When I walk round the farms at the Sidmouth Donkey Sanctuary the first impression is of a generally well run charity that cares for donkeys both in this country and overseas. However from my own experiences the Hayloft Restaurant really lets the Donkey Sanctuary down. I used to visit the restaurant on a daily basis but as low season progressed with less customers Hayloft staff seemed to want to leave early. I was told off by the Hayloft chef for ordering food five minutes before the food cut off point . During visits in November many of the Hayloft restaurant lights were deliberately turned off by staff half an hour before closure, this made it uncomfortable ...  Read the complete review

When I walk round the farms at the Sidmouth Donkey Sanctuary the first impression is of a generally well run charity that cares for donkeys both in this country and overseas. However from my own experiences the Hayloft Restaurant really lets the Donkey Sanctuary down. I used to visit the restaurant on a daily basis but as low season progressed with less customers Hayloft staff seemed to want to leave early. I was told off by the Hayloft chef for ordering food five minutes before the food cut off point . During visits in November many of the Hayloft restaurant lights were deliberately turned off by staff half an hour before closure, this made it uncomfortable ...  Read the complete review

We recently had a 3-night stay in Sidmouth, a lovely old Regency town on the South Devon coast. During our stay we visited the famous Donkey Sanctuary, just about 3 miles outside town to the east. It was as I'd remembered it but they'd expanded it since I last went. They have approx. 500 donkeys there, though it seemed less when we visited. The dear donkeys were in their large stable and some enjoying winter sun in the yard, others in barns set in the surrounding fields. They honk with pleasure when humans come near, maybe expecting food! They donkeys have a home for life at the sanctuary, they have been rescued from cruelty, or rehomed when owners can ...  Read the complete review

I have lived in Exmouth for 8 years and think it is a wonderful place. Most people don't know enough about it so I thought I might change that. Exmouth lies just 15 miles due south of Exeter right on the coast. The entrance to the river Exe estuary is at Exmouth. Sidmouth is 10 miles due east alomg the coast and Torquay is 25 miles the other way. Exmouth is a large town (the largest town in Devon) with over 35000 inhabitants. There is an even mix of young and old although most of the elderly choose to live nearby in Sidmouth or Budleigh Salterton. It is spread over an area of about 10 square miles, with the town at sea ...  Read the complete review

As you probably know we have just returned from a lovely week’s holiday in Devon. We stayed on a farm just outside Sidmouth and it was so good I just had to write an opinion on it! It is called Pinn Barton Farm and I found it by using www.smoothhound.co.uk which I must get round to writing about, as it is a seriously good aid to finding good holiday accommodation. Pinn Barton is situated on Peak Hill, approximately two miles from the seafront at Sidmouth, which itself is on the south coast of Devon just east of Exmouth and west of Lyme Regis. The farm is only 12 miles from Junction 30 of the M5 and 11 miles from the A30 and A35, so it’s ...  Read the complete review