a dos d'ane

Walking with a donkey through the woods seemed to connect us to ancient times, we took a picnic and enjoyed the simple pleasures of life, with no web surfing or game consoles to distract from the deepness that nature offers in abundance. I would highly recommend this excursion. With our two children we shared half a day of just walking at donkey pace and the children took it in turns at sitting on the comfortable saddle placed upon the back of "Ulysse" our donkey (perhaps named after a greek god).There are plenty of places to stop and picnic, why not give it a go.

Oh my God ! Thank you for your message. I will not forget the smile of your son when I said : "your donkey called Toutatis, it is a french expression like oh my god" ! And the second donkey call Boutchou. Thanks again for your message and hope to see you again. Regards, Sabrina - A DOS D'ANE

We had a wonderful experience with Sabrina and the donkeys. Our kids (4 & 9) were so excited and loved riding Noisette and Ulysses. It was a fun adventure to head off with a map and the donkeys. Sabrina was excellent at explaining how to handle the donkeys so we felt comfortable on our own...but they were such lovely, gentle animals right from the start there was never a real worry. There was a place to stop and have a picnic half way, and the 2 hours passed quite quickly.We did this a week ago, followed by 5 days in Paris and our kids are still talking about Noisette and Ulysses and the Eiffel Tower as highlights of our 3 week vacation.

This was a lovely experience which our two boys -6&4 loved . However as adults this was a very enjoyable time for us leading the kids on donkeys through a beautiful forest.the personalities of the donkeys and what we had to do was explained well by sabrina and everything she told us was true about them.we took the 2 hour trip which was enough for that day but I would definitely go back and explore a bit more.

Totally different from the "usual" donkey ride as you walk unaccompanied with you little one on-board around a lovely pre-defined forestry walk. My daughter loved it, dissolving in giggles every time the very greedy Ulysses dragged me off my chosen path for another little snack. Beware the puddles - they don't like them, which Ulysses demonstrated when he decided to take a quick side step to another path leaving me with no choice but to walk right through given I had to keep hold of the leash! Soggy feet, laughing all the way with our lovely natured and gentle Ulysses.

Our walk with the donkeys was great fun! Our children (two boys, 3 and 5 years old) felt like real "cowboys" (!) and enjoyed it a lot! And so we did. We would love to travel again with the donkeys for a longer period.

myself, my wife and 3 small children were staying locally on holidays from ireland and we were recommended here. Sabrina the lady is an excellent host with great english and we had ulysses the donkey. Great experience and thoroughly enjoyed it, Sabrina is reaaly good with the small kids and has great english, try it for sure its worth every euro and not expensive.

BonjourMerci beaucoup pour votre message et les conseils judicieux que vous m'avez suggéré.Au plaisir de vous revoir, Bon retour à Singapoure.Ane'micalement,

We booked a 2 hour trip but my brother in law is not so good with maps so we got a bit lost and walked for more than 4 hours on a beautiful sunny (very hot) day.My two daughters (5 and 8) really loved the donkeys Berthe and Noisette.The environment is really lovely and we can recommend this to everyone with (young) children.Best regards,Patrick, Froukje, Sophie, Pieter and Esther (the Netherlands)

Our four year old son was beaming from ear to ear. Sabrina and Laurent speak excellent English and the donkeys are loved and expertly care for. Our visit started with grooming the donkey and we received some useful and straight forward instructions and were given an easy to follow map and had the most happy and peaceful walk through the woods.It only cost 25 Euro which we found excellent value for money. There is a choice of 2 or 4 hour rides. We chose the 2 hour ride which took slightly less as we didn't ponder as we were a little tight on time.The rides commence from 2 locations which are 10km apart and easy to find by putting the address into the sat nav (or following directions).Here are both addresses we put into our sat nav (I can't get the sat nav co-ordinates from my sat nav):La Moreliere, Cheverny (we had to put in a number for the house but there is only one so input any number!)La Boutiniere, Tour-En-Sologne (again, we had to put in a number for the house although there is only one building!)

We booked an early two hour morning trip. Due to Sat Nav we arrived late (please get directions from Sabrina as obviously more accurate), but this was not a problem and we were warmly welcomed by Sabrina. Next we were introduced to Ulysse a lovely chocolate brown donkey. We gave him a brush which was the first opportunity for my son to get used to him. Then we were given directions and headed off on our way. At first our son was a bit nervous to hope on Ulysse but we popped him up and he loved it! He rode on top for the rest of the day. I think we are not good at directions as we did end up getting lost Again!!!! Thankfully Sabrinas husband found us and gave us directions to get back. Boy were we tired. This is a lovely thing to do in the morning and very relaxing to just walk around and take in the peacefulness of the forest. I am only glad we did not have a bigger car as my son wanted to take Ulysse with us when we left which I think sums up the lovely day we had.

We really loved the 2 hour trip we did last May, with our two childeren of 4 and 5. We made a reservation by telephone, which went really easy because the owner speak English very well.The forest are really lovely and we can recommend this activity for everyone with children.Best regards,Tijmen and Kim (the Netherlands)

We had high expectations for our visit to A Dos D'Ane, and the opportunity to trek through a pristine French chateau forest with a donkey. We were not disappointed - every moment of our half-day encounter was filled with perfection. Our hostess, Sabrina Clamens, met us at the Cheverny farm La Morelliere, situated within the private forest of the renowned Chateau Cheverny. As she came to greet us, close behind was the enthusiastic Berthe, a delightful 15-year old teenage-girl donkey. A real cutie. With lots of personality, and smart as only a donkey can be. Wicked smart. The weather was Monet-sky perfect. The trail Sabrina selected for us took us straight into the forest of oaks and pines. It was easy, level walking and Berthe set the pace. About half-way through she let us know it was time for a picnic lunch, so we stopped beside a lovely lake in the middle of the forest and enjoyed a simple lunch. Berthe was VERY interested in our lunches, made some comments about our "pain chocolat," but settled for apples and acorns. All too soon we were back at La Morelliere. A trek of about 7.5 to 8 miles that took us 4-5 hours at an easy pace... actually Berthe's pace (including time for the picnic). If we are ever in this part of France again we will definitely be back to visit Sabrina, Berthe and the rest of the donkey herd.

Telephoned on the off chance that our family could visit and go on a two hour trek. Sabrina speaks excellent English and explained that the donkeys had been out for most of the day and that she would rather rest them. It's great to find someone who is more interested in the animals than in profit! We knew that we would like the place. She managed to fit us in the next evening on with out 7 and 9 year olds each getting a donkey to ride for the whole two hours. Acres of parking. The donkeys were great fun and well cared for. Sabrina showed my children how to prepare them for riding, feed them and how to saddle up. Grand Noisette looks big and scary to a small child but is as relaxed as you could want happily walking along and eating as much grass as is possible. Within no time the children were settled and enjoying the ride, one even using the route map provided. As it was evening on the edge of the forest there was some excellent views to be had as well as near to dusk a small group of deer and a rather large stag appeared across a field. Both donkeys stood patiently as we took photos. It's rather pleasant leading a donkey through such countryside. The two hours passed quickly and on returning the donkeys were brushed down, fed and watered. We took the chance to talk to Sabrina's husband about the donkeys that they have, the farm and their approach to organic farming. Interesting stuff and we also purchased some large, I mean seriously large, free range chicken's eggs for breakfast the next morning. Delicious! There are some fun donkey souvenirs for the kids and a post crad to send to Great Auntie Mabel, all at sensible prices. Great business that puts the welfare of the many donkeys, chickens, horses etc above profit. When our children are older we will try to get back for a few nights trekking in the forest. Excellent all round and highly recommended!

Très jolie balade en forêt à dos d'ânes en compagnie de Justine (adorable petite ânesse), un grand bol d'air qui amuse bien les enfants et les grands !