A relaxed, hands-on alpaca walk just a short drive south of Basingstoke — lead your own halter-trained alpaca through Itchen Valley Country Park.
Swap the roundabouts and retail parks of Basingstoke for meadow paths and inquisitive alpacas. Our guided walks take place at Itchen Valley Country Park in West End, near Southampton, an easy run down the M3 from north Hampshire. In around two hours you will meet the herd, learn to handle your own alpaca and stroll a gentle woodland-and-meadow route with an experienced handler at your side.
Basingstoke sits at the top of the county, but reaching us is simpler than you might expect. From Festival Place it is roughly 30 miles: join the M3 southbound, follow it past Winchester and Eastleigh, and you are at our West End base in about forty minutes. Families from Chineham, Old Basing, Oakley and Tadley make the trip regularly because it turns a normal Saturday into something the children still talk about on Monday. There is free parking on site, so once you arrive the only thing left to do is meet your alpaca.
You will not simply watch the alpacas — you lead one. After a short safety briefing, each walker is paired with a calm, halter-trained animal and shown how to hold the lead, read their body language and keep an easy pace. The route winds through the park's meadows and shaded woodland, with plenty of pauses for photos, questions and the odd nibble of hedgerow. Our handlers, who have been raising alpacas here for sixteen years, share stories about each animal's personality along the way.
Everyone is welcome. Children aged three to twelve share a lead with an accompanying adult, twelve to sixteen-year-olds can lead with an adult present, and anyone sixteen and over walks independently. It is a genuinely all-weather, all-ages day out — grandparents, toddlers and teenagers usually end up equally charmed. We also run accessible walks every Wednesday from April to October, with free carer tickets.
Walks start from £32 per person, with family packages from £92 and baby-alpaca walks from £54. An extra walker is £18, and for £4.50 you can add rescheduling insurance in case a Hampshire downpour rearranges your plans. Gift vouchers are available too — a popular choice for Basingstoke birthdays and anniversaries. To book, choose a date on our online calendar or call the team on 0333 050 4012. Wear sturdy shoes, bring a coat if the sky looks uncertain, and come ready to make forty new woolly friends.