Monkey World - Ape Rescue Centre — Attraction in East Stoke

We have been long time lovers of Monkey World since the show first aired on ITV, so when my son developed a love of Monkeys we knew exactly where to take him. This was our first experience of Monkey World. I found the entrance prices to be reasonable, it is not cheap, but the money is needed to sustain the animals and retain skilled staff so the cost wasn't unreasonable. The place was VERY crowded, masks were required throughout the park which I was grateful for given the volume of people. There were plenty of sanitisation points throughout. There was adequate seating to take regular breaks and a map which detailed clearly where each exhibit was. They definitely got the message through that keeping Monkeys as pets is abhorrent and an issue worth tackling, however, there wasn't much information regarding the species and I was expecting something a little more educational. The cages may be bigger and I understand that animals cannot be released back into the wild having lost their skills to survive independently, but ultimately you are spending a day viewing animals behind bars which can leave you feeling a little unsettled. The animals were clearly well fed and had well designed enclosures, so looking at where they are versus where they've been is miles better. My critique can be made of zoo's everywhere I suppose. There were play areas for the children, although there were so many people there that my son didn't get a chance to play on anything. The cafe was horrendous, we queued for 25 minutes, in a line with only 8 people ahead of us. There were no healthy options for food, just cakes, burgers, chips etc. We ordered a sausage roll and a latte for the adults and chips and a slush puppie for my son. The latte was absolutely terrible, it was from a machine like you get in hospitals. The sausage roll was rock hard and greasy and the chips were soggy. I would definitely recommend bringing your own food and drink! The Gift Shop had a wide array of items, it was expensive as most gift shops are. We bought 2 teddies, a bookmark and a clip on lemur tail and it cost over £40. There was ample parking and parking was free. I would recommend this place to Monkey Lovers, to learn about the illegal pet trade and to support the hard work that is being done to remove animals from...

Monkey World in Dorset, England, is a long established sanctuary for abused and neglected primates. Originally started by Jim Cronin and his wife Alison. Jim passed away in 2007 and Alison continues as Director and a team of fantastic staff.

On arrival you are issued with a great colourful and easy to follow map of the sanctuary. This is child friendly and fun fir them to spot the cartoon face of the primate category and find them on the map.

An excellent centre with good facilities for both able bodied and those with disabilities. Good shelters and coverage around the park offering some shade from the heat or shelter from the rain. There is a large covered area for picnic or food from the shop. A fair selection of hot food available to purchase. Accessible toilets at main entrance near the shop and at the picnic area.

At various times throughout the day the staff are available to answer questions you may have and give interesting insights into the specific primates under their care.

Use your smartphone to interact with the QR code plaques dotted around the sanctuary, taking you to YouTube videos with further helpful information about primates.

The shop has a wide selection of gifts and all important information for those who wish to study further and support the sanctuary's activities.

For the children, I noticed that there were at least two activity play parks and the larger one with a huge amount of seating with park bench/table area. Tonnes of car parking spaces available. Definitely worth a family visit. We booked online as it saves a few pounds BUT make sure you do so before arrival as we found that the mobile phone signal in the surrounding area...

We visited the place with two young kids a couple of days ago. It was £50 for a family ticket and we did not book in advance ( it is a bit cheaper booking online which I learnt about afterwards). We got a map at the entrance but I must say it was a bit confusing and we relied more on the wooden signs rather than the map. There is plenty of walking, so comfy shoes are a must. The monkeys and apes are in enclosures and you can enjoy them through glass panels' viewing platforms or nets. We were quite lucky as we visited the centre during the week and it wasn't too crowded. I could see it being a bit of an issue if more people about as you would need to hang around to wait for a turn to see the primates. We did not manage to see some of the monkeys- they weren't about - maybe the unsettling weather was to blame. We were also looking forward seeing lemurs but their enclosure was under maintenance. I enjoyed the stories about the primates, they all are named and have a narrative of the their history - where they have come from, etc There is quite a big play area for the kids. There are a couple of food places on site. We had a coffee and some soft drink (there were no food/snack left when we visited) and they were ok-ish priced. The toilets were reasonably clean ( located at the exit). They also have a rather large giftshop with money/apes related gifts and toys- some of them were quite pricey. It was good enough day out and kids enjoyed the day. I just felt all the bigger sized monkeys and apes looked sad and depressed and I felt sorry for them. Nevertheless, the Centre's mission is commendable and hopefully the primates are happy...