Something a little different at Oak Tree Alpacas

In the effort of spicing things up during a long school holiday, we like to try new things, do something a little different, quirky or out of our comfort zone.   

This week, Ella (my 6 year old daughter) and I opted for a spot of Alpaca walking! We are both animal lovers and feel most at home on a farm, so we headed to Oak Tree Alpacas in Woodborough, a mere 6 miles from Nottingham City Centre.  

The picturesque village of Woodborough has always been a firm favourite with our family to visit because of its two beautiful country pubs, a park for the kids and stunning country walks linking it to surrounding villages. Little did I know, however, that tucked just behind the main road would be a peaceful small holding where dozens of Alpacas lived!  

I found Oak Tree Farm online and fell in love with the ‘herd’, where you are virtually introduced to all the guys, girls and the newest editions. They are seemingly born on a daily basis at the moment, the youngest of which is a mere week old! 

With options to go and feed the herd or to walk with an Alpaca around the farmland there is something to suit any ability and age which is refreshing. We met with Jane who introduced the Alpacas we would be walking and also gave us plenty of information about these fluffy creatures, an absolute fountain of knowledge.  

From the camel family and related to llamas, the Alpaca is bred primarily for its luscious fleece, yet they are also frequently and more commonly used as companions to other animals. They might look cute but would you believe that they will also see off a predator if it is a threat in the field where they reside. I was most fascinated that they only have a bottom set of teeth too, at least they can’t bite and apparently they aren’t as rude as their llama relatives and rarely spit - well, only at each other, anyway. We would be walking the young males of the herd on our visit, as all the girls can be found in the fields along with their young or in various stages of pregnancy, as they have a long gestation period of 11 ½ months!  

Being the youngest of the group on the day, Ella chose one of the smallest males in the group to walk, a white, one year old Alpaca named Rowan with huge doe eyes. The other ladies in our group chose their boys to walk also and we were ready, or so it seemed. It was comical leaving the yard as it quickly became apparent that cute and cuddly they may look but stubborn as an ox they are! Until one lead the way, not one would move, rooted to the spot. Once the lead was taken though they were off and we proceeded to walk away from the stables and out towards the woods. The small hold is located just on the edge of Stanley Wood, which is part of the original ancient Sherwood Forest and unsurprisingly the route was lined with beautiful old oak trees gently swaying in the breeze.  

Our walk lasted an hour and as we walked back to the stables, we were able to take more pictures, even cuddling our new companions once we returned to the rest of the herd. It was a wonderful experience and one that we both loved.  

I’d definitely recommend giving this a go, as the Alpacas are gentle creatures and for a child it is a unique hands on activity. Ella was able to lead Rowan without my assistance, too, which gave her own independence.  

Following our walk, and with the Alpacas now grazing, we headed to the small stable pop up shop onsite where we saw some of the lovely items on sale such as hats and rugs, made from the soft fleece. For the avid gardener there is also the perfect gift…Alpaca poo! Apparently, there is no better fertilizer. Dried and presented in small hessian bags they look more of a gift than you might think!

To round off our experience we were invited to take tea and cake in the tranquillity of the farm garden, which is home to vegetables, an abundance of herbs and even edible flowers, which are even used in our very own Michelin-starred Nottingham restaurant Alchemilla! Tea was herbal, infusing lemon balm with hot water and cake was a summer fruits sponge, adorned with chocolate shards and homegrown edible flowers courtesy of @BettyRoseBakes - simply divine! The peace and natural beauty of our surroundings was wonderful, what an amazing place to find and one that felt like a secret! 

I’ll be back to see the Alpacas again very soon and would recommend Oak Tree Alpacas to anyone! 

For more information visit oaktreealpacas.co.uk.

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This blog was written by Anna Scott, Commercial Partnership Executive at Visit Nottinghamshire. All image credits go to Oak Tree Alpacas.