Oxhill -
Redwings Horse Sanctuary
Oxhill, Warwickshire
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Featured
Location Guide |
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Oxhill Rescue centre was the
first Redwings Horse Sanctuary established outside Norfolk (their base). It is
home to more than 40 horses and ponies and some donkey's. There are guided tours
of the centre and demonstrations of horse care as well as a cafe, gift shop and
information centre. If you want to take part in a guided tour or see a
demonstration it may be wise to call and check the times and when they are
taking place. Most of the time you can move about without restriction and the
helpful staff are happy to answer your questions.
The Oxhill Centre is open all
year round and visitors are welcome anytime between 10am and 5pm each day. It is
a free day out which children particularly will enjoy. The horses, ponies and
donkeys spend their day in fenced off paddocks which are all accessible to the
visitor via hardcore paths. Overnight they are housed in the stable block.
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are taken through the visitor centre and down into the stable block area.
Within this area some of the stables have exhibitions and demonstrations
taking place. Others are the night time shelters for some of the horses out
in the paddocks. On our visit which was in February, the Donkey's were in a
hardcore paddock within the stable block, they were quiet and well tempered
and were happy for you to stroke them. Each donkey was wearing a coloured
neck collar which contained their name and on the fence were information
boards telling you about donkey's in general and also giving details of each
individual, the oldest of which was a grey male at 41 years old. |
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Felicity in this picture
is said to be a friendly donkey who loves to be cuddled, she is distinctive by
her markings and has very large ears. She apparently likes to be groomed and is
even known to go to the back of the queue to get a second grooming. She is the
adoption donkey at Oxhill. The Paddock Walk starts at
the paddocks with all weather or woodchip surfaces, which are the special care
areas, then the path takes you through the grass paddocks. Throughout the
paddock walk there are boards on the fences which gives you information about
the individuals, their age and details of where they came from and how they got
to be at the sanctuary as well as giving details of their markings so you can
identify which is which.
They have a range of horses,
from the larger breeds such as cobs as well as smaller ponies like Shetlands.
Many of them were wearing coats to keep them warm, although a sunny day there
was a chill in the air. Each paddock had a small group in together. You are not
allowed within the paddocks but many of them do come over to the fences to check
you out.
Many of the paddocks you can
access from at least two sides so if they are a little shy you can still get
close enough to photograph them. They also had shelters provided for those who
needed them. |
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Behind the stable block there
were three further paddocks one had a large horse in it, behind there were two
medium sized horses disagreeing with each other a lot of the time, this was the
only paddock you couldn't really get to close to. The third paddock had a group
of 5 Shetland ponies.
Other visitor facilities at
Oxhill includes a cafe which serves jacket potatoes, baguettes, soups and quiche
as well as Fair Trade teas and coffees and cakes. There is a children's play area
and picnic areas for those visitors who want to take their own food. It is an
open site so in winter can pick up a chill
while in summer you would be open to the heat of the sun, there was one small
shelter down by the paddocks furthest away from the visitor centre, which you
could retreat to if it rained.
Visiting on an afternoon in
February there were not many visitors about and by about 3pm they were starting
to put some of the horses into the stables for the night. During the winter last
entry is at 4pm. Our visit lasted about an hour, but you could spend longer.
They don't have any restrictions on photography and in fact welcome visitors.
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Click on any of the pictures above to see a
larger version |
There is a really good site map which you can
download from their web page as well as a direction map, both of these are in
PDF files.
About Redwings
Redwings Horse Sanctuary was established in 1984 and works to save horses,
ponies, donkeys and mules. Every year they provide a safe, secure home for
rescued animals. They are a registered charity whose base is in Norfolk. At
Norfolk HQ they have a specialist veterinary team, and equine hospital, welfare
team, rehabilitation and rehoming teams, and their admin centre, this site is
not open to the public. They also have a second site in Norfolk, near Great
Yarmouth which is has a visitor centre open to the public. They have two further
visitor centres one at Oxhill in Warwickshire, and one in Essex. As well as
donations, they also have an annual adoption scheme where you can adopt a horse
or donkey for a year and in return get a picture and details on the individual
you choose to adopt and a six monthly update on their story so far.
They
have two other centres open to visitors and these are: Ada Cole Rescue Centre in Essex,
 Caldecott Visitor Centre in Norfolk
| Further information Grid
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Location: |
Redwings Horse Sanctuary, Oxhill, Warwickshire |
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Ceremonial County: |
Warwickshire |
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Grid Reference: |
SP 329473 |
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Map Link: |
VIEW MAP
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Aerial photo: |
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Route(s):
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Best Times to Visit: |
Winter months in the week have less visitors |
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E-mail: |
info@redwings.co.uk |
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Website: |
http://www.redwings.org.uk/visit-oxhill.htm
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Other useful
websites: |
Young Redwings
A special site for younger members. |
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Nearby Locations: |
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Other Relevant pages: |
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Planning Grid
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Location: |
Redwings Horse Sanctuary, Oxhill, Warwickshire |
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Grid Reference: |
SP 329473 |
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Getting there: |
Off the A422 between Banbury and Stratford
Upon Avon. |
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Access: |
From car park through visitor centre which is
accessed via a ramp, from Information centre steps and ramp for disabled
visitors into stable area, paddocks are accessed via hard paths. |
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Parking: |
Large free car park on site |
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Facilities: |
Visitor Centre with cafe, small shop and
information centre, toilets, disabled parking and toilets, children's play
area, Picnic areas |
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Things To Do,
See and Photograph: |
Horses all of which have been rescued and
donkeys' some small wild birds around as well. |
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What to take: |
Suitable lenses for close-ups and longer
lenses for getting those that like to keep a distance. Grads or polarizer on
very sunny days for the sky. During cold winter days wrap up warm, during
the summer make sure you're covered from the sun. |
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Nature highlights: |
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Address: |
Redwings Horse Sanctuary
Oxhill Rescue Centre
Oxhill
Warwick |
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Postcode: |
CV35 0RP |
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Telephone: |
0870 040 0033 (information line) |
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Opening times: |
9.30am-3.30pm Nov-Mar, last entry 3pm.
Closed 25-26 Dec and 1st Jan. |
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Charges: |
Free entry |
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Photo Restrictions: |
None |
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Other Restrictions: |
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Special Needs Access: |
Ramp from car park to visitor centre, and ramp
from visitor centre into stable area. Concrete path through |
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Special Needs Facilities: |
Disabled toilets, some picnic tables are
suitable for wheelchairs. |
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Children Facilities: |
Childrens play area |
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Dogs Allowed: |
Keep on lead |
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Please let us know any other information that we
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