoms

You mustn’t visit us if you have symptoms of coronavirus including a persistent new cough, temperature or sudden loss of taste or smell. If you are in a shielded group, are self-isolating or have been in contact with anyone with symptoms then you also must not visit to keep yourself and others safe.

Test, trace and protect scheme

We’re legally required to take contact details for all paying visitors to Folly Farm via our Eventbrite system (please be prepared to provide your details should you turn up without an Eventbrite booking or be refused entry). In addition we’ll be collecting information for those visitors who choose to dine in our table service Hungry Farmer restaurant. In line with Welsh Government guidance we’ll keep your details for 21 days and we’ll share them with Public Health Wales if requested for the purpose of contact tracing. This information will be handled in accordance with our standard GDPR rules and not used for any purpose other than for test, trace and protect.

NHS Covid-19 App

We’re supporting the NHS Covid-19 App so you’ll be able to ‘check-in’ at Folly Farm by scanning the QR code at the entrance tills and at various points across our attraction and if you’re staying on our Holiday Park or self catering accommodation. Scanning the NHS does not replace the need for us to also collect your contact details.

The more people who use the app the greater our chances of reducing the spread of the virus.

It’s important that as many of the population download the app in order for it to be effective alongside the Test, Trace and Protect scheme we already have in place.

The app will:

• let you know if you have been near someone who now has coronavirus symptoms
• give you advice on coronavirus that is relevant to you
• allow you to check your symptoms
• take you to a website where you can book a test if you have symptoms
• provide a self-isolation countdown timer if required

We’re “Good to Go”
We’ve signed up to Visit Britain’s “Good to Go” UK-wide industry standard and consumer mark to reassure you that we’re following Welsh Government and Public Health Wales guidance.

We’ve also made our promise, addo in Welsh, to Wales. You can make your promise to Wales too. And we encourage you to do so.

Thank you so much for taking the time to read these guidelines and well done for making it to the end! We wish you a safe and enjoyable visit to Folly Farm.