Swap the marina for the meadow with a guided alpaca walk at Itchen Valley Country Park, a short drive from Hamble-le-Rice.
Hamble-le-Rice is a village built around the water — the marinas, the ferry, the yachts queuing for the river mouth — so a morning spent leading a halter-trained alpaca through open parkland makes a proper change of scenery. At Itchen Valley Country Park, just along the Hamble peninsula from the village itself, our herd of more than 40 alpacas is used to visitors from the sailing and boating crowd looking for something a little less nautical to do with a free afternoon.
You won't be watching from behind a fence. Once your handler has matched you with an alpaca suited to your experience and confidence, you take the lead yourself and walk your alpaca around the park's paths and paddocks for a full two hours. Alpacas are calm, curious animals, and most first-timers relax within a few minutes once they realise their alpaca is walking happily beside them rather than the other way around.
The park sits at Allington Lane, West End, Southampton, SO30 3HQ — around twenty minutes from Hamble by car via Netley and Weston, or a similar run up through Bursledon and Botley if the tide's got the Hamble Bridge queue backed up. It's an easy add-on to a day that starts with brunch by the river or a wander round the marina, without needing to give up the whole day to get there.
Every booking gets a full two hours at the park, a dedicated alpaca for the walk, and a handler on hand throughout for guidance, photos and the inevitable questions about why alpacas hum. Children aged 3–12 share a lead with an adult, those aged 12–16 can lead independently with an adult present, and anyone 16 and over walks solo. If you'd rather bring the whole family along, our family packages work out better value than booking individually.
We're a family-run, BAS-registered herd with sixteen years behind us, so you're in experienced hands whether it's your first time near an alpaca or your fifth visit this year. Gift vouchers are available if you're booking for someone else, and rescheduling insurance is worth adding if your date's weather-dependent. Give us a call on 0333 050 4012 or book directly online.