Monkeying around in the Midlands. (Monkey Forest (Trentham))

Member Name: Spudtastic

Product:	Monkey Forest (Trentham)
Date:	01/04/09 (483 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Ability to see monkeys behaving as they would in their natural environment

Disadvantages: Not all of park accessible to wheelchair users

Monkey Forest consists of 60 acres of woodland inhabited by around 140 Barbary Macaques. What sets this apart from similar attractions such as zoos, however, is that the monkeys aren't caged - they have the ability to roam freely across the entirety of the forest, and so as a visitor you can actually come within touching distance of them... although, obviously, you shouldn't ACTUALLY touch the monkeys!

Monkey Forest is in Trentham, near Stoke on Trent in the Midlands. There are also three other parks - two in France (La Montagne des Singes and La Forêt des Singes) and one in Germany (Affenberg Salem). Details on accessing the forest are given on the website (www.monkey-forest.com) - it's easy to find either by car or by using public transport, and is very clearly sign posted.

Upon arrival, there's ample space for parking your car, and this is free. At the time of writing, entry is very reasonably priced at £6.00 for adults, £5.50 for students/OAPs, £4.50 for children (3-14 years of age) and free for kids under 3. When you buy tickets you'll be offered the option of purchasing a guide book for £3, which contains a map and some information about the Forest, its history and the monkeys within it. You are free to enter and exit as you wish (so if you came by car you can leave any food there), but in order to do so you need to get a (free) wristband from the souvenir shop. Said shop is on the right hand side of the attraction as you enter, and sells monkey themed gifts such as keyrings, badges, bookmarks, mugs, glasses, beakers, cuddly toys, cards and postcards. These are fairly expensive, but prices are average when compared to any other tourist attraction selling souvenirs - about £2 for key rings and £10+ for cuddly toys, for example. The shop is adjoined to the 'Banana Café' which sells, amongst other things, sandwiches, wraps, chips, soups, jacket potatoes, and hot and cold drinks. Although I didn't sample anything, everything looked appealing. The café is very clean with plenty of seating (indoor and outdoor) and a nice atmosphere, and prices are, again, average for such an attraction - £2.40 for a kid's meal, £3.60 for a jacket potato and £1.40 for a bottled soft drink.

Before (or indeed after) entering the actual Forest, there are a few other things for you to see and do. There are 2 children's adventure playgrounds - one located next to the outdoor seating for the café for children up to 6 years old, and one located to the left of the entrance of the attraction, in a picnic area, for 6-12 year olds. These are only small, but enough to keep kids occupied during lunch while parents sit at picnic benches and supervise. There are copious amounts of picnic benches, with some sheltered from the rain. There are also 2 stations where you can learn more about the Barbary Macaques. One is an indoor video area, where an 18 minute information video on the monkeys is on a continuous loop, whilst the other is a sheltered information centre with several posters detailing information on, for example, conservation, breeding and behaviour of the monkeys, and how the Forest is used by many universities to conduct studies. The information is clear and succinct so that youngsters and adults alike can benefit from, and enjoy, it. It's certainly worth a look.

Once you've decided to head towards the Forest itself, you'll be greeted by a guide wearing a bright yellow Monkey Forest t-shirt (or waterproof, depending on the weather!). These will give you a quick rundown of the rules, and said rules are clearly posted on signs around the park. It's pretty obvious stuff - don't shout, don't run, don't feed the monkeys. You should probably know before you go that you CANNOT eat or drink once you're inside the Forest, although you can eat on their grounds if you're outside the enclosure.

Inside the Forest, there is a main gravel pathway that you must stick to. There is a small fence around this, but nothing to keep the monkeys out - they can climb over or walk under it as it's only about 2 foot high. The Barbary Macaques will frequently stroll across the path in front of you, and generally pay little attention to the strange creatures gawping at them! Although they have full access to 60 acres of forest, the monkeys are generally concentrated within the areas of the 2 main feeding stations - locations of very high monkey-density! There are 5 minute feeding talks given by the guides every hour, whereby you are informed of the behaviour and social hierarchy of the monkeys as well as some information about the park. I highly recommend making sure that you catch one of these - they're very informative with the opportunity to ask any questions that you may have, and children are encouraged to both answer and ask questions. The talks alternate between the two feeding stations, so although they are hourly across the whole park, they are every 2 hours at each of them.

The park is beautiful, and it's incredibly easy to forget that you're only a stone's throw away from Stoke on Trent! You could spend hours trying to spot monkeys sleeping or playing amidst the dense foliage, and if you go in the summer you may be lucky enough to spot a baby monkey clinging to the fur of a parent. It's fascinating to watch the way that the monkeys behave and interact with each other in such a wonderful replication of their natural environment, whilst still remaining surprisingly tolerant of any visitors that wish to take their photograph!

The walk around the forest isn't particularly hard-going, but the second half isn't accessible to wheelchair users and those with pushchairs may struggle due to the rather steep hill. Dotted around the path are information points that are very easy to digest for younger visitors, whilst still remaining interesting for the adults, concerning issues such as the social hierarchy, habitat and behaviour of the monkeys.

I'd highly recommend visiting Monkey Forest - it appeals to animal lovers of all ages, and the freedom afforded by the massive park makes the experience far better than any trip to a zoo or safari park.

Summary: A wonderful day out for animal-lovers of all ages!