Zebra Access goes WILD

On what looked to be a lovely warm day 30 of us set off to Stoke-on-Trent to the Monkey Forest which is part of the Trentham Estate. 

This attraction is unique to England as it is one of the few places that allows Barbary macaques monkeys to roam around freely within the forest. We arrived with excitement but first a cuppa in the cafe before setting off on a ¾ mile walk around the forest. 

There were some rules we had to follow; no eating, no loud noises, no touching the monkeys and if they run across our paths- stop and watch. 

There were members of staff positioned at various points on the trail where you could ask questions about the monkeys, their habitat and more. (Gurmail and Gabriella, our interpreters for the day now have a lot of monkey trivia stored in their heads!)

There was a sudden downpour which left most of us soaked! But we were cheerful and managed to carry on spotting monkeys. We had time for one more cuppa before heading to our next destination- the shopping village! 

This shopping village has many independent shops, some outlet stores, some lovely places to eat and best of all a BIG garden centre! 

The sun came out in full force so we all were dry and warm in no time making our shopping a pleasant trip. Some of us had ice cream when soaking up the sun.

We had a lucky escape as the moment we left, it started to rain! 

We really enjoyed ourselves, as being able to ask questions, and learning new information really enhanced our learning experience. 

If  you would like to know more about our future events,  you can contact  

Deirdre: Deirdre@zebra-access.com and Clare: Clare@zebra-access.com

Did you know?

Barbary macaques sleep while sitting upright. 

They can live up to 20-30 years.

Their pregnancies last 22 weeks (5 & half months)

They don’t have tails but a wee stump that is covered by fur.

Barbary macaques are the only primates that live in Africa north of the Sahara.

To see a video of the day

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We want to thank Heart of England Community Foundation for the funding as this would not be possible without their support.