A donkey ride in the Marais poitevin

19 November 2018

If you visit the Marais poitevin with your family, the visit of the donkey farm Du Coq à l’Ane is an unescapable activity. As true lovers of donkeys, Christelle and Olivier invite you to enter their world and offer hikers to start the trail with a donkey. Along the marsh of Saint-Georges de Rex, you will enjoy the quietness of the area to get to know this emblematic animal of the Marais poitevin.

The “rando’âne”, an activity you donk’ want to miss!

A donkey ride in the Marais poitevin

After a few minutes of briefing on the animal that will join you during the trip, it is already time to install the pack saddle and take the halter. Destination: the marsh of Saint-Georges de Rex (Deux-Sèvres). The circuit is wooded and made of white waymarked paths. Three circuits are available: 4, 6 or 8 kilometres, and starts at 10am or 2pm. The most courageous persons can spend a day in a true hiking trail through the marsh. Youngers and lighter people may have the chance to sit on the donkey during the trip. Such an experience as well as an adventure to the discovery of this animal, sweet yet stubborn. Depending on the selected distance, you need between 1h30 and 4h to complete the circuit in the Marais poitevin and go back to the donkey farm Du Coq à l’Ane.

To the discovery of the donkey world in the Marais poitevin

Poitou Donkey

Located in Deux-Sèvres in the heart of the Green Venice and close to Vendée, the donkey farm is a true place for discoveries and adventures. You will meet 30 different species of donkeys, representing 5 different races out of the 7 that exist in France. Besides the donkey ride, the owner offers you to learn more about his passion with a first ride on a Poitou donkey, the mascot of the Marais poitevin and its past. Playful and educational, the donkey farm can be visited with your family. The Adventurer’s book given at the reception invites each visitor to the search for a treasure by resolving puzzles related to the different places of the donkey farm. Barefoot circuit, goat pen, pig pen, geese pen, donkey pen: each place has a secret!

Soap works with female Poitou donkey milk

Soap works with female Poitou donkey milk

As male and female donkey breeders in the heart of the Marais poitevin, Olivier and Christelle also created an artisanal soap works in the heart of the former stables of Saint-Georges de Rex. In this authentic setting, you can smell different odours: orange blossom, vanilla, raspberry, etc. Donkey milk soaps are all natural and artisanal. Stemmed from a method of  cold saponification, they are made inside the donkey farm with fresh raw milk from donkeys that are breed by those lovers of the Marais poitevin. Behind the window, the magic works in complete transparency. Soaps take shape and are placed on the displays a few metres away. Labelled “Marais Poitevin” (Marais poitevin), the donkey milk artisanal soaps of the donkey farm Du Coq à l’Ane constitute both a souvenir and a present!

If you are looking for a donkey ride in the Green Venice or explanations about donkeys and especially the Poitou donkey, the donkey farm Du Coq à l’Ane is ideally located in the heart of the Marais poitevin, between Coulon and the Ornithological Park in Saint Hilaire la Palud.

Don’t hesitate to book your tickets if you want to discover the riches of the Marais poitevin during a donkey ride or for a boat trip or to visit a castle!

Du Coq à l’âne is labelled Valeurs Parc naturel régional.