We love a family day out in Stoke on Trent. There is so much to do here, and a day out at the Monkey Forest and a visit to Trentham Gardens are firm favourites in our household. We were kindly invited to enjoy a day out during October half term for their Halloween spooktacular event, and nanny also joined us and she had a really lovely day. The Monkey Forest is a wonderful family friendly day out and a unique experience for all of the family. The Monkey forest, as mentioned, is in Stoke on Trent, and is part of the Trentham Estate. It is home to 140 Barbary macaques who live in the 60 acre woodland. What is really special is that the Barbary macaques live freely around the forest, with no cages or bars meaning the monkeys are happy and free to rome. The Monkey Forest closes its doors over winter and reopens February 2020, so here are our tips for visiting Trentham Monkey Forest with kids in 2020.
*AD press trip/review visit
Here are our 10 tips for visiting Trentham Monkey Forest with kids
- Take a pushchair for little legs. The pushchairs can offer shade from the sun and shelter from the rain. The paths are lovely and smooth although there are some steep slopes – the paths are wheelchair and pushchair friendly.
- Pack a picnic – Although you can’t take food into the monkey enclosure, this is strictly forbidden – you can utilise the multiple picnic benches outside the monkey enclosure
- Keep an eye out on the Monkey forest website for the upcoming events. We visited during their Halloween spectacular event and it was really lovely. Once we had walked around the monkey enclosure, we headed to the coffee area to find an abundance of activities including games, halloween crafts, dressing up, books and facepainting.
- It is definitely worth catching one of the hourly feeding talks to learn a little more about the monkeys and to watch them being fed.
- Plan your day, I would say it takes about two hours to walk around the monkey forest, but make sure you leave enough time for the kids to enjoy the adventure playground
- Plan your visit – online ticket prices are available (offering 10% discount) if booked before 9 am on the day of your visit. ‘Pay on the day’ tickets can be purchased from the ticket kiosk on arrival at the monkey forest. Another great feature is parking is free at the Monkey Forest in Stoke on Trent
- Take a camera – you will capture some wonderful photographs of the Barbary Macaques.
- Chat to the lovely friendly staff dotted around the park, they are so knowledgable and can tell you so much about the monkeys and our children loved learning all about the Barbary Macaques!
- The Monkey Forest now offer annual memberships meaning you can save monkey and visit unlimited times* during a season. Take note of the opening times and note that last entry is an hour before closing. Also *seasonal opening times apply.
- Relax…enjoy quality family time at the Monkey Forest and say hello to those wonderful Barbary Macaques!!!
Please note the Monkey Forest reopens in February 2020
Pin for later
Disclosure: We were invited to visit in exchange for a review. All opinions and thoughts are my own
Have you visited Trentham Monkey Forest with kids? What are your top tips?