I saw some Monkey Business in the Forest! (Monkey Forest (Trentham))

Member Name: jo1976

Product:	Monkey Forest (Trentham)
Date:	27/08/09 (123 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Fascinating to watch monkeys at close quarters

Disadvantages: Poorly designed facilities, cafe expensive, not a whole day's experience

With two kids and a mother in law to entertain this week we decided to take our little monkeys out for a trip in the forest. Trentham Monkey Forest in Staffordshire is within half an hour's drive of my home town, so it's a place that we've visited on several occasions now. The concept is apparantly unique within the UK as the forest is home to over 140 Barbary Macaque monkeys who are free to roam as they please, within the grounds of a 60 acre enclosure.

On previous visits, we've just walked straight through to the kiosk and purchased our tickets but this time (mid-August, so at the peak of children's summer holidays) we found two lengthy queues at the entrance. Even more annoying was the discovery that we'd joined the 'cash only' queue which was indicated by a sign that was only visible once you'd almost reached the kiosk after ten minutes of queuing! Not the best of starts. At least there were plenty of spaces available in the car park and no additional charges for that.

Past the entrance there are toilet facilities, a cafe and play areas which can be enjoyed either before or after entering the gated enclosure which houses the monkeys. There are some health and safety rules explained by guides before entering the monkey enclosure which are all self-explanatory and include things like no eating and no running or shouting. Any carrier bags have to be left behind with a guide in case a monkey gets tempted by the sight of your butties!

The first time I visited was around four years ago now, shortly after the forest first opened and I was expecting the monkeys to be hidden away in the trees and that it would be a case of trying to spot them as they lurked behind the branches. I was genuinely shocked when we came across about ten small monkeys sitting in the middle of a grassed area just a few metres away from where we stood, completely unpertubed by their human visitors. It was even more of a surprise when the monkeys started (play) fighting amongst themselves and a group of them went racing across the path almost knocking my little boy over!

We now know what to expect and whilst I initially felt that this wouldn't necessarily be a place that you would want to go back to, we do tend to go back once every year or so and always find it an enjoyable experience which the adults enjoy as much as the kids seem to. I'm deliberately avoiding using the phrase 'day out' as the time you'll spend at the forest itself is definitely not a full day, although it can easily be combined with a visit to the delightful shopping village just a short drive away. You would probably only need to set aside either a morning or afternoon to enjoy the Monkey Forest experience which might make the admission prices seem less good value than otherwise. Despite the claims that the site is 60 acres, visitors are restricted to a pathway which takes you on a circular trail through parts of the forest. This area is certainly much shorter than 60 acres and takes about an hour (possibly less if you spend less time admiring the lovely monkeys) at most to walk around. We've taken a pushchair with us on our last two visits and it is accessible but there are sections of the pathway that are quite steep.

There are guides available at certain points on the walkway and they seemed very approachable and knowledgeable about the Barbary Macaques and their lifestyle. There are also scheduled feeding talks that take place every hour which ensures that lots of monkeys are attracted to the areas where the visitors walk through.

If I was rating based on the monkeys alone, I would be inclined to be more generous as they really are lovely little creatures and it is so enchanting watching them interacting with each other at close quarters. I thought my youngest son who is only two years old might find the visit a little boring but he was mesmerised by the monkeys and we had a little running commentary of all the monkey antics from him! 'Look! Monkey climbed up! Monkey fallen down! Monkey eating apple! Monkey asleep!' My oldest son, at six years old, found the later sections of the walk a little boring as the majority of the monkeys tend to congregate close to the entrance and there is less to see towards the end. A few uninspiring information boards on the way round failed to hold his attention either, except for one which featured images of the different monkey expressions and what they represent. The image of a monkey supposedly displaying 'playful screaming' would be enough to send grown men running for cover!

After sufficient monkey business, we headed back to the outer enclosure to get something to eat and let our little monkeys burn off some of their own energy. Unfortunately, having decided against bringing a packed lunch we soon discovered the inadequacies of the Banana Cafe. We actually spent longer queuing for food there than we did inside the monkey enclosure - at least it certainly felt like it! Worst still was the poor selection of food available and the high prices charged for it. My Feta Cheese Salad sandwich sounded quite tempting but I was certainly unimpressed with the quality or the freshness. To add insult to injury, the cafe didn't seem to have sufficient highchairs available so my husband ended up with our two year old perched on his knee eating his dinner! I would definitely recommend taking a packed lunch for any future visits as the outdoor designated picnic area looked a much more attractive proposition. I would also advise nipping to the loo before you go into the monkey enclosure as there are insufficient available and you don't want to leave it to the last minute and end up in another long queue! My final criticism concerns the two children's play areas which have been designed for different age groups but are at completely different sides of the grounds so there is no way that parents could adequately supervise children of different ages. There is no shortage of space available so it seems strange to have been designed in this inconvenient way.

In all, it's a shame that the excellent Monkey Forest experience is let down somewhat by some poorly thought out facilities and services. It is expensive for the time you are likely to spend watching the monkeys but it is certainly an entertaining way to spend a few hours.

Admission prices (correct at Summer 2009): Adults £6, Children (3-14) £4.50 OAPs £5.50, under-threes are free. It is also possible to purchase a combined ticket which includes admission to Trentham's Italian Gardens and Lake or to use Tesco Deals vouchers for admission.

Trentham Monkey Forest, Stone Road, Trentham, Staffordshire, ST4 8AY
Telephone: 01782 659845

Opening times and further information on the website:
www.monkey-forest.com

Summary: Get up close and personal with some little monkeys