Shortly before the recent Half Term, I came across a post on Facebook from Trentham Monkey Forest, announcing the arrival of a new baby Barbary Macaque. Later in the day, after a bit more investigation I discovered there were in fact 3 new babies born, the first babies born at the Monkey Forest since 2017. I instantly knew we had to take a visit during the school holiday.

For our visit we met up with friends from Manchester, proving to be a great time for the kids to see the Monkeys and play whilst the Mum’s had a catch-up.

Location

Trentham Monkey Forest is located only 5 minutes drive away from junction 15 of the M6 by the Trentham Estate.

Arrival

It was a rather damp day the day of our visit, we were all set to dodge rain showers followed by spells of lovely sunshine but it certainly didn’t dampen the mood for our visit.

Upon arrival, I produced our tickets to enter before going through the gates into a vast area for visitors to mill around prior to entering the main attraction. In the visitor’s welcome area there is quite a bit to go an do. First, you will see an outdoor play area for the kids, to the side, there are tables and seats to enjoy a lovely outdoor picnic. In the building behind there is a cafe, serving food, hot and cold drinks and other snacks. Nearby you will find the gift shop and toilets.

Entering The Monkey Forest

On entry into the Monkey Forest itself, you are greeted by a member of staff who will talk you through a couple of safety announcements, keeping yourself and the residents safe. Next, you will walk through a double-gated area, as you enter the forest.

Overall on your visit through the Monkey Forest you will follow a 3/4 mile walk whilst you keep your eyes peeled for some of the 140 Barbary Macaque residents.

We soon found 1 of the new baby Barbary Macaques.

Monkeys walk free in the attraction, as you follow the paths there are low fences to help guide the path and stop visitors walking on the grass towards the residents. From time to time a monkey will want to cross a path, choosing to either jump over the low fence of pass under a beam. You are warned on your arrival to keep a least 1-meter distance from any Monkey to prevent them from getting spooked. All in all the Monkeys seem very calm at having people visit their home.

During our visit we were lucky to catch 1 of the hourly feeding talks. We are told about their diets, the groups that reside in the forest, told how to distinguish between the male and females and who is likely to be the boss of their group. Then the keeper will walk around the feeding area, scattering food before putting the bucket down for a cheeky monkey (or two) to pick it up in hope of finding something tasty within.

Towards the end of the walk there is a small information area, here was a lady giving a talk about the Barbary Macaques prime predators, followed by a short quiz for child and adults to take part in. Leah particularly enjoyed taking part, trying to guess who would be a threat to the Barbary Macaque species.

All in all our walk around the forest took just over an hour, enjoying the sights, information boards and the talks along the way.

Our Verdict

Overall we had a fantastic visit, the kids loved learning about the Barbary Macaques and are already asking to return again as soon as we get some good weather again!

Why not check out the Day’s Out section of my blog to see where else we’ve been visiting recently!

**We were not asked to review Monkey Forest we just wanted to share our visit. I paid for our tickets and received no compensation for our visit. All words and opinions are my own.