Fun for all the family

Below is my “Big Day Out” column from the Saturday, July 2, 2011, Swansea edition of the South Wales Evening Post.

----------------------------------------

Fun for all the family
A big day out!

RICHARD THOMAS heads to ...

Folly Farm near Tenby in Pembrokeshire.

WHY?

Folly Farm Adventure Park and Zoo is the top paid-for visitor attraction in Wales and winner of the Best Family Day Out in Pembrokeshire.

WHAT’S THE BUZZ?

Located near the tourist town of Tenby in the beautiful Pembrokeshire countryside, Folly Farm offers affordable fun days out for the whole family. With six fun-filled amusement and activity zones, some of which are undercover, there is something to enjoy for all ages, whatever the weather.

ANY HISTORY?

Folly Farm opened in 1988 following the decision by the owners, the Williams and Ebsworth families, to diversify from dairy farming into the leisure industry. In 1997 Pets Corner opened and in 2002 the first zoo animals arrived.

More recently, in 2009, Folly Farm welcomed Wales' only giraffe to their zoo, a move that coincided with Folly Farm winning Premier Family Day Out at the Pembrokeshire Tourism Awards that year.

Today Folly Farm attracts 400,000 visitors each year, making it Wales' top paid-for tourist attraction.

WHAT TO TAKE?

Don’t forget to bring a camera with you. Tickets cost £9.00 for adults and £8.00 for children (3-15 year olds) on days when the park is open 10.00am to 5.30pm. On days when Folly Farm closes at 5.00pm tickets only cost £8.50 and £7.50. Toddlers two years old and under visit Folly Farm for free! Food and drink are available at Folly Farm’s Ploughman's Restaurant.

LOOK OUT FOR?

Folly Farm's Jolly Barn is home to a huge variety of farmyard animals, including sheep, pigs, donkeys, horses, chickens and other farm animals. There's also loads of opportunities for children to get hands-on during the Pet Handling sessions in the nearby Pets' Centre which is home to rabbits, guinea pigs, tortoises, parrots and lots more.

But with over 50 different species and more than 250 animals, Folly Farm’s zoo is the big highlight.

As well as giraffe Folly Zoo has zebra, Bactrian camels, pythons and other animals to see. And with zoo keeper talks, the chance to watch the animals during feeding times, and a whole host of fascinating facts on Folly Zoo’s animal enclosure signs, you’ll go home knowing a lot more about the different species.

But Folly Farm is much more than just a zoo. The 200 acre park is also home to Europe's largest undercover vintage funfair with a huge collection of working rides and stalls lovingly restored to their 20th century glory. A vintage big wheel and giant helter skelter ride sit just outside the funfair completing the old time funfair experience.

And if all that isn’t enough there’s even a go-kart racetrack!

WHEN TO GO?

Folly Farm will be open 10.00am to 5.30pm daily throughout most of April. You can check their opening times for a specific date on the official Folly Farm website at: www.folly-farm.co.uk.

TELL ME MORE

Their address is: Folly Farm, Begelly, Kilgetty, Pembrokeshire, SA68 0XA. For more information you can email info@folly-farm.co.uk or call on 01834 812731.

Farm targets visitors

Below is my “Big Day Out” column from the Saturday, June 25, 2011, Swansea edition of the South Wales Evening Post.
 

  
-----------------------------------

Farm targets visitors
  A big day out!

RICHARD THOMAS heads to …

Perriswood down the Gower.

WHY?
Located on the A4118 in the heart of the Gower overlooking the stunning Oxwich Bay, Perriswood Archery and Falconry Centre is only a 20 minuet drive from Swansea. The centre provides a range of activities that can be enjoyed by individuals and groups of all ages. Whether you are looking to try something new; relax and take in the surrounding scenery; have fun with the family; or celebrate a special occasion ... Perriswood is a good place to visit.
WHAT’S THE BUZZ?
Archery lessons are available all day everyday on the centre’s outside range, or inside if the weather is not good. The lessons are suitable for the whole family from 6 years old up and for all abilities. At the end of an hour lesson you get the chance to win a solid gold, Celtic design ring! All you have to do is shoot an arrow into the centre of a ring on your target.
There are also 38 different birds of prey to see at Perriswood, including owls, hawks, and falcons. And visitors get to hold the birds for themselves. You even get the chance to see one fly to your own gloved hand!
Very few falconry centres let members of the public so close to their birds, setting Perriswood apart from other centres.
For a more relaxing option you can enjoy a herbal tea or freshly ground coffee with a cake in the Perriswood coffee shop. You can also take a look around the rest of the centre’s animal attractions, including monkeys, micro pigs, honey bees, and others.
ANY HISTORY?
Brian Williams and his family have lived at Perriswood Farm for over 200 years. In 2004 Brian decided to diversify into teaching archery. The centre originally started off with seven bows and two targets in one of the fields. Over the last seven years the centre has developed and today Perriswood can have up to 80 people shooting at one time!
By spring 2007 it was decided that changing the way that archery is taught wasn’t enough and Brian struck out to bring birds of prey to the masses.
WHAT TO TAKE?
The centre offers visitors three different length lessons. A 15 minute archery lesson costs £6.00, and 30 minuets costs £8.00. An hour lesson costs £14.00. Whereas “Arrows, Talons & Tea” costs only £12.00 per person.
LOOK OUT FOR?
If you would like to try archery and falconry then “Arrows, Talons and Tea” is the best package. An introduction to archery is followed by a hot drink and cake before you take part in a bird display.
WHEN TO GO?
Perriswood is open seven days a week. Their opening hours are 10.00am to 7.00pm.
TELL ME MORE
You can contact Perriswood and find out more via their website at www.perriswood.com or phone on 01792 371661. Their address is: Perriswood Farm, Penmaen, Gower, Swansea, SA3 2HN.

Nile on your doorstep

Below is my “Big Day Out” column from the Saturday, June 18, 2011, Swansea edition of the South Wales Evening Post.

---------------------------------------------------------

Nile on your doorstep
  A big day out!

  RICHARD THOMAS heads to ...

the Egypt Centre in Swansea.

WHY?
With the popularity of films like “The Mummy” and its sequels, why not take the family to the Egypt Centre at Swansea University and discover for yourself the facts behind the fiction. Find out about the real Imhotep, high priest of the sun god Ra and architect of Ancient Egypt’s first pyramid. You can also see for yourself a real life Egyptian coffin, as well as other ancient exhibits from the land of the Nile!
WHAT’S THE BUZZ?
Located within the Taliesin building at Swansea University, the Egypt Centre is the only museum of Egyptian antiquities in Wales.
The Centre is open to the public and also welcomes school parties and groups from early years, primary and secondary to graduate and post-graduate and special needs students. To book you can Email Wendy Goodridge at w.r.goodridge@swansea.ac.uk.
ANY HISTORY?
The Egypt Centre opened in 1998, but its roots are much older. Most of the objects in the Centre were part of the collection of the 19th and early 20th century pharmacist and archaeologist Sir Henry Wellcome, who collected them from excavations.
LOOK OUT FOR?
There are over 4500 items in the collection. Egypt Centre staff have published over 100 online pages concerning individual items, which you can find on the Egypt Centre website at: www.swan.ac.uk/egypt The funerary items on display in the “House of Death” are one highlight. These include amulets, shrouds, statues, coffins and fragments of coffins, and even canopic jars, which were used by the Ancient Egyptians to store and preserve the internal organs of the deceased for their journey through the afterlife.
WHAT TO TAKE?
Bring a camera with you. Admission is free but you might want to visit the Egypt Centre Shop located in the foyer of the museum, where you can buy some keepsakes. Some of the more unusual gifts available include books of Egyptian spells and curses, as well as a wide range of statues, recycled glass, papyrus from Egypt, and exclusive hand-made jewellery. More conventional items like pens, pencils and key-rings are also available to buy.
WHEN TO GO?
The Egypt Centre is open Tuesday to Saturday 10am to 4pm.
Please note that the Centre is not open Sundays, Mondays or bank holidays, and will be closed for the Christmas holidays from 24 December to 4 January.
TELL ME MORE
You can contact the Egypt Centre at Swansea University at the following address:
Egypt Centre,
Swansea University,
Singleton Park,
Swansea,
SA2 8PP.
You can also telephone on: 01792 295960 or Email the curator, Carolyn Graves-Brown at: c.a.graves-brown@swansea.ac.uk.

Roll up for big thrills

Below is my “Big Day Out” column from the Saturday, June 11, 2011, Swansea edition of the South Wales Evening Post.

----------------------------------------------

Roll up for big thrills

A big day out!

  RICHARD THOMAS heads to ....

Oakwood Theme Park in Pembrokeshire.

WHY?

With over 30 rides and attractions including three roller coasters and four water rides, Oakwood Theme Park in Pembrokeshire attracts 400,000 visitors each year, making it one of the UK's top ten theme parks. So with Oakwood re-open for the new season in early April, why not check it out?

WHAT’S THE BUZZ?

Located off the A40 motorway at Canaston Bridge, 8 miles east of the town of Haverfordwest, Oakwood park provides fun for all the family, from white knuckle rides to dazzling firework displays and other special events Oakwood has it all. Also other family attractions including Fully Farm and Scolton Museum can be found near Oakwood Theme Park, just six miles away.

ANY HISTORY?

Oakwood Theme Park first opened in 1987 as “Oakwood Leisure Park”, a very small family park with BMXs, a wooden fort, a 3D-style cinema experience show, go-karts and a water chute ride.

In 1996 Oakwood’s status as a small-scale regional attraction was completely transformed when the park opened “Megafobia” to the public. At that time Europe's largest wooden roller coaster ride. Since then the park has acquired a worldwide reputation for innovation and has since incorporated four more large thrill rides: “Vertigo”, “Bounce”, “Hydro” and the park’s newest roller coaster “Speed” opened in 2006.

WHAT TO TAKE?

Standard tickets for visitors over 13 years old cost £19.95, while junior tickets for children 3-12 years old cost £14.25 each. Children two years old and younger visit the park for free and by booking online you can save £2.00 per person!

Food and drink are available in the park’s restaurants, the Southern-fried chicken at Dixie's Chicken Diner is good. There are also gift shops with t-shirts, mugs and other Oakwood Theme Park merchandise available to buy. You can also purchase photos of yourself on Megafobia and the other rides, but don’t forget to bring a camera with you to take your own snaps.

LOOK OUT FOR?

Oakwood has a good variety of rides to suit all people and ages. Megafobia and Speed are the park's two most exciting roller coasters. In the Detailed Wood Roller Coaster Poll 2010 the 85-foot-tall Megafobia ranked number 30 in the world. Speed is an exhilarating ride, twisting and turning at speeds of up to 60 miles per hour. Bounce is a vertical ride, shooting you up into the air at more than 40mph. Together with the Hydro water ride, these four attractions form Oakwood’s “Big Four”, the ultimate adrenaline rush for thrill seekers!

For the more wary and younger children there are also more family orientated rides, including The Pirate Ship and Snake River Falls.

WHEN TO GO?

Oakwood is generally open 10.00am to 5.00pm daily. For more information about opening times you can visit the official Oakwood Theme Park website at www.oakwoodthemepark.co.uk.

Jam-packed museum

Below is my “Big Day Out” column from the Saturday, June 4, 2011, Swansea edition of the South Wales Evening Post.

------------------------------------------------

Jam-packed museum
  A big day out!

RICHARD THOMAS heads to ...

The National Waterfront Museum in Swansea.

WHY?
Jam-packed with the latest interactive technology married with traditional displays, the National Waterfront Museum in Swansea offers visitors a unique and fully involved learning experience for the 21st century. So with the Welsh weather why not enjoy finding out about Swansea’s vast industrial and maritime heritage at Wales’ newest national museum?
WHAT’S THE BUZZ?
The National Waterfront Museum at Swansea tells the story of industry and innovation in Wales, now and over the last 300 years. The museum uses a collage of real life artefacts, archive footage and photographs, 2-D graphic panels, video diaries and various and often ingenious interactive computer displays, to bring Wales’ industrial and social history vividly to life for visitors. "We wanted to look at the impact industrialisation had on the people of Wales. We are trying to break the mould and tell stories right up to the present day … It's not having gadgets for gadgets' sake - the technology allows us to get the real stories", Dr Richard Bevins, Keeper of Geology at the National Museum Wales, said in 2005.
ANY HISTORY?
Lots, the museum has more than 100 historical artefacts from Wales’ industrial past. Formerly the site of the Swansea Industrial & Maritime Museum the new National Waterfront Museum was opened in October 2005. The museum building itself is a synthesis of contemporary architecture and Welsh history. The building eloquently combining a Grade II listed former dockside warehouse built in 1902 with a 21st century glass and slate structure, designed exactly a century later by Stirling Prize-winning architects Wilkinson Eyre.
WHAT TO TAKE?
You can bring a camera with you. Although, visitors wishing to take photographs will be required to complete a Declaration Form available from the Information Desk. Admission is free but you might want to purchase some keepsakes in the museum’s gift shop, where the money you spend is gifted back to the museum.
LOOK OUT FOR?
With 36 interactive displays there’s too much to list. One of the most memorable exhibits is a detailed scale model of the 1865 steam ship Zeta, after which Swansea-born Hollywood actress Catherine Zeta Jones was named. There’s also a replica of the world's first steam locomotive, built by British inventor Richard Trevithick, which made its first journey along the tramway of the Penydarren Ironworks, near Merthyr Tydfil in 1804.
WHEN TO GO?
The museum is open from 10.00am to 5.00pm daily.
TELL ME MORE
The National Waterfront Museum at Swansea is located in Swansea's Maritime Quarter, and less than half a mile from the city centre. There address is: National Waterfront Museum, Oystermouth Road, Maritime Quarter, Swansea, SA1 3RD. To find out more about exhibits etc. you can visit the National Waterfront Museum website at www.museumwales.ac.uk/en/swansea or call on 01792 638950.

Movie magic lives!

Below is my “Big Day Out” column from the Saturday, May 28, 2011, Swansea edition of the South Wales Evening Post.

 
--------------------------------------------------

Movie magic lives!

A big day out!

RICHARD THOMAS heads to ...

the Vue Cinema in Swansea.

WHY?

With the summer blockbusters just around the corner there are lots of films coming out soon at the Vue.

WHAT’S THE BUZZ?

The Vue is a new state-of-the-art cinema located on York Street, in the centre of Swansea. With 12 screens the cinema can seat up to 1,762 people and is equipped with all the latest facilities you would expect of a modern cinema. These include wall-to-wall screens and digital projectors, enabling filmgoers to experience all the latest ground breaking 3D animation!

The Vue also benefits from a speed bar where you can kick back with a beer before your film starts. There’s even a Ben and Jerry's ice cream counter for the kids!

ANY HISTORY?

The Vue only opened in 2006 but there is a long history of film going in Swansea. In 1914 Wales' first purpose built cinema, the Carlton Cinema de Luxe, opened in the city.

Situated on Swansea’s Oxford Street, the Carlton was closed by the Rank Organisation in 1977, and is now home to a Waterstones bookshop.

WHAT TO TAKE?

During the weekend tickets cost £7.15 for adults (19 and over) and £5.30 for children (2-12) and £5.65 for teenagers (13-18). Tickets for students with a valid photo ID only cost £6.05.

There are lots of discounts available. If you’re a family of four with two children you can even opt to buy a family ticket where everyone pays child prices! More information about ticket prices and family discounts can all be found on the Vue Cinema Swansea website at http://new.myvue.com/home/cinema/swansea.

Completing your cinema experience a wide variety of snacks including popcorn, hot dogs, nachos, sweets and soft drinks are all available at the cinema’s snacks counter. Combos are available to save a little money.

LOOK OUT FOR?

Two films out now suitable for all the family are Rio from the makers of Ice Age about a pet macaw who decides to fly the coop and head to Rio de Janeiro and Mars Needs Moms about a stroppy son whose mum is abducted by aliens and taken to the planet Mars. Both these films are available in stunning 3D!

Scream 4 is out for older audiences. The first film in the popular horror franchise in over ten years! Woodsboro’s infamous masked killer is back. And he's got some making up to do!

WHEN TO GO?

The Vue is open Monday to Saturday, 9.00am to 5.00pm. On Sundays the cinema is open from 10.00am to 4.00pm.

TELL ME MORE

Their address is: Vue Cinema Swansea, York Street, Swansea, SA1 3LZ. For film start times and to book tickets you can phone on 08712 240 240 or visit the official Vue Cinema website at www.myvue.com.

Futuristic laser warfare

Below is my “Big Day Out” column from the Saturday, May 21, 2011, Swansea edition of the South Wales Evening Post.

-------------------------------------------------------

Futuristic laser warfare 
A big day out!
RICHARD THOMAS heads to ...
Laserzone in Swansea. 

WHY?
Fans of James Cameron’s 1991 science fiction film Terminator 2: Judgment Day will recall the high-tech laser battle fought between the human resistance and the Terminator machines at the beginning of that dystopian blockbuster. At the Laserzone in Swansea you won’t bump into Arnold Schwarzenegger, but you can experience all the excitement of such sci-fi warfare without the obvious risks.
WHAT’S THE BUZZ?
Located opposite Castle Square next to Swansea Castle, Laserzone is a high-tech, live action laser game played in a multi-level themed arena with special effects, fog, laser beams, pulse pumping music and other players/targets combining to create the ultimate laser adventure!
ANY HISTORY?
Not really. But some might think it ironic that the Laserzone is situated next door to the ruins of Swansea Castle, a place where real life battles once took place back in history.
LOOK OUT FOR?
There are some arcade games to keep you occupied while you wait for your turn to play, but the highlight is definitely the Laserzone game itself. Each player is given a laser pack consisting of a laser weapon and body armour. The gun and body armour both have hit sensors built into them, all of which have different score ratings. Your end score depends on your hit to shots fired ratio and how many times you’ve been hit by other players. Up to 30 players can play at once and you can choose to either play as part of a team or go it alone as an individual.
WHAT TO TAKE?
Wear casual clothes, dark colours would be best. Anyone aged eight years old and over can play. Prices are £4.00 for one game and £7.50 for two games for non-members. If you enjoy your Laserzone experience you might considering becoming a member. Membership only costs £10.00 for one year, and after you become a member you get money off each time you return to play. Also every Wednesday between 2.00pm and 4.00pm and again between 8.00pm and 10.00pm students with a valid NUS card get to play for £5.00. And on Sundays between 10.30am and 12.00pm under 16’s get to play a minimum of 3 games and a free squash drink for £7.50. If you feel hungry after playing there are some snack machines to use and a pizza restaurant, Pizza Express, is just next door.
WHEN TO GO?
The Laserzone is open seven days a week. It is open Monday to Friday from 12.00pm to 10.00pm and on weekends from 10.00am to 9.00pm. During the school holidays they are open 11.00am to 10.00pm.
TELL ME MORE
Their address is: Laserzone, Castle Buildings, Worcester Place, Swansea, SA1 1JQ. You can find up to date information about game prices etc. on the Laserzone website at www.laserzone.org or call on 01792 653433.