If you are ever in Staffordshire there are only two words to
remember: Monkey Forest.
I spent one of the most amazing days walking around the
Trentham Garden monkey forest. It was fantastic! You walk into this large enclosure,
which was very reminiscent of Jurassic park, took me ages to get the theme
music to stop running through my head, and that’s the last cage you’ll see.
The monkeys roam free within the park and you’ll be able to
see them grooming, playing, climbing, sleeping, and eating, all in a natural
environment. They will even run right across the path!
We were very lucky to come at a time when there were lots of
babies present. Absolutely adorable! They are so small that they could sit in
the palm of my hand. We watched them play and run around forever, it was so
fascinating to see them acting so naturally. They were easy to find too, just
look for large groups of people oohing and ahhing and your there.
The only downside of the trip was the walk. We went on a
school trip so it dropped us off at Trentham gardens which I heard is beautiful
however if you just want to go in the monkey forest you have to go in the
monkey forest entrance and not through the gardens. The entrance just happens
to be a mile down the road. With no sidewalks.
That was fun. Also my first experience with nettles. We were
walking down an embankment and I was stepping carefully to avoid the thorny
undergrowth and in doing so swung my hand into the nettle. Which everyone else
was avoiding, not the thorns I was so carefully watching. Not fun
But in the end the monkey forest was definitely worth the
walk and the nettles.
“If you think adventure is dangerous, try routine; it is
lethal.”
-
Paulo Coelho
