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The Flicka Donkey Sanctuary near Falmouth

The Flicka Donkey Sanctuary near Falmouth

At this time of year the humble donkey really does become the star of the show, but what are they up to the rest of the year round? Well, there are some very lucky donkeys living their Cornish dream life at the amazing Flicka Foundation on the outskirts of Penryn. Founded 30 years ago by a wonderful woman called Mary Berryman, the sanctuary is now home to over 100 donkeys, ponies and horses. They welcome visitors for free and have a lovely cafe and gift shop which all support the upkeep of this special place…

The Very First Donkey

Although the stories are saddening to read, they show what a life-saving difference the sanctuary has been making over the last three decades.

“Marybelle was the first ever donkey to arrive at Flicka, after having endured a harrowing journey from Romania. She had suffered years of abuse, which left her emaciated, matted and full of lice. She had overgrown feet, infected wounds, scars, curvature of the spine, terrible teeth and even had a foal at foot.

Marybelle couldn’t eat or stand on her own and almost died, but after months of specialised care, she pulled through and now lives happily with her friends in our very special ‘Twilight Herd’.”

Growing the Family…

Since 1995, the herd has grown and now includes over 100 animals, as well as a loving community of workers, volunteers and regular visitors to the sanctuary. It’s a heartwarming place to visit, and we’ll warn you, it might be hard to leave without wanting to adopt one of the gorgeous residents. (Don’t worry about having a space in the car though, they stay living at the sanctuary, so you can visit them on your next holiday to Cornwall!!)

Visiting the Donkey Sanctuary

From Thursday to Sunday you can visit the sanctuary between 11am and 4pm – from our cottages it’s on the way to Porthleven, so could be a perfect place to stop for an hour on route!

In the summer nearly all the donkeys are out in the paddocks, so you can take a stroll around the site and see them grazing peacefully. Once it gets colder, they all come into the barns to spend their days in a more sheltered environment with plenty of toys and interesting things to explore! Did you know donkeys could play with footballs?! The door is usually open so that they have the choice of going outside if they wish to.

The sanctuary emphasises that everyone is welcome, and has made accessibility an important part of their site. They know how much animals can soothe us humans too, helping with our emotional wellbeing.

The team regularly host home-learning groups, schools and vulnerable adults, saying that the donkeys love being visited and having enriching experiences with all the new humans they get to meet!

The Full ‘Donkey Experience’

For the top fans, you can book a whole interactive day with the donkeys, including a personalised sanctuary tour, grooming a donkey, helping with mucking out a stable, feeding at donkey dinner time and of course plenty of donkey cuddles! The day also includes lunch and a treat afternoon tea!

Adult and Junior days are available, and all proceeds from the days go towards funding the sanctuary’s vital charitable work. Find out more on their website.

As well as welcoming people into their home, the donkeys sometimes go out on visits! A miniature donkey called Sparkle is currently leading the way and “absolutely loves” her excursions to the care homes and hospices where she is “very gentle and kind”.

Around Christmas time, they often go on special festive visits, including to Castle Beach Cafe in Falmouth where they enjoy a stroll on the beach!

Other Days Out For Animal Lovers near Falmouth…

Once you’ve met the gorgeous donkeys at the sanctuary, why not head over to Gweek and the Cornish Seal Sanctuary? Or on the Lizard Peninsula, you can explore a traditional Cornish working farm and visit cows, sheep, goats, turkeys, chickens, ducks and pigs at Roskilly’s. Both of these sites (as well as Flicka) are dog friendly as long as they remain on leads.

We hope you have a wonderful time exploring and meeting some of Cornwall’s cutest residents! It’s a privilege for us to live somewhere which takes such good care of animals and the non-human environment, so we’d love to share this with you as much as possible during your stay. We hope you’ll be inspired and leave with a heart-warming glow this December!