Today I’m sharing our honest Trentham Monkey Forest review. We were gifted 2 press tickets, to help us answer the question, Is Monkey Forest Autism friendly? I figured I’d also share our experience from our NT Daughter and her friends’ experience as well. So this post is a Trentham Monkey Forest review, from their perspective.

Arriving at Trentham Monkey Forest

Upon arriving at Trentham Monkey Forest, I was pleased to find there is plenty of parking, as well as quite a few disabled bays near the front of the venue. When you get to the gate, you can either show your e-ticket if you booked online, or pay at the gate. (It’s cheaper to book in advance online). Luckily, we didn’t have to queue up here, but you may need to at peak times. Make sure you don’t lose your tickets between the entrance and the Monkey enclosure as you have to show your gate ticket to gain access!

Once through the gate, the space opens up into a large, open plan area. Here, you’ll find the toilets, cafe, covered outdoor seating area and the play area. This space is ideal for picnics – food is pricey so I’d bring food if possible. We decided to eat here before seeing the Monkeys, as no food is allowed in the Monkey enclosure…

The disabled toilet was large, but there isn’t a hoist or changing table available to use. The main toilets had plenty of cubicles and the queues weren’t big. They were clean and well maintained too.

Heading Into The Trentham Monkey Forest Enclosure

Once you’ve shown your ticket at this gate, you’re let through a large metal door into a holding area. The door behind you closes, and only then does the one ahead of you open, and allow you into the Monkey Enclosure. From here onwards, you won’t find a bathroom or anywhere to stop and eat, until you reach the exit.

The first half of the walk is all up-hill, and the second half is down-hill. Your walk is broken up by you stopping to watch the Monkeys. If you time it right, you can also watch feeding time and join in at the learning areas. Honestly… I wouldn’t want to push a wheelchair around there, but a lightweight pushchair should just about be manageable. I’d opt for a sling for younger kids, where possible.

All of the kids we took were blown away by the Monkeys, and spent ages watching them…

The Monkeys at Monkey Forest

All of the Monkeys in Monkey Forest are Barbary Macaques. There are over 140 of them living within the Monkey enclosure, including 3 babies at the moment. The one pictured above spent ages watching Sam, and he returned the gesture for ages, too. Sam’s non verbal, but he seemed to get a lot out of this moment they shared. I managed to get some amazing snaps on my phone of this particular Monkey – How cute is he!

How Big is Trentham Monkey Forest?

The actual walk around Monkey Forest is roughly a mile. Half of it is up-hill and half of it is down-hill. The monkeys themselves have around 60 acres to enjoy, but visitors must stick to the paths at all times.

Feeding Time

The Monkeys are fed in 2 different areas throughout the day, at alternating hours. There’s plenty of signs around to show you when the next feeding session is happening. We caught one of them and I managed to film it, too. This video shows how feeding time goes.

Weather

It was intermittently raining heavily, then brightening up for a few minutes in between showers when we visited Trentham Monkey Forest. There was plenty of tree cover, so none of us were soaked to the skin.

The weather didn’t’t seem to have put anyone off though. as there were still a lot of people there. That said, I think it might be too busy for special needs kids, had we visited on a hot and sunny day. The paths definitely get a little crowded at times, but the kids still had a great time. (We met up with my friend, Bex and her 2 children when we visited).

My Tips For Visiting Trentham Monkey Forest:

• Use The Toilet before you go into the Monkey area.
• Eat before you go into the Monkey Area, or time your visit to avoid your party being hungry while in the venue as no food is allowed. ..
• Book tickets online before attending, to get the best value price.
• Wear wellies on a wet day, or take spare socks and shoes just in case.
• Layer up on colder days.
• Don’t visit on hot, sunny days as it’s likely to be extremely busy.

My Thoughts on Trentham Monkey Forest

The speed at which you walk around Trentham Monkey Gardens is pretty relaxed, so you can decide whether it takes you an hour or 3 hours to walk round. People will walk behind you as you’re stopped to watch the Monkeys. The staff ask you to keep on the right side of a 3 foot high wooden barrier, so if your child is likely to run off and climb, you may have some issues.

Additionally, you are supposed to be quiet so as not to scare the monkeys. We all know that’s not exactly possible with young kids, and thankfully the staff and monkeys didn’t seem bothered by excited kids, shrieking or crying.

Finally, if you’ve found this post useful, let me know where we should review next!