October half term at the Isle of Wight Donkey Sanctuary

22 September 2024

October half term at the Isle of Wight Donkey Sanctuary

This October half term, things are getting a little spooky at the Isle of Wight Donkey Sanctuary! Pick up our free Halloween Trail when you arrive and keep an eye out for pictures of ghosts all around the sanctuary – you’ll find 8 in total. Put the letters together and discover the mystery word – clue: it’s donkey and Halloween related!

Our signature Donkey Experience is available every day all year except Thursdays and Fridays. It’s the most fantastic opportunity to become an honorary member of our team for a couple of hours. You’ll learn about how we care for our animals and help our staff as they go about their day-to-day duties. You could do find yourself doing anything from grooming to picking up poo! It’s a real ‘behind the scenes’ experience.
Advance bookings only (48hrs notice required). Ages 11 years and over. £50 per person.

Take a walk when you’re with us. Nestled in 55 acres of picturesque Isle of Wight countryside in the Wroxall valley, our sanctuary has lots of lovely walks onsite, including a tranquil meadow walk and our newly opened Whiteley Bank paddock area, which has the perfect spot for a picnic on a sunny autumn day. From the sanctuary it’s a couple of miles walk over footpaths to the quaint village of Godshill. If you’re feeling energetic you can turn that stroll into circular walk and come back to the sanctuary via historic Appuldurcombe House for a hot chocolate with all the trimmings and slice of cake in the cafe.

Until 3 November we are open 7 days a week from 10am to 4.30pm with over 100 donkeys, miniature Shetland ponies and a mule just waiting to meet you. We love all animals, and dogs on leads are very welcome to visit too. We offer free entry and free parking.

Please note, from Monday 4 November we will be closed to visitors on Thursdays and Fridays.

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Equine Treatment Centre

by abigail.fox • 7 November 2024

In late 2022, we started fundraising to establish an equine clinic at the sanctuary. Thanks to your generosity, we raised £125,000 from the initial campaign. This is ringfenced to spend on the Equine Treatment Centre. In the summer of 2023, we paused fundraising and undertook a separate feasibility study, using the generous free support of a civil engineer. We used this opportunity to make sure our build plans were making the very best use of your donations and the funds we had raised. We’ve tweaked the initial plan and have planning permission to undertake a project that will greatly support our high standards of equine welfare. We plan to: Repurpose an existing structure to house the Equine Treatment Centre thus reducing construction costs. Construct an equine rehabilitation barn on the site originally intended for the clinic. Create an isolation barn at the site’s perimeter. This will mean we can provide the very best care for equines needing isolation for medical treatment or observation. We will focus first on building the new barns, then move on to repurposing existing structures into our Equine Treatment Centre. The work cannot start until spring at the earliest, when we hope the ground will have dried out and the machinery will be able to move around the site. We need to make sure our precious paddocks are well looked after while the building work takes place.