The Flicka Foundation Donkey Sanctuary

The Flicka Foundation Donkey Sanctuary is one of the great quiet pleasures of the Falmouth area. Tucked into the lanes at Mabe Burnthouse, just over the road from Trewena Cottages, it has been rescuing, rehabilitating and sheltering donkeys since 1995, and is home to over a hundred residents who live out their days on the sanctuary's barns and paddocks. Entry is free, the cafe is excellent, and on a sunny afternoon there are few better ways to spend an hour or two.

Where it is and how to get there

Flicka sits in the lanes between Mabe Burnthouse and Mawnan Smith, around 10 minutes by car from Falmouth and Penryn and signposted from the local roads. There is a free visitor car park on site.

For Trewena guests, Flicka is a short walk across the road. The sanctuary is the closest attraction to the cottages and arguably the simplest morning out in the area, with the donkeys, the cafe and the gift shop reachable on foot in a couple of minutes. Trewena is Flicka's recommended accommodation for visitors who want to stay overnight, and the proximity is a genuine draw for guests who would rather walk than drive on the first morning of a holiday.

Meet the donkeys

The sanctuary is home to over a hundred resident donkeys, each one a character with a name, a story and a clearly favourite spot in the paddocks. Some have been at Flicka for decades; others are recent rescues working through rehabilitation in the quieter barns. Many are happy to come over for a stroke, and patient, gentle visitors usually leave with a couple of new friends.

Alongside the donkeys, the sanctuary cares for ponies and a handful of other rescued animals across the site. Most of the residents have stories of neglect or hardship behind them, and a visit makes the rescue work easy to understand without anything being heavy-handed about it.

A donkey rescue charity

Flicka was founded in 1995 by the late Mary Berryman, who began with a single rescued donkey and grew the operation into the Cornwall-wide rescue charity it is today. The Foundation continues to take in donkeys from across the south west who have been neglected, abandoned or surrendered when their owners can no longer care for them, working closely with welfare organisations to get them off-site, settled, and into a long-term home at the sanctuary.

The mission is twofold: to give every resident the best possible quality of life for the rest of their days, and to raise public awareness of donkey welfare. Free public entry is a deliberate choice. The more people who meet the donkeys, the better.

Visiting Flicka

Walking the site is straightforward and almost entirely flat. The donkeys are spread across several barns and a series of paddocks linked by surfaced paths, and you can move at the pace that suits you, lingering wherever the residents are in the mood for company.

The on-site cafe does excellent coffee, soft drinks, sandwiches and cake, with seating both indoors and out, and the gift shop stocks donkey-themed crafts, cards, plushies, books and the kind of quiet souvenirs that make for good post-visit gifts. Buying a coffee or a card on your way out is the easiest way to chip in if you would rather not drop cash in the donation boxes.

The site is buggy- and wheelchair-friendly across the main paths. There are picnic spots, plenty of benches, and toilets near the cafe.

Events through the year

Flicka runs an active year-round events programme that turns the sanctuary into much more than a quiet weekday visit:

• Spring and autumn craft fairs, held in the larger barns and the visitor area, bring local makers, plant stalls and food traders together for one of the friendliest market days in the Falmouth calendar.
• Summer open days and family events combine the donkeys with extra activities like children's trails, demonstrations, talks and the occasional fancy-dress moment for the residents themselves.
• The Christmas carol service in December is a long-standing local tradition, sung in one of the barns with the donkeys looking on. It is genuinely magical and worth planning a Trewena stay around if you are visiting in December.
• Fundraising days, sponsored walks, talks and special openings are scattered across the year as the sanctuary's calendar fills.

Dates and details change year to year. The current programme is at flickafoundation.org.uk, and the email newsletter is the best way to hear about events before they fill up.

How to support the sanctuary

If you fall for the donkeys (and most visitors do), the sanctuary makes it easy to keep the connection going from home:

• Adopt-a-donkey lets you sponsor a named resident for a year, with regular updates, photos and the satisfaction of supporting a specific animal whose story you now know.
• Donations, one-off or regular, can be set up at the gift shop till or via the website.
• Volunteering is a serious option for anyone in the area, from grooming and grounds work to event days and admin help.
• Spreading the word is genuinely useful. Flicka relies on visitor footfall and event turnout to keep the lights on.

Beyond Flicka

If a morning at Flicka has put you in the mood for more of the local area, our guides to Glendurgan Garden, the Gylly to Maenporth coast walk, the best places to paddleboard in Cornwall and the best beaches near Falmouth cover natural pairings within easy reach. For another wildlife-and-charity day out further afield, the Cornish Seal Sanctuary at Gweek is around 25 minutes' drive west and shares the same quiet, welfare-first tone.