RCCGB Folly Farm 2013

Date: Friday 9 August 2013
Venue: Folly Farm near Kilgetty
Who Went: Me and a large number of other RCCGB members, including Andy Hine, Big Stevie B, David Hodgson, Emerald Evans, Graham (Coaster Freak), Matt Walker, Paul Heaney (Herman), Planenut, Smiler.

DISCLAIMER: The above is not intended to be an exhaustive list of everyone who attended. It's a small sample of attendees; mainly those I spoke to and/or rode with at Folly Farm. I sincerely apologise to anyone I've not listed.

Rationale For Trip

A pre-Oakwood add-on to RCCGB Mega-Glow-Mania 2013. In 2011 and 2012 the Club visited Oakwood Theme Park on a Friday in August and nearby Folly Farm the day after, i.e. Saturday. This year Oakwood held its After Dark nights on Saturday evenings in August, which is why the Club visited Oakwood on Saturday 10 August 2013. Following the success and popularity of the Folly Farm add-on in 2011 and 2012, it was only right to retain it this year, albeit Friday instead of Saturday. The itinerary was the same as 2012: (i) the daytime was free for everyone to enjoy the Park amenities at their leisure, (ii) after closing time the day would culminate in an exclusive fair session in the Vintage Funfair, plus a basket meal in the café. For the purposes of Mega-Glow-Mania 2013, you could think of this visit to Folly Farm as the starter, and the Saturday visit to Oakwood as the main course.

N.B. Any use of "today" or "Friday" hereafter in this report means Friday 9 August 2013. Any use of "Saturday" means Saturday 10 August 2013.

Friday First Thing

Having awoke at 7:00am I had breakfast at the normal time of 8:00am consisting of a choice of cereal (I had cornflakes), glass of orange juice, full traditional breakfast, four triangles of toast and a cafetiere of coffee. Being as I wasn't intending to be go on any rides during the morning, I enjoyed a full traditional breakfast (2 fried eggs, 2 rashers of bacon, 1 sausage, 1 hash brown, half a tomato, baked beans, sliced mushrooms) today. Furthermore I was able to enjoy my breakfast at a more leisurely pace than Saturday morning.

Getting To Folly Farm

I was able to get to Folly Farm by bus. Having left my hotel at 9:25 I walked to the bus stops the other side of town. There I caught the 9:40 Haverfordwest bus which stopped right outside Folly Farm.

Welcome To Folly Farm

I reached Folly Farm at 10:15. According to the trip letter, we were officially due to enter as a group at 11:00. However Folly Farm was already open, and the general public were being admitted. I showed the receptionist my trip letter, badge and RCCGB membership card, explained that I was on the trip and was allowed in straightaway. The receptionist ticked me off the list and said I was the first RCCGB member booked on this trip to be admitted to Folly Farm.

Normal Opening Time

Folly Interactive

Last year I only had a very brief, rushed visit to Folly Interactive, so this time I deliberately began the day there in order to see it properly. I saw Mediterranean tortoises and various brightly coloured birds. Also I went into the Folly Interactive Explorer section, where I collected passport stamps and made two rubbings. I spent longer in Folly Interactive than expected, and finally left at 11:50. Funnily enough, I didn't see any other RCCGB members in there.

Having left Folly Interactive I briefly went into The Jolly Barn. I met Big Stevie B and Smiler there and briefly spoke to them. This was my first sighting of any other RCCGB members today. Back outside I met David Hodgson who was giving me a lift to Oakwood next day. Shortly afterwards I met Emerald Evans and spoke to her for a few minutes. Eventually I led her towards Carousel Woods indoor play area.

Carousel Woods

A wooden indoor play area, which adults are allowed to play on. It includes the following facilities:
Bumper Slide (a 4-lane Astra slide)
Four tube slides
Log ramps and bridges
Multi-level towers; inter-floor access is by ladders and/or climbing / dropping through holes

I played in Carousel Woods from 12:30 to 13:33. Initially Emerald Evans and I were together, but it wasn't long before I lost sight of her. I covered all parts of the play area including the slides, ramps, bridges, ladders and going up and down through the holes between levels in the towers. The tallest tower situated near the front of the play area has three wooden "proper" upper floors (first, second, third) above the ground floor, one ladder linking the first and second floors and another ladder linking the second and third floors. In addition, each of the said floors has a hole in it. I went through the hole in the third floor, through the holes in two intermediate levels, through the second floor, through two more intermediate levels, through the first floor and through more intermediate levels to the ground floor, and vice versa. My only problem was where to put my rucksack. I had to take it around the play structure as I moved around it; occasionally I put it down temporarily whilst playing in the immediate vicinity. There really ought to be lockers nearby for you to put luggage in. My use of slides was as follows:

Brown tube slide at front 4 goes
Yellow tube slide near back 1 go
Bumper Slide 1 go per lane left to right
Brown spiral tube slide at back 2 goes
Dark green spiral tube slide 4 goes
Yellow tube slide near back 1 go
Bumper Slide 1 go per lane left to right
Brown spiral tube slide at back 2 goes

Big Stevie B and Smiler were also on Carousel Woods at one point, they saw me emerge from the bottom of the green spiral tube slide.

Lunch

Having left the play structure at 13:33 I felt like a light snack. The obvious place to go was Carousel Café, where I had a filled deli bread and latte coffee. That's all I wanted after having had such a big breakfast earlier.

Penguin Coast

After lunch I spent a substantial amount of time exploring Penguin Coast. This is a new addition to the zoo for 2013. By looking at the board and coloured fin bands I tried identifying some of the penguins, both in the tunnel and outside.

Other Zoo Areas

Afterwards I took a rapid walk around other parts of the zoo including the giraffe enclosure. I saw the shed where the giraffes are kept in large pens overnight. Other animals I saw included reindeer, ocelot, red river hog and African Spurred Tortoise. Unlike last year, I didn't bother reading many information boards around these areas.

Zoolympics

Dotted around the zoo are a few Zoolympics challenges and I tried some of them as I walked around the zoo.

Get your dancing shoes on

Dance like a crane by following the four steps. I tried this twice over.

Reach your potential

See if you can reach as far as a swan. According to the information board, the Trumpeter Swan has a wingspan of 2.5 metres. I tried reaching my arms out as wide as I could. From the tip of my middle finger on one hand to the tip of my middle finger on the other I managed 1.83 metres.

Take a deep breath

The challenge here is to hold one's breath for as long as possible. A timer allows you to measure how long you can hold your breath. I had a go and held my breath for less than 30 seconds. That's not long compared to some animals listed on the information board, e.g. capybara 5 minutes, beaver 15 minutes, penguin 20 minutes.

Pembrokeshire Wheel

A big wheel. This required one 50p token, I sat in gondola number 3. The views from the top were breathtaking. The wheel did a few rotations before it was time for me to get off, but I didn't count how many times I went around altogether.

Afterwards I met Matt Walker for the first time today and spoke to him briefly. He hadn't been there long.

Afternoon Coffee

At 16:30 I felt like a coffee, so I went to the café called Coffee Shop. There I had a cappuccino coffee and sat at one of the indoor tables to drink it.

The Jolly Barn

This is the indoor barn part of the farm. At 16:45 I entered The Jolly Barn and took a rapid walk around it. Inside there I saw some lambs being milked, as well as goat kids, Kune Kune pigs, donkeys and ponies. Since I still wanted to fit in another session on Carousel Woods, I abandoned my plan to go around the outdoor part of the farm area through the subway.

Having left The Jolly Barn, I met Planenut for the first time today. We had our photo taken together.

Carousel Woods

To end normal opening time, I had another session on the Carousel Woods indoor play area. From 17:03 to 17:32 I played on all parts of the frame, including going up the ramps and ladders, and up and down the towers through the holes in the various levels. Also I went down all the slides as follows:

Dark green spiral tube slide 4 goes
Brown spiral tube slide at back 1 go
Bumper Slide 1 go per lane left to right
Brown spiral tube slide at back 1 go
Brown tube slide at front 2 goes
Yellow tube slide near back 2 goes
Brown spiral tube slide at back 2 goes

I left Carousel Woods at 17:32 and went to find the rest of the Club for the Exclusive Fair Session.

Exclusive Fair Session

Folly Farm closed to the public at 17:30. However for us it was the beginning of the best part of the day, our Exclusive Fair Session (EFS). I found other RCCGB members waiting by the Wurlitzer Organ.

At 17:40 Nev appeared and told us we were ready to begin riding. Funnily enough, this was my first time of seeing Nev today. The Club was split into two groups, A and B. I was in the same group as Graham, aka Coaster Freak. The plan was to run two rides at once (rides 1 and 2 for explanation purposes), with group A on ride 1 and group B on ride 2, then swap over to have group B on ride 1 and group A on ride 2. We began by taking turns to ride the 1950s Caterpillar Ride and Rock n' Roll Waltzer.

1950s Caterpillar Ride

This goes round and round, and due to undulations in the track, it also gives up and down motion. Part way through the ride, the canopy is put over the riders, so the ride resembles a caterpillar racing around the track. Near the end the canopy is removed. I sat alone in seat number 8.

Rock n' Roll Waltzer

Self-explanatory, this is a typical fairground waltzer. Each waltzer has a rock star's face and signature on the back. I rode with Graham (aka Coaster Freak) in the waltzer bearing Little Richard on the back.

For the next two rides, the groups took turns to ride Jets and Ghost Train.

Jets

Mini jet planes at the ends of arms which radiate from a central hub; I sat alone in plane number 1. When the ride started the planes all went around in a circle, and rose upwards shortly afterwards. However they didn't all go high simultaneously. A third of the planes reached full height (mine being one of them), a third went to a midrange height and the remainder stayed relatively low. As the ride progressed each plane had a turn at each height; thus after a while my plane went to the midrange height, and eventually to the lowest height. Finally all planes returned to their stationary height before the ride slowed and stopped.

Ghost Train

This has several individual ride cars, which resemble railway engines, running on a track. Thus riders entered and left this ride one by one as trains became available. I got into a train which followed the track through a spooky enclosure. After one lap I left the train.

1938 Dodgem Track

Another common funfair ride, dodgems aka bumper cars. The group arrangement did not apply here. Instead the cars were filled on a first-come first-served basis. There were just a few members who couldn't be accommodated. I'm not particularly keen on dodgems at the best of times, but I wanted to ride them, and thankfully I managed to get on to the first run and sat in a red car. This time I got on quite well driving around the track (better than last year's EFS at Folly Farm anyway).

At the end of that run, everyone who had just ridden the dodgems left the ride. A second run was held primarily for those who missed out first time around. Some cars were still empty, and they were filled with members who had already ridden, on a first-come first-served basis. Thus some members, but not me, were lucky enough to get two goes on the dodgems.

Evening Meal

At 18:30 it was time for dinner at the café. The meals were served in plastic baskets, hence why this was called a basket meal. When booking we were asked to specify whether we wanted fish and chips, sausage and chips or veggie burger and chips. That doesn't necessarily mean everyone stuck with their original choices whilst being served. I had what I'd originally specified: fish and chips. A fizzy drink was also included, I chose Sprite. Initially I sat alone, but shortly afterwards Planenut sat at my table (he had sausage and chips) and we talked to each other during the meal.

The meal ended at 19:05. Nev asked us all to thank the catering staff for staying late to provide our basket meal after closing time. He then said something like "Now you've all eaten, it's time for another spin on the rides". Normally I wouldn't go on rides immediately after eating, but this time I wanted to return to riding anyway. Thankfully even the spinning rides at Folly Farm are reasonably suitable for riding immediately after eating, unlike rides such as Disko, swinging pirate ship or Freak Out type rides. We split into the two groups we formed at the start, and took turns to ride the 1936 Lakin Swirl and Chair-o-Plane.

1936 Lakin Swirl

Also called the Super Swirl or Lakin Skid, this has waltzer style ride cars with small wheels beneath them. Each car is attached by a pivot to a triangle protruding from the spinning central unit. That results in a rather unusual ride experience; a car rotates as far as it can go in one direction before suddenly being thrown sharply back in the opposite direction. I sat alone in car number 2..

Chair-o-Plane

Basically a carousel with chairs hanging from chains. As the ride spins the chairs are forced outwards on an angle. A gentle, pleasurable ride, that's all I really need to say about this.

Folly Farm's Famous Gallopers

Traditional galloping horses, no further explanation needed. The group arrangement no longer applied as most of us got on here simultaneously. I managed to get on this ride, and sat on the horse Helen. Whilst the ride was in progress an instrumental of We All Stand Together was being played.

At this point those who were not accommodated on the first run of Folly Farm's Famous Gallopers now had the chance to ride them, whilst those like me who had ridden them proceeded across to the 1950s Cyclone Twist.

1950s Cyclone Twist

A ride that should be familiar to everyone. This 1950s model obviously looks a bit primitive compared to the more modern ones you tend to see these days (which most of us are likely to have ridden somewhere, generally called Twister these days). Most members including me got on the first run. I sat alone in orange car number 2 during the first run. Being as I'd been on this sort of thing plenty of times before elsewhere, I knew what to expect. Just as I expected, this 1950s model gave a ride experience more or less the same as more modern models. Great fun, I still think the Cyclone is one of my favourite non-coaster rides.

Afterwards a second run was held primarily for those who'd missed out first time around. The remaining seats were filled with members who had already ridden this first time, on a first-come first-served basis. I was lucky enough to get back on for the second run, this time I sat in in a blue car with Paul Heaney, aka Herman.

Brooklyn Cakewalk

I'm sure I can't be the only member who initially thought 1950s Cyclone Twist would be our last ride of the day. Surprisingly there was still time for another ride, the Brooklyn Cakewalk. The whole group queued for the ride. Although several riders could be on it simultaneously, members had to be admitted to it one by one with a short gap between each. I got on to it fairly early on; there was a strange sensation whilst walking along the moving platform. In the interests of safety I held the rails whilst walking. Perhaps the hardest part was stepping from the first moving platform to the stationary landing at the far end and on to the second moving platform to return to entrance / exit end. Just as riders entered the ride one by one, they left it one by one.

Having left the ride I stood and watched others going on. A while later I queued for a second go and managed to get on, however I ended up being the last person admitted to the ride, and hence the last person of the day to leave it at the end.

Summary of my day in order of activity

Daytime

Folly Interactive
Carousel Woods (about one hour)
Lunch at Carousel Café
Penguin Coast and other parts of the zoo.
Pembrokeshire Wheel
Afternoon coffee at Coffee Shop
The Jolly Barn
Carousel Woods (about half an hour)

Exclusive Fair Session

1950s Caterpillar Ride 1
Rock n' Roll Waltzer 1
Jets 1
Ghost Train 1
1938 Dodgem Track 1

Basket meal at restaurant

1936 Lakin Swirl 1
Chair-o-Plane 1
Folly Farm's Famous Gallopers 1
1950s Cyclone Twist 2
Brooklyn Cakewalk 2

Alphabetic Summary Table of EFS Rides

Ride	Total
Brooklyn Cakewalk	2
1950s Caterpillar Ride	1
Chair-o-Plane	1
1950s Cyclone Twist	2
1938 Dodgem Track	1
Folly Farm's Famous Gallopers	1
Ghost Train	1
Jets	1
1936 Lakin Swirl	1
Rock n' Roll Waltzer	1
TOTAL	12

Rest Of Friday

The EFS ended at 19:52. Nev told us the day was over and we all had to return to the car park. Back at the car park, someone gave me a lift to my hotel in Tenby. At 20:15 I was back at Myrtle House Hotel. Half an hour later I went to get myself a whippy ice cream from a nearby shop, and sat at the viewpoint at the bottom of St Mary Street to eat it. After that I returned to my hotel and got what I needed ready for Saturday.

Outro

Highlights

Playing on Carousel Woods indoor play structure early and late afternoon.
Evening Exclusive Fair Session on the Vintage Funfair rides.
Evening basket meal in the café.

Lowlights

Having to take my rucksack around Carousel Woods with me due to lack of lockers.
Not having time for the open-air part of the farm across the road.

Summing Up

Altogether a worthwhile appetiser to Mega-Glow-Mania at Oakwood. During the day I particularly enjoyed playing on Carousel Woods indoor play structure for about an hour early afternoon and half an hour late afternoon, as well as one go on the Pembrokeshire Wheel. I spent longer than I expected in Folly Farm at the start, but at least I covered it well, including the passport stamping section. It was also interesting seeing the new Penguin Coast section, as well as other parts of the zoo again. What a pity there wasn't time to see the open-air part of the farm across the road. If I go back next year I'll have to do that first. Best of all was after 5:30pm: a few vintage rides, a basket meal, and more vintage rides ending with the Brooklyn Cakewalk. Basically the visit to Folly Farm can be summed up as a leisurely day around the farm, zoo and other attractions, culminating in a spin on the vintage rides early evening, as a warm-up to Oakwood the day after. Thank you very much Nev for arranging today at Folly Farm, I hope it continues as part of Mega-Glow-Mania next year and beyond.