So it has been over two weeks since we have attended the Wool Festival at Armley Mills, and we have so much to tell you! First of all the festival was a cracking success; we had so many visitors to the stall and they all wanted to know more about our adorable Alpacas, which I must say behaved splendidly! At one point, we were so over-run with visitors wanting a walk with an Alpaca, we had to put break signs up so we and our Alpacas could have a good rest. But to be fair, who can resist this little face??
The cards and pin cushions also went down a treat; we were sold out of pin cushions by dinnertime, so we need to go better prepared with them next time. And the cards were very popular, and we have had requests since then for some to be sent as gift cards.
The day itself went very well, with everyone interested to know more; the most popular questions were:
1- Where are you based? Methley, Leeds where we have enough land to allow visitors to take the Alpacas for pre-booked treks lasting about 1 hour to 1 hour and a half.
2- What is the difference between Alpacas and Llamas? On this we could talk for hours, but the main differences are their ears and size difference.
3- Do they take much looking after/How many do you have have/Do you shear them often etc? Again we could talk for hours on this, but mainly we shear them once a year, not much looking after but feeding, clipping nails and shearing etc, and then we have 8 as Alpacas are herd animals so should not be kept in low numbers or alone.
As you can see from the above photo, most people just wanted a small stroke or simply to see them up close. Many thought the experience was one to tick off their bucket list!
The Sunday after the Alpacas simply wanted a rest, exactly what we needed as well. A visit to the farm that day confirmed this, as they were simply lazing around. Well deserved :)
Since the festival, we have had so much going on that I will have to save it for another time; but the best bits are we have been invited to attend a school gala with the Alpacas and some more treks have been booked, yay!
For now we will say bye, but check back soon for more Alpaca news!
Treeside Alpacas 