Trentham Monkey Forest

We have been having miserable weather but the weather gods were kind this day. We got to the Monkey Forest early and got the monkeys pretty much to ourselves the first time round.

There are 140 monkeys in the park and you walk through the park as they roam free. This year there have been 12 new babies, and they were so cute, I was quite tempted to sneak one into my pocket!

The dads often babysit and look after a group of little ones

The monkeys sometime kick off and have a bit of a fight, the guides tell you just to stand still, the monkeys just ignore the people.

As there are far more important things to do, like being groomed, this one looks like it's really enjoying itself! 

You have to stay on the path and there are info posts along the way. The staff also seem very knowledgeable and are dotted along the path and will answer any questions you fire at them. You're not allowed to touch the monkeys but the do come pretty close.

The path is a bit up and down, you can't get all the way round in a wheel chair and a pushchair would be hard work but the bit you would miss isn't that exciting anyway as most of the monkeys hang out in one of two areas, there are two separate troops. And there are 'Nana seats' for those who need a rest on the way round.

The mom on the right has the newest baby which was born on Ebi-kun's birthday, it was tiny. the other mom came over and wanted to take a look at the baby, it was really cute to watch them.

We did one lap of the park and then went for lunch. If you go then I recommend taking a picnic, there is a big grassy area outside the cafe and picnic benches up at the play area. Ebi-kun went to check it out and try his best monkey impression...

Watching the babies is so much fun, we did a second round so we could watch the feeding, which happens once an hour. The guide gives some info about the monkeys, tells you about the monkeys in the troop and then feeds them, it is amusing watching how picky they are!

And this fella, well all I can say was that he was enjoying himself, yes, he is doing what you think he is doing! How rude in public!

More info on the Monkey Forest HERE

We also popped over to the village to look at the shops, it's a few years since I last went and the shops used to have a lot of artisan and crafty type shops but many seem to be taken over by the big boys, not a good as it used to be. There is also a big garden centre but we didn't go in this time.