Get to Know Our Ever-Expanding Family of Rescue Animals and Wildlife
Here at the Woods at Oakley, in Wiltshire, UK, we are not only an eco-friendly woodland wedding venue, but we are also home to an ever-expanding family of wonderful animals, including rescue animals and beautiful wildlife. Lindsay, Charlie and Amelie have adopted many incredible animals over the years, which have enriched their lives enormously, as well as the lives of the Woods at Oakley team and the couples who get married here! We are also an animal friendly wedding venue and welcome you to include your own animals in your wedding! Read our blog on how to include your furry friends in your celebrations here.
Get to know our Woods at Oakley animals below – they look forward to meeting you when you come and visit us.
Kevin and Marcel
Kevin and Marcel are curious, gentle and affectionate donkeys. They are complete attention seekers that love nothing more than being cuddled. Kevin can often be found exactly where he’s not meant to be! Lindsay and Charlie are a guardian family for these cheeky chappies, who were rescued by the charity ‘The Donkey Sanctuary’. If you are visiting Devon, the sanctuary is a fantastic day out – you’ll just have to try very hard to not take any donkeys home with you like Lindsay and Charlie did!
Mango
Mango is an old miniature horse who Lindsay and Charlie adopted from an elderly couple who had home bred her. She spent the first 25 years of her life in one field and was extremely anxious when she first arrived. She was in poor health but with a lot of love and care she is now happy and healthy, albeit still a little shy!
Ernie
Ernie is an old Irish Sport Horse that came to live with Lindsay and Charlie in his twenties. He is a gentle giant who looks after everyone in his herd, be they woolly, hairy, furry or human. He is the only horse Lindsay hasn’t fallen off! He still competes in dressage and enjoys galloping through the woods.
Delilah
Delilah, or Dee as we call her, is a working Cocker Spaniel who joined the team after being sacked from her job as a gun dog. Her parents were Field Trial Champions, but she was terrified of the sound of the guns. She is playful, affectionate and gets bossed around by every other animal, including the sheep!
Samson
Samson (more affectionally known as Sammie) is a young Doberman who is head of security on site, although he would much rather be playing with any children. Because of this, he’s earned the nickname of Nanny! Samson is 2 years old and is a gentle giant.
Jack-Jack
Jack-Jack is Amelie’s partner in crime – a big Maine Coon with an attitude to match! He eats everything and will bite everyone, including his human parents. It’s just his way! He’s not vicious – just a big kitten at heart. He will be happy to see you (mostly – he’s a cat…).
Saturday
Saturday was found behind a chicken shed with her siblings, having been born to a feral mum on-site. Ten years on, whilst she still keeps herself to herself, she now sometimes sleeps on Lindsay and Charlie’s bed and is fed by all of our wonderful staff anytime they’re in the mess. She probably gets 6 meals a day but she needs it!
The Woollies
The Woollies are 6 very elegant sheep ladies named Victoria, Tictac, Snowflake, Penny, Dotty and Hetty. Victoria is the matriarch and the head of the herd. She is quite an elderly lady now but, in her youth, she used to be a show sheep! The Woollies are all rescue animals and many of them were hand reared and bottle fed. A few of them even lived in the house with Lindsay, Charlie and Amelie. When Amelie was born in their home, the sheep wedged themselves against the front door and refused to let the midwives in!
Our Wildlife
In the Woods at Oakley, we are lucky to have a variety of wildlife that call the woods their home. When you visit us, if you look up, you might catch a glimpse of the majestic kites that nest in the woods. You also might come across pheasants, grouse, roe deer, muntjac deer, hedgehogs, badgers, foxes, hares, grey squirrels, wood mice, voles, bats, tawny owls, barn owls, woodpeckers, buzzards, butterflies, toads and maybe a fairy if you’re lucky! This is one reason that conservation and being an eco-friendly wedding venue is so important to us. The money raised from our woodland weddings helps to sustain the woods and provide an ongoing habitat for our local wildlife, with new trees being planted all the time (including a tree for every couple who get married in the woods), and couples making sure they leave no trace after their big day. To learn more about how to have an eco-friendly wedding at The Woods at Oakley, read our blog here.
Read about our eco values and wooding packages in our brochure and send us an email enquiries@thewoodsatoakley.co.uk if you would like to come for a viewing and meet some of our furry friends!