Donkeys galore!! (The Donkey Sanctuary (Devon))

Member Name: tobymummy

Product:	The Donkey Sanctuary (Devon)
Date:	28/09/08 (126 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: A safe, clean, happy place for donkeys, free entry

Disadvantages: none

Whilst down in Devon on holiday, we wanted to find some fun things for Toby and us to do, including visits to the beach, steam train rides, meals out and ice-creams.

We arrived and settled in our cottage, our first job was to browse the tourist folder and scan the leaflets, looking for ideas of places to visit. One leaflet we found was for a Donkey Sanctuary, A blue leaflet with a donkey on the front, the Donkey Sanctuary logo and in bold yellow writing 'Admission Free' we looked through the leaflet and found it to be fairly close to where we were staying and decided the next day to take a peek.

The Donkey Sanctuary is a UK based charity which cares for donkeys and works to ensure conditions are improved for donkeys and Mmules abroad. The site we visited is the main base which is situated near Sidmouth, Devon, following the A3052 from either Sidford or Bridport, then follow the Brown tourist signs, you won't be able to miss it.

Once you arrive the main car-park is not that big, but there are plenty of overflow car-parks available, and all parking is free. Disabled parking is available too.

Entry to the Sanctuary as stated on the leaflet is Free, so you can wander around the paddocks, courtyard and visitors centre as often as you wish. We first walked around the paddocks by the car-park, We saw several donkeys in large fenced grassy areas with large wooden stables, by each stable there are signs with details about each donkey inside, including name, when and why they came to the sanctuary etc. some may have been rescued, following mistreatment or neglect, some are retired beach donkeys, whilst others are there because their owners circumstances have changed.

As you wander around you find yourself walking past donkeys that are currently under supervision in the hospital and need to be kept separate from others, donkeys which can be adopted and are used to help disable children and the elderly, and a courtyard where donkeys are bought out to interact with visitors.

Surrounding the main site are many fields where donkeys are allowed out to graze, these are accessed by a selection of walks, well indicated by signs. If you manage to wander around the whole site, you will come across approximately 400 donkeys, I doubt you will see them all in one day, but you will enjoy the place so much you'll want to return again.

Other parts to visit and explore include a new maze, the Hayloft restaurant where hot and cold meals and snacks are served, picnic areas if you take your own food, and the Elisabeth Svendsen Trust: this is the place where children with special needs come to interact with the donkeys.

My first impressions of the place were very good; the whole area is clean and well looked after, all the stables are cleaned out daily, with a thorough scrub once a week.
There is lots of space for the donkeys to move around. Each donkey wears either one or 2 coloured collars which hang loosely around their neck; Females wear yellow ones whilst males wear red, these also have their names written on them, an i.d. number and their age. Other coloured collars indicate: Green ~ extra feed once a day, Blue ~ on two feeds a day, Orange ~ on medication, Black ~ on three feeds a day, Pink ~ wearer is blind or partially sighted.

Dotted around the site are brick columns with a small donkey statue on top, these have a small money box in the side for donations to the work at the sanctuary. Toby thought these were great and wanted to put money in them every time we walked past. I was more than happy to make donations to the sanctuary, but when you have walked past several boxes, the money soon adds up. For our planned second visit we ensured that we had a large bag full of 1p's, 2p's and 5p's so that Toby could post to his hearts content.

Up by the courtyard and visitors centre there are many boards attached to the walls with thousands of peoples names on, these highlight visitors who have either donated a large sum of money, or bequeathed money in their wills to the work and care of the donkeys.

Although we didn't stay all day, there is plenty to keep you occupied over several hours; the children have plenty of space to move around, you could even get them to try and count how many donkeys they see. As stated before we chose to go back for a second visit, if we lived nearer then I would definitely consider adopting one and taking Toby to visit and see how they are doing. He hasn't stopped talking about Donkeys since we returned home!!

If you want to find out more about the work at the sanctuary or the work the Elisabeth Svendsen Trust offers you can look at the following links

http://drupal.thedonkeysanctuary.org.uk/
http://www.thedonkeysanctuary.org.uk/site/2/Home. html

These sites also inform you of the work done abroad to support Donkey all over the world.

Summary: If I was a donkey in need, I would love to go and stay there!