Hiking with the Cotentin donkey between paths and beach | Destination Granville Land and Sea

Contact

Brigitte PIEAU06 81 33 25 40 contact@audomainedesthine.fr Au Domaine d’EsthineLongrais 50740 Carolles

Rates

Price of the Experience:Booking required60€ per donkey for 1/2 day for 2 to 4 people maximum. +40€ per additional donkey. Packed lunch available on request at extra cost.

Duration

4 hours including 1 hour preparation. Tours available from April to the end of October, when the Asinerie is open. Rides possible on Mondays and Tuesdays. Please contact Brigitte if you would like to go on a weekend outside July and August. Other durations and itineraries are available on request.

Location

Departure from Domaine d’Esthine to Carolles beach* via Chemins de Saint-Michel and Vallée des Peintres. *Access to the beach for donkeys is forbidden in July and August.

Practical info

Bring comfortable, weather-appropriate clothing and footwear, a light backpack and a bottle of water. Pack a picnic lunch. It is strictly forbidden for adults or teenagers weighing more than 40kg to ride on the donkey’s back. Only children are allowed at the start of the tour. Helmets are compulsory for children. It is strictly forbidden to feed your donkey by hand and to let it graze as it pleases during the hike (it will be able to feast during your break).

You meet

your travel companion

Meet Birgitte Pieau, owner of the Asinerie, at Domaine d’Esthine, Carolles, at 10am. Her speciality: a breeding operation based exclusively on Cotentin donkeys, a breed recognized since 1997 by the French Ministry of Agriculture. You’ll get to know the donkeys, gentle, calm and playful animals. An hour is devoted to preparing your donkey. Brigitte introduces you to the donkey that will share your adventure, and teaches you how to carefully handle it after curry-combing it. The following items need to be installed: the pack-saddle, the cross-braces, the saddlebags and, if necessary, the bardette, a small saddle for children wishing to ride the donkey. While you have the tools in hand, Brigitte tells you about the fascinating history of this breed, once widely used on small farms in Lower Normandy. In fact, at the beginning of the 20th century, the Cotentin donkey, mainly pack-trained, carried crates and the ancestor of the milk can from milking cows. But its origins go back even further: as far back as the 16th century, according to departmental archives. Once your animal is ready, with your picnic in its saddlebag attached to the pack-saddle thanks to the crossbars, safety instructions from Brigitte and your IGN map in hand, off you go!

You share

a moment of complicity

with the animal

Walking level with your donkey’s shoulder, you’ll venture along the Chemins de Saint-Michel, discovering the picturesque charm of the village of Carolles. You listen to your donkey, paying close attention to your surroundings. You talk to him, praise him and reassure him if need be, warning him of the slightest danger. The landscape changes as you descend towards the coast, following the old railroad line and then through the bucolic Vallée des Peintres. The green, orange and brown hues of the bocage give way to shades of blue and grey as you approach the beach at Carolles. The fine sand beneath your feet and the invigorating iodine air create the perfect atmosphere, while your donkey walks peacefully beside you.

After a walk between land and sea,

complete immersion

into the world of the Cotentin donkey

You enjoy your picnic break by the sea, well wrapped up, accompanied by the sound of the waves and the peaceful company of your donkey, who also takes advantage of the break to graze on a blade of greenery nearby. You then leave the coast for the quiet countryside of Domaine d’Esthine. Once back, you meet up with Brigitte to remove your donkey’s equipment and groom him, before he returns to rest with his companions. Then you discover the Asinerie, to learn about the history and characteristics of the Cotentin donkey, an endangered local breed that Brigitte helps to safeguard through her breeding, which focuses on the well-being of her animals. Last but not least, you’ll learn that at Domaine d’Esthine, you can buy soaps made by Brigitte with donkey milk obtained by cold saponification, guaranteeing a natural superfatted soap. A must-have souvenir to take home!

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Au Domaine d'Esthine