The Isle of Wight Donkey Sanctuary is a wonderful charity based in Ventnor offering approximately 100 donkeys and 30 ponies a forever home where they can live their lives in comfort. All animals housed at the centre are rescued animals from a range of backgrounds, where abuse or neglect may have been the daily reality for them. The centre aims to rehabilitate the animals and offers them ‘1st class care and welfare’ for the remainder of their days. As part of the rehabilitation programs, select donkeys and ponies are acclimatised to humans and go on to work with people with various disabilities or leaning difficulties as a way of encouraging communication, empathy and life skills among others.
For further information please visit www.iowdonkeysanctuary.org
For info on other accessible venues, click here.
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The Donkey Sanctuary have recently undergone a massive drive to update the sanctuary and to make it more accessible to all. Pathways around the main building are mostly flat and wide allowing easy manouevrability for wheelchairs. Wide doors have been installed to allow easy access into the barn and walkways within the barn have been designed with accessibility in mind. However, do remember that outside, this is a farm and some areas are not paved.
A lovely afternoon out in the sun
Numerous accessible parking bays
Wide open paving for the most part
Accessible toilet - you won't need a RADAR key
Lovely cafe offering offering a range of foods to suit all dietary requirements
A few small things to note:
Being a farm, there are often unexpected animal noises which may startle
There is no provision for hearing impaired or visually impaired visitors, however staff are very helpful and will assist if necessary
Some of the enclosures are off the pathway and into the countryside. Manual wheelchairs will struggle and it is recommended to use an all-terrain wheelchair.
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