🐒 Our Day at Trentham Monkey Forest: Baby Monkeys, Steep Hills & Ticket Blunders!
We had a long-overdue trip back to Trentham Monkey Forest. It was a day filled with adorable baby monkeys, plenty of family banter, and a very valuable lesson in pre-booking!
We recently decided it was time for a long-overdue trip back to Trentham Monkey Forest near Stoke-on-Trent. We hadn't been there since before COVID, so we were really keen to see how things had changed and spend a morning wandering among the resident Barbary macaques.
It turned out to be a fantastic day out filled with adorable baby monkeys, plenty of family banter, and a very valuable lesson in pre-booking!
Prices: £15 per adult at the gate (cheaper if booked online in advance); a student discount is available with ID
Carer ticket: Free at the gate
Mobility: Main paths are very steep with gravel inclines; alternative, signposted gentler routes are shown on the park app
Visual impairment: The exit is a revolving turnstile — wide enough for a wheelchair but awkward to navigate without sighted guiding
Prices and policies as we found them on our visit — always check with the venue before you go.
🎟️ Tickets, Prices & Our "Doh!" Moments
First, a word of advice for anyone planning a visit so you don't make the same mistakes we did!
We bought our tickets at the gate on arrival, which came to £15 per adult. Carers get in for free at the gate, which is fantastic, very straightforward, and a huge help. However, we realized afterwards that it would have been cheaper to buy our tickets online in advance—definitely do that if you're planning a trip!
To top off our ticketing troubles, George forgot his student ID, so we couldn't claim the student discount for him and had to pay the full adult price instead. Live and learn!
🍃 Into the Forest: Free-Roaming Monkeys & Baby Season
Once we passed through the quick safety briefing, we headed out into the woodland. The absolute best thing about Trentham Monkey Forest is that the monkeys aren’t kept behind glass or in cages—they have the entire forest to roam free.
We were lucky enough to visit right in the middle of baby season! Watching tiny newborn monkeys clinging onto their mothers’ bellies and being protected by the family group was just lovely. We also spent plenty of time watching the younger monkeys acting like acrobats, swinging high up in the tree branches to keep themselves entertained.
Top left: We had a mum with her baby on her back cross the path right in front of us! Top right: Another baby climbing off mum's back. Bottom left: Two monkeys grooming each other. Bottom right: Two monkeys playing in a tree and swinging on a branch.
🐿️ The Squirrel Monkey...
While we were walking around I spotted what I thought was a really tiny monkey. It turned out to be a squirrel, rummaging around to eat the monkeys's left overs! John came up with the name Squirrel Monkey, so from now on squirrels will be known as squirrel monkeys! 🤣
♿ Getting Around: The Accessibility Reality
If you or someone in your group uses a wheelchair or has visual impairments, there are a few practical things worth keeping in mind:
- The Hills: The main paths winding through the forest get very steep. If you’re pushing a manual wheelchair, it is a proper workout! Even some power chairs might find the gravel inclines a bit of a test for their motors. Luckily, the park app does highlight alternative, gentler routes if you need them, and the alternative routes are signposted.
- The Exit Gate: While it’s wonderful that they don't force you to exit through the gift shop, the main exit is via a revolving turnstile. It’s wide enough for a wheelchair to fit through, but it isn't very visually impaired friendly, so we had to work as a team to navigate through safely!
Left: Shows the path going up. Right: Shows the path going down.
🍿 The Verdict & Watch Our Full Vlog!
Despite our ticket blunders and the steep hill climb, we had a brilliant time catching up, laughing at the monkeys (and mistaking a local squirrel for a rare monkey species!), and enjoying the fresh air. The facilities are great, the monkeys are clearly thriving, and it makes for a fantastic family day out.
Check out our full video vlog of the trip below to see all the action, including George's famous Minion impression and John's thoughts on monkey "romance"!
Have you been to Trentham Monkey Forest lately? Did you remember to book online, or are you in the "paid full price at the gate" club with us? Let us know in the comments below!
Trentham Monkey Forest
Planning your own day out? See our full UK carer ticket and disabled admission directory — carer policies, disabled parking and access notes for every place we have reviewed.
