Trentham Gardens - anyone been? Am thinking of meeting up there with family

[debbiewebweb]

Stoke is about half way between our house and my mum and my sister and her dd. So we are thinking of meeting up in trentham gardens and spending the day there. Has anyone been - is there much to do - what if the weather is poor. Our dd's are aged 2, 5 and 6.

Hi - we have been. Really like it. It's beautiful to walk around and the the barefoot walk is really good.

Downsides: shops are quite pricy and if the weather was rubbish would be a bit depressing as there is not much cover.

Choose your day wisely and you will have a nice time!

Munchkinmum

Thanks, thats good to know. I think its a definate for later in the year, but we'll stick with meeting indoors until the weathers a bit better.

Thought their monkey world was a bit of a rip off to be honest, cost a fair bit to get in for what was basically a short walk though a bit of woodland with a few moody monkeys loitering around! No childrens play facilities except for a trampoline that you had to pay extra for (£3 for 5 mins!!)

Oh that sounds disappointing - When did you go Serin? The website says there's a childrens playground but doesn't say what's there exactly. We are going to wait til Whit or summer holidays now to try and get good weather - glad we didn't go this weekend!

The monkey forest is a drive from the main shopping/leisure bit. I actually really enjoyed it as the staff are very knowledgable and will explain interesting bits of monkey behaviour to you (obviously I already know most of this )

Kids play area is inside the Italian gardens which you also have to pay for but it is worth it. Play area is fab with arial runway, drive-on tractors, 'assault course', sand-pits and the usual climbing frame/slide stuff.

The ornamental gardens are also great for running around.

There are some display gardens including some little 'hobbit houses' designed by kids.

The barefoot walk is fun if you can brave it and the woodland walk with info about trees etc is also fun. they are also building a maze plus some climbing stuff for older kids/teenagers.

There is a cafe in the Italian garden also which is right next to the play area but maybe better to take a picnic. There are plenty of places to eat in the shopping area but all quite expensive and not brilliant.

In the main (free) bit, you can walk round the lake for miles (the start of the path is next to the public loos), take a boat trip, play pooh sticks on the bridge.

Oh yes, and there are countless expensive and daft shops, including a massive garden/leisure shop - this has a very child-friendly eating area with toys etc..

We find it good value for money and you can easily spend a day there.

Hi, We live near and often go for good walk. It depends what you want to do. When weather is lovely you can walk around lake,muddy though,but free. Or pay and go inside Italian garden. Not much cover unless you go cafe and restaurants. We often take sandwiches and sit by the lake. Quite nice to just walk around (have icecream)and relax if weather is nice. We went couple weeks ago, it was cold but we had fun.
Yes monkey farm is not great, not suitable for young children anyway. DD not seen any monkey whilst we were there.

MonkeybirdisboredWITHbuns,
Wow, you must put that on mumsnet locals.

We went last summer. Its a lovely place to explore but found it pricey really cos we used to go camping there yrs ago when it was a camping and caravan site so we were basically paying to see what we had seen loads of times for free!It is interesting though to read all the history if you havent been before.It was great as a campsite, but they have restored it to a much better condition.

Childrens play areas are nice though but again, cos we had been before, we basically paid entrance fee so our ds could play in a playground!The shops were nice, but we didnt really go for shopping.

The Monkey world is a seperate thing altogether and not connected to Trentham. We went there on a seperate day. It was good and you get to see the monkeys up real close.

Think you would need good weather for both. Luckily we had two hot days.

separate!

My dh and I regularly walk around the lake. There is a cafe half way round which is basic but much better value than the main shopping area. There are a herd of deer in the woods which we have encountered regularly. My dd is 11 and likes to go. Round the lake is 3 miles and about her limit. Not sure there is an awful lot for younger ones though

Thanks for all your comments. We will definately give it a go when weather is nice. We really just want to go somewhere I can chat with my mum and my sister while the 3 girls play. In the past its been a wacky warehouse type pub lunch but we so want something other than a pub for the summer. So this sounds ideal as the kids can play and we can get a drink, something to eat and a nice walk before piling back into the car!

just a thought, seems like a few of us mumsnetters in stoke on trent area why dont we meet up

Ooh yes, we liked it. Monkey Forest is fab, I was in awe that the staff knew each monkey by name - there're about 130 or something I think!

Shops are good for gifts - don't eat in the restaurant near the shops with your children - I walked in with my (at the time) 3mo DD and was not made to feel at all welcome. Can't remember what it's called other than it might be an Italian man's name...Leonardos? Michaelangelos? Something like that.

Lovely walk around the lake or you can go on the passenger boat thingy.

I'd definitely recommend it.

we loved it. want to go back asap

God, haven't been there for years, last time was in the 70s. I have family in Stoke. I remember it was lots of grass and trees and there was a train and a swimming pool with a slide. I got a wasp on my ice-cream.