Clark's Little Ark Sanquhar

Clark's Little Ark Sanquhar A result of observing the enjoyment that animals brought to people, Being near the town, people from the local communities began to visit the animals.

Clark's Little Ark began evolving unintentionally in December 2012,
A small piece of land at the former brickworks in Sanquhar, became home to my miniature Shetland ponies and donkeys. Watching the enjoyment shared between humans and animals was so rewarding and the animal family began to grow! In May 2013 ,sadness and heartbreak struck our family, when our beloved son Clark passed away. Although

Clark had many "labels" of disability, he was a happy, loving boy who loved being around happy, smiling people. Clark's Little Ark was named in his memory. We know he would approve of all the smiles that take place at the Ark. The Ark has also helped our family deal with our grief, even on the most difficult days. We have been so lucky receiving support from the local communities and beyond, to help keep Clark's Little Ark free and accessible to all ages and abilities. We are indebted to THE FRIENDS (AND WEE FRIENDS) OF CLARK'S LITTLE ARK, who volunteer their own time to arrange meetings, fundraise, organise open days and manage all donations, bank accounts and paper work. This enables everyone to see where and when their kind donations are being used. We are extremely grateful to everyone who supports Clark's Little Ark in any way at all and hope the smiles continue for many years to come. PLEASE NOTE - Clark's Little Ark can be found at the Old Brickworks. It is situated on the left hand side of the road, just before the civic amenity site, St Mary's Street Sanquhar DG4 6BS. There is very limited parking at the Ark and if specialist access is required please contact Alison Shankly on 07789394138, 0165950123 or email [email protected]
As far as possible, arrangements will be made to meet your needs. Hand cleanser is available at the gate to the yard. For those who don't have mobility problems, parking is usually available at Sanquhar Station, which is nearby.. The Ark is FREE to all visitors - all we ask for payment is a smile.


** ••••SINCE COVID 19 THE FOLLOWING CAN CHANGE DAILY -
( Please feel free to go down the track and enjoy spending time with the animals. If Alison or any the Friend's of Clark's Little Ark are around there will be an opportunity to interact with some of the animals. However, in the interest of Health and Safety, no one is allowed in beside any of the animals unsupervised. If the green gate at the top is unchained, visitors can walk up the newly fenced track (funded by a grant from PROPEL) up to a picnic bench in the top field. The animals will be in paddocks at the side. If the yard gate at the bottom is not chained, it will be possible to enter and visit the animals that may be in the stables, as well as Percy the pig. PLEASE TO NOT PUT YOUR HANDS NEAR PERCY, AS HE THINKS MOST THINGS ARE FOR EATING! If any the gates are chained it means ANIMALS WILL BE LOOSE, SO PLEASE DO NOT ENTER. )****

We hope you enjoy your visit and please do not hesitate to get in touch if you have any questions. The animals will update their news on here :-)
Please allow for their spelling mistakes!! Thank you Alison and Ian Shankly and family (human and animal)

Well after all the rain last night we spent a lovely day with visitors, helpers and a lovely couple, Siobhan and Matthew...
28/09/2025

Well after all the rain last night we spent a lovely day with visitors, helpers and a lovely couple, Siobhan and Matthew, who came back to Sanquhar,( because they liked it so much)to celebrate their first wedding anniversary and called in to see us all again too 🥰
Bob the robin enjoyed soaking up the September sunshine and watching over everyone from his high perch 😊

The ponies came in for a wee while today and are thankful that they stayed in for a sleepover because the rain tonight i...
27/09/2025

The ponies came in for a wee while today and are thankful that they stayed in for a sleepover because the rain tonight is awful.
They got entertained with Benny and Walter playing football this afternoon and Nik managed to get a few photos.
Benny won because Walter was restricted but then he got disqualified for a foul ( he tried to chew Walter’s tail!)

Our human was very late bringing us in tonight.She said it was because it was such a nice night but we found out that  s...
23/09/2025

Our human was very late bringing us in tonight.She said it was because it was such a nice night but we found out that she’d actually been blethering!
Anyway, as if it wasn’t bad enough that she was late, she went away up the back taking photos of September sunsets and Shetland/sheep siluettes!
Ant and Dec were on their high horse shouting their heads off!
We have to admit they’re quite nice though and we all got fed and tucked in eventually!

Recently Marble the goat was being rather naughty. Although she lives with Amber and Opal and they are close friends mos...
23/09/2025

Recently Marble the goat was being rather naughty. Although she lives with Amber and Opal and they are close friends most of the time. A few weeks ago during the heavy rain we heard Opal crying and when we went to investigate poor Opal was standing in the rain, huddled under a tree. We were puzzled as there is more than enough room in their big shelter for the three of them. But when we went round to check Marble was standing in the middle of the door way and when Opal tried to get in she was chasing her away. We brought Opal in to a stable of her own and Marble got a big lecture about being horrible and we certainly don’t like bullying at Clark’s Little Ark. The thing was when they were separated they were shouting for each other and didn’t like being apart! The problem was solved though, thanks to Shaws Sanquhar Tile Service for donating pallets and our volunteers a lovely new shelter has been built, so if Marble is in one of her grumpy moods, it doesn’t matter because there is another cosy shelter available for Opal. She’s just waiting on the wi-fi!
A few weeks ago a gate at the bottom that gives access round the back came off due to a rotten strainer, probably due to the flood water in past years.
Thanks also to Sheena McQuaker for donating two new strainers and more of our volunteers for putting them in and replacing the gate.
Thanks also to Nisa Sanquhar for £28.78 from the collection tin.
Finally, as always thanks to everyone who donates supports and helps us in many ways. It is greatly appreciated 😊

20/09/2025

I’m sure the goats would love this! 🤣

12/09/2025

❤️ A family-run animal shelter near Sanquhar has carried out an upgrade of a section of its play area, thanks to a generous donation from school pupils.

Clark's Little Ark had to repair its boat due to it needing new floors and seats.

🤗 Primary one pupils from Kelloholm Primary visited the farm and then went away to raise money to help repair the boat.

You may remember back in July, P1 at Kelloholm Primary worked very  hard and raised £104 to help repair the boat in the ...
09/09/2025

You may remember back in July, P1 at Kelloholm Primary worked very hard and raised £104 to help repair the boat in the play area.
Sadly the boat was too badly damaged to safely repair.
However, thanks to a volunteer and the money from P1, we were able to have a lovely new boat built, which is safe for the children to play and use their imagination in.
It is lovely to hear the stories of pirate adventures and sailing trips as well as some parents and carers enjoying the view when the sea and the children are calm!
Thank you to all involved 😊

A few photos from the other night and a memory from seven years ago when Benny looked like he’d turned into a kangaroo!
06/09/2025

A few photos from the other night and a memory from seven years ago when Benny looked like he’d turned into a kangaroo!

Topsy the tortoise needed a home for the winter months as the Ark would be much too cold for her. But we also felt she m...
06/09/2025

Topsy the tortoise needed a home for the winter months as the Ark would be much too cold for her. But we also felt she might be feeling lonely sometimes, as she had been used to regular 24 hour company in a safe environment.
So maybe a permanent new home would be better for her? We were delighted and grateful when Iraina said that Topsy could join the other tortoises at Farmersfield Rest-home for Elderly Donkeys.
Thanks to Laura and Keith for transporting Topsy and her house yesterday. She looked so happy and different meeting her new tortoise friends, ( the big tortoises have their own house, they’re huge!) as she had a wee while outside with them before going into the house where it was warmer. She will move into the heat with her new friends for the winter and her human friends can book a visit too and see all the lovely donkeys at the same time 😊

Aw Billy is the calendar  photo for  September, we really miss him but are  lucky to have lots of happy memories of him ...
01/09/2025

Aw Billy is the calendar photo for September, we really miss him but are lucky to have lots of happy memories of him ❤️

Friday was the switch on for Blackpool Illuminations, tonight it was switch on at Clark’s Little Ark! We were very fortu...
31/08/2025

Friday was the switch on for Blackpool Illuminations, tonight it was switch on at Clark’s Little Ark!
We were very fortunate and grateful to have lights donated and safely put up to help us in the winter.This will make a huge difference and even the torrential rain didn’t seem so bad when the place was illuminated up tonight 😊
Thanks also to JBB KNOTWEED SOLUTIONS LTD who safely removed a random Jimson w**d that appeared out of the blue, near the burn and we very much appreciate the charitable discount that they gave us.
Luckily Nik ( on one of her ‘burn inspections’) spotted the w**d in an area that was fortunately fenced off and no animals or humans were ever near it.Jennifer researched it and got in touch with the company who came out on Monday, safely removed the w**d, roots etc took it away and checked the surrounding areas and thankfully it is all clear.
Thanks to KKS News for sharing our news, the drain has been well tested over the last few days and making a big difference.
Thanks to The Nithsdale Times for sharing our news too.
It gives people who don’t have Facebook a chance to see what’s happening at the Ark 😊

26/08/2025

Thank you to everyone who bought tickets for the bear and to Jill Millar for drawing the raffle today.
The winning tickets 71-75
Petra Hoffmann😊

Address

St Mary's Street
Sanquhar
DG46BS

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Our Story

Clark’s Little ARK began evolving unintentionally in December 2012. A small piece of land at the former brickworks in Sanquhar, became home to our miniature Shetland ponies and donkeys. Being near the town, people from the local communities began to visit the animals. Watching the enjoyment shared between humans and animals was so rewarding and the animal family began to grow! In May 2013 tragedy and heartbreak struck our family. When our beloved son Clark passed away. Although Clark had many “labels” of disability, he was a happy, loving boy. Who loved being around happy, smiling people. Clark’s Little Ark was named in his memory. We know he would approve of all the smiles that take place at the Ark. The Ark has also helped our family deal with our grief, even on the most difficult days. We have been so lucky receiving support from the local communities and beyond, to help keep Clark’s Little Ark free and accessible as possible, to all ages and abilities. We are indebted to THE FRIENDS (AND THE WEE FRIENDS) OF CLARK’S LITTLE ARK who volunteer their own time to arrange meetings, fundraise, organise open days and manage all donations, bank accounts, grant applications and paperwork. This enables everyone to see where and when their kind donations are being used. The Friends and much valued volunteers also help with many manual tasks at the Ark where and when they are available. We are extremely grateful to anyone who supports Clark’s Little Ark in any way at all and hope the smiles continue for many years to come. Thank you from Alison and Ian Shankly and Family (Human and animal). Clark’s Little Ark can be found at the Old Brickworks. It is situated on the left-hand side of the road, just before the Civic Amenity Site St Mary’s Street Sanquhar DG4 6BS. Parking is very limited at the Ark and if specialist access is required then please contact Alison Shankly on 07943389018 or 01659 50123, email [email protected] or send a pm on Facebook. As far as possible we will try and make arrangements to meet your needs. Hand gel/wipes will be available at the gates. Please use these after you have touched any animals. For those who don’t have mobility problems, parking is usually available at the Sanquhar Station. The Ark is FREE to all visitors, all we ask for is a smile. Please feel free to go down the track and enjoy spending time with the animals. If Alison or any of the Friends are there it will be an opportunity to interact with some of the animals. PLEASE READ ALL NOTICES AS THEY TELL YOU WHAT YOU CAN AND CAN’T DO WHEN VISITING THE ARK.