Come and make a monkey friend! (Monkey Forest (Trentham))

Member Name: manonfireuk

Product:	Monkey Forest (Trentham)
Date:	26/10/09 (34 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: You'll get to see more during the autumn and spring months

Disadvantages: Very busy during summer

I visited the monkey forest in Trentham for the second time this weekend and loved it as much as the first. I don't have any kids this was purely for myself and my wife!

The monkey forest is 60 acres of woodland and contains 140 Barbary Macaques. The monkeys are left to roam freely as they would do in their natural habitat which provides you with a great opportunity to get up close with your monkey friends! You follow a 3/4 mile forest path around the site and the monkeys often walk across your path, not bothered in the slightest that you're standing there right next to them! This obviously provides you with some great photo opportunities!

Even though you have to stick to the path, if you have a good camera you'll leave with some great photos. You'll get to see them feeding, grooming each other and jumping through the trees. There are often very young monkeys in the park too, hitching a ride on the back of a parent.

What is even greater about this project is that they also reintroduce the monkeys back into the wild in Morocco, helping to maintain populations of these wonderful creatures in their natural habitat.

Also on site is a cafe which is pricey but it's what you come to expect in these kind of places. Plus there is a gift shop with the usual stationary, cuddly toys and t-shirts. There is also a picnic area if you want to bring your own food plus 2 adventure playgrounds for young children. If you're driving to the park they also have a free car park so you don't have to worry about parking.

Entry into the forest is £6 for adults and £4.50 for children. I don't think this is a bad price when you think of how much work goes into maintaining this forest and looking after the monkeys. Plus there are lots of guides posted around the forest who will be happy to answer questions and there are lots of information boards with mini quizzes on darted around the forest that provide lots of interesting information about the monkeys. The forest also has quizzes and trails for the kids to do during the school holidays so you can make more of a day of it with the kids.

The forest's busiest times are during the summer holiday. If you go during the summer you'll have nicer weather but you won't see as much of the monkeys as you would later or earlier in the year due to the crowds. I would recommend visiting in spring or autumn, the monkeys are still happy being out and about and it won't be too crowded so you can capture that perfect monkey moment on film!

For more details and directions visit www.monkey-forest.com

Summary: A great day out if you can get good weather and avoid the crowds