Family Day Out: Trentham Gardens and Monkey Forest

The baby monkey leapt through the air towards its mother’s back. And missed. At just three weeks old, the youngest member of the Trentham Monkey Forest’s troupe of Barbary Macaques was still working on the kind of agility its elder relatives were showing off in the branches above.

review visit*

Looking spectacularly unconcerned, the mother scooped up the dark-haired baby who clung on tightly before heading off to investigate another patch of grass and leftover food from the earlier feeding session.

Minnie was in heaven… and there was a very real likelihood of us standing in one small spot for our whole visit. Fortunately this wasn’t our first time at the Trentham Monkey Forest – and equally fortunately, the temptation of spotting more monkeys (large and small) eventually persuaded my four-year-old to move on.

We have form for visiting on drizzly chilly August days, including our last trip, but as we discovered then, the monkeys don’t mind at all thanks to their furry coats and with wellies for Minnie, she wasn’t fussed either.

It’s always fun for me revisiting somewhere with my daughter, comparing the two trips in my head – visiting the Trentham Monkey Forest with kids is something we never get tired of repeating.

It’s strange to think the tiny monkeys we saw scampering around in 2014 are now firmly part of one of the two monkey families – the 140 macaques were originally brought in two groups, and they remain divided that way today. 

It’s equally lovely to consider how each new baby is helping with the park’s conservation goal as the monkeys remain endangered in their homes of Morocco and Algeria.

My own monkey, as inquisitive and scampery as the furry sort, was far more curious this time around too.

With information boards dotted around, we could normally answer the questions between us – and there are plenty of staff on hand overseeing everything who could answer the one which stumped us: why don’t the monkeys have tails?

The answer was that they’re a liability in their natural habitat, the mountains of north Africa, where tails would drape and dangle in the snow.

Less of an issue in Staffordshire but the macaques certainly don’t seem to feel the lack of them, running up trees as effortlessly as if they were racing across the ground.

One of the biggest surprises for most visitors is that the animals do live (practically) wild, with no cosy cages to retreat into, feeding done to encourage their natural instincts and no other food eaten within the enclosure.

While they can roam free, visitors are asked to keep one metre away and are restricted to the paths through the grass and trees, although with as many monkeys in the open areas as jumping through the trees, you won’t be short of furry sightings.

As the drizzle turned into a brief torrential downpour, we sheltered outside the enclosure by yet more information boards before warming up with a (slightly disappointing) hot drink.

Past the play area and a small parliament of owls which had arrived for the day, twisting their heads round in improbable fashion, we headed next door to Trentham Gardens themselves.

Every time I visit, I marvel at the difference today to when I was growing up nearby, before the estate’s real regeneration took place.

My dad’s own memories stretch back further so it’s lovely to reminisce with him as we wander around the grounds – for some more on the history of Trentham Gardens, my previous post has everything from its Domesday origins to its place in the French resistance and how the Duke of Sutherland tried to give it away.

Too chilly once again to make it all the way around the lake, we headed towards the Italian Gardens past the new meadow flower plantings to celebrate Lancelot ‘Capability’ Brown’s tercentenary year. 

The landscape artist was employed on the estate from 1759 to 1780, creating the mile-long lake and surrounding parklands. I can’t help wondering what he’d have thought of its monkey inhabitants.

He might have been equally surprised by the fairies at the bottom of the garden. All around the garden in fact. We had seen a few of the fabulous sculptures on our last visit, but there’s a new addition to the fairy trail bringing the total to 16.

With a list to hunt through, we stuck to just a couple of our traditional games of Poohsticks on the entrance bridge, before moving on. Some are apparent from a distance, others concealed so you might miss them if you weren’t looking.

Unlike the giant dandelions which are one of my favourite areas. Lovely though the fairies are, the intricate and delicate dandelion clocks look as if they’ve really been captured in the breeze rather than their actual components: galvanised and stainless steel wire. 

And if the skies were grey, the actual flowers were still bright.

I’d resigned myself to missing the barefoot walk once more thanks to the weather, but having spotted it beyond the play area (after a small detour to climb on things and ride little cars around), Minnie was out of her wellies before I could say try not to fall over in the mud.

Which she did, inevitably, after tip-toeing very precisely around the rest of the different textured areas. And like the smallest member of the troupe in the forest nearby, she picked herself up, wiped off her paws and carried on exactly as before.

Need to know: Trentham Gardens monkey forest

Entry to the Monkey Forest costs £10.80 for adults, £8.55 for children aged three to 14 if you buy online. Under threes are free.

Entrance to the Trentham Monkey Forest gives you a discount off entry to Trentham Gardens (and there are sometimes combined ticket offers). 

Opening hours vary during the year, with the forest closed in November, December, January and part of February plus restricted opening in February and March. Last entry is an hour before closing time. Feeding takes place throughout the day, and it’s worth getting there a bit before the advertised time.

The paths are smooth enough to take a buggy around, even in the rain, but it’s a fairly easy walk for a toddler if you’re prepared to do a bit of carrying up the single big hill. 

There’s also a cafe and playground, as well as a picnic area next to another playground. No food, for obvious reasons, in the monkey enclosure. 

The Monkey Forest has free parking, nappy changing, and you can leave and re-enter on the same day if you get a wristband from the jungle shop before going out.

Entry to Trentham Gardens costs from £13 for adults and £9.50 for children aged three to 15.

The Gardens are open every day except Christmas, although the Barefoot Walk (and some other activities) are shut during the winter months. The South Entrance has more limited opening hours as well – see the complete opening hours here.

There is free parking (it’s worth arriving early, especially on sunny days) and various shops, cafes and restaurants as well as toilets and baby changing outside and inside the grounds.

For other animal attractions in Staffordshire, check out our review of the Peak Wildlife Park

PIN FOR LATER: TRENTHAM MONKEY FOREST WITH KIDS

Disclosure: Our visit was courtesy of Trentham Estate and Trentham Monkey Forest. My opinions about visiting the Trentham Monkey Forest with kids, and those of my muddy little monkey, remain our own.

Images and video copyright MummyTravels

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