How to visit us: Guidelines

Before you come

Ideally, we ask you to book your entrance ticket online in advance of your visit. This is the only way to guarantee entry to the site on busy days. Walk-ins are very welcome at most times too. Each entrance slot can accommodate up to 6 people. All children must be accompanied by at least one adult at all times during your visit. If there are more than 6 people in your group, please book 2 entrance tickets and just make sure that there is 1 adult in each group.

• Help = I am not internet savvy! – If you are not internet-savvy or aren’t able to book online for any reason, please phone us on 07966 956357. However, please do try to book online if you possibly can – it really helps us! If you do need to phone through your booking, do be aware that we are a small team and cannot always answer the phone – leave a message and we will call you back as soon as we can.
• Do I have to book in advance? – Ideally yes please, if you can! There may be walk-in places available, so it is always worth turning up on the day and asking us in the Ticket Office.
• Do you accept card? – Yes! We also accept Apple Pay and other mobile phone contactless payments, but cannot accept American Express.
• What is the average stay-time? That is really difficult to answer! Some people whizz around in an hour or less, whereas some people are here all day. Average stay-time is probably therefore 2-3 hours. If you like to lead your own adventures, learn as you go, taken time to potter around the garden and farm trails, search for wildlife, have a yummy lunch and really make the most of what we offer, you really can stay all day.
• Are you wheelchair accessible? – Yes! Sarah’s mum used a wheelchair and helped us design the site. We have a wheelchair access toilet as well as ambulent toilets in both male and female toilet blocks. Depending on the height of the wheelchair, wheelchair users can get their legs under about 50% of the tables in Grub Kitchen and the tables for the up-Close Meet the Bugs session. The car park is tarmac, with disabled parking spaces available. All the site is flat with the exception of a little step (and moveable ramp) into the Museum. The Farm Trail paths are mown grass and the Walled Garden path is stonedust.

On arrival

Please arrive at your designated time slot. You will be greeted in the Ticket Office by a member of our friendly Bug Farm team. We will ask for your booking name as confirmation of your booking.

Around the site

There are easy-to-follow directions around the site. We suggest that you pop into the Museum first, before heading into the Tropical Bug Zoo and then exploring the British Bug House, Walled Garden, Art Gallery, Bug Barn and Farm Trail. We highly recommend planning in having lunch in Grub Kitchen, where all of the delicious, sustainable, local food is cooked to order.

‘Up-Close Meet the Bugs’ sessions

During Welsh school holidays, don’t forget to book onto one of our extremely popular Up-Close Meet the Bugs sessions – they really are not to be missed!

• Can we book these sessions at other times of the year? – You can only book these sessions in advance on our website during Welsh school holidays. At other times of the year, when we are less busy, you have the opportunity to book a session on arrival. If we cannot offer sessions on the day you visit, you will be able to handle some of our invertebrates in the Tropical Bug Zoo instead.

Food & Drink

Grub Kitchen

Grub Kitchen serves food from 12 noon – 2:30 pm (and 12 noon – 3:30 pm during Welsh school holidays) when The Bug Farm is open. Food is ordered at the bar on a first-come-first-served basis. There is both indoor and outdoor seating. All food is cooked to fresh to order. To help reduce the use of single-use cups, Grub Kitchen is supporting the #ContactlessCoffee scheme. Please do bring your (clean) re-usable cup to be filled (they won’t be able to wash your cups for you!).

Picnics

We would, of course, suggest that you eat at Grub Kitchen when visiting us – the food is delicious. However, if you would like to bring a picnic with you, you are welcome to eat it on any of our outdoor benches! We just ask that you take all of your picnic rubbish home with you and do not leave any of it in our onsite bins.

Season ticket holders

All season ticket holders will need to book online in advance through the regular booking system, selecting the ‘Season Ticket’ option. This enables us to control numbers onsite. You won’t be charged when you book and you will be asked to show your season ticket on entrance as usual.

After your visit

If you need to contact us, please e-mail info@thebugfarm.co.uk – you can also ring us on 07966 956357. However, please do be aware that we are a small team and may not be able to respond immediately or answer the phone during busy periods – please leave a message and we will call back as soon as we can.