Back in August, whilst on holiday in Derbyshire, my family found themselves trying to fill a dull and drizzly day. Then somebody spotted a leaflet for Monkey Forest in our holiday cottage and off we headed.

What is it?

Monkey Forest is a 60 acre site where you can walk amongst 140 or so Barbary macaque monkeys as they roam free in the forest. The leaflet and website for this attraction show visitors sitting in very close proximity to the monkeys, only a metre or so away from them. I was a bit disdainful when I saw this assuming, that the shot had been set up for the photograph. However, I was wrong - on our visit we were able to get within a couple of metres of a family of monkeys including a tiny baby which was being carried around by its dad.

After paying your admission fee you arrive at an area containing the cafe, the shop, a picnic area and two adventure playgrounds. The monkeys are in a separate enclosure surrounded by very high metal fences which you have to enter separately.

Prior to entering the monkey enclosure you are given a briefing by a Monkey Forest Guide. Amongst other things you are told not to touch the monkeys, not to shout, run or make any sudden movements. This is very tricky to comply with if you are trying to control some over-excited children but we gave it our best shot!

You are not allowed to roam free in the forest yourself, visitors are restricted to a ¾ mile paved walk and there are lots of Guides lurking to make sure that nobody misbehaves! After the briefing we had when entering the enclosure I did feel as though I was under constant observation. However, the Guides are very polite and helpful and will happily tell you more about the monkeys if you ask. Occasionally a monkey will cross the path in front of you and if this happens the guides will keep the visitors back to ensure that they don’t get too close.

Scattered throughout the forest are information boards which tell you a little bit more about the monkeys such as their background, habits and what they like to eat.

I was a little disappointed by how quickly we made our way around the walk although there were lots of monkeys to see on the way. 140 monkeys may not sound like a lot but they all seemed to be very close to the path and everywhere you looked there was another monkey. We saw lots of monkeys who seemed to be playing chase together and other monkeys grooming each other.

We had three children in our group – a six year-old, a three year-old and a nine month-old. The two older children loved the whole experience, they were so excited to be seeing monkeys up close rather than in a cage in the zoo. Even the baby sat in his pushchair staring at the monkeys and giggling to himself.

Where is it?

Monkey Forest is located in Trentham on the A34 between Stoke-on-Trent and Stone. It is easily accessible from the M6 although traffic can be a bit slow if you are trying to get there in the rush hour.

There is plenty of parking at the attraction; although the car park was very full when we arrived on a day in August we were able to find a space (just about). The car park is unsurfaced and spaces are not marked which makes things that little bit more chaotic.

Monkey Forest is part of Trentham Gardens and you can buy a joint ticket which will get you entry into both attractions for a slightly reduced price. The car park for Monkey Forest is a mile or so down the road from that of Trentham Gardens although there is a walk you can do between the two.

Cafe and Shop

The cafe and shop are housed in the same building. In fact the cafe runs into the shop which makes it very difficult to dissuade your children from wanting to purchase a whole manner of tacky souvenirs whilst you are trying to eat your lunch!

The cafe sells all the usual stuff – sandwiches, crisps, cake, jacket potatoes, soup and some daily specials. The prices are fairly reasonable for a tourist attraction and are similar to what you would pay at a cafe in a town.

The shop sells an awful lot of monkey related merchandise from soft toys to notepads, postcards and souvenir pencils.

Facilities

In addition to the cafe, there is also a picnic area. This is a large grassy area with the usual wooden picnic tables. There is an adventure playground for older children located in the picnic area and another one for the under 6’s near the cafe. The playgrounds are reasonably well equipped and should occupy your children for a good length of time.

You are not permitted to take any food into the monkey enclosure so if you are planning on a picnic either eat it before you visit the monkeys or leave it in your car. You can get wristbands from the shop which allow you to go back to your car and then re-enter the attraction.

There are toilets and baby changing facilities on site. These were fairly clean and well maintained. The forest is wheelchair accessible although there are some fairly steep slopes in the monkey enclosure which might prove a little tricky.

Prices and Opening Times

For 2009 admission prices are:

Adults: £6.00 each
Children (from 3 to 14 years old): £4.50 each
Under 3 years old: Free of charge
Oaps/students: £5.50 each
Disabled/carers: £3.50 each

Until 31 October, Monkey Forest is open from 10am to 5pm. In November it is only open on Saturdays and Sundays from 10am to 4pm and it closes for the winter from the 16th November until February Half Term.

Website: http://www.trentham-monkey-forest.com/

Overall Opinion

In my opinion the entrance fee is fairly reasonable given that it must cost quite a bit to run an attraction like this. I would definitely recommend a visit here if you have young children and are in the area. However, there really isn’t very much to see – once you have been in the monkey enclosure and had a play on the adventure playground, that’s about it. I would not plan on spending a whole day here, it is probably best combined with a visit to Trentham Gardens down the road.