Welcome the spring with a two-hour guided alpaca walk through the blossoming water meadows of Itchen Valley Country Park near Southampton.
There is a particular magic to Hampshire in spring, and few places capture it better than the winding riverside meadows of Itchen Valley Country Park. As the hedgerows fill with blackthorn blossom and the first swallows arrive over the water, our herd shakes off winter and comes into its liveliest, most inquisitive mood. A spring alpaca walk lets you share that seasonal reawakening at close quarters, leading your own halter-trained alpaca along paths edged with celandine, wild garlic and unfurling ferns.
After the short, muddy days of winter, spring alpacas are noticeably brighter. The mornings are cool and clear, the ground is firming underfoot, and the birdsong along the Itchen is at its loudest. Our alpacas love the gentler temperatures — they are far more content to amble, graze and pose for photographs in April and May than in the heat of high summer. You will often see them prick their ears at a chiffchaff or lean in for a closer look at a bank of primroses.
Spring is also when anticipation builds for cria season. Many of our females are heavily in-fluff and preparing to give birth in late spring and early summer, so a visit at this time of year is your chance to meet the expectant mums and hear how we care for them. It is a lovely, hopeful atmosphere, and children in particular are captivated by the idea that a fluffy new baby might arrive within weeks of their walk.
Your experience lasts around two hours. After a warm welcome and a short handling lesson, you are matched with your own alpaca and set off in a small group alongside an experienced handler. The route through Itchen Valley Country Park is flat and easy, taking in water meadows, ancient woodland and open pasture. There is plenty of time to stop, take pictures and ask questions. We are a family-run, BAS-registered farm with more than sixteen years of experience and a herd of over forty alpacas, so every walk is relaxed, safe and unhurried.
Spring brings Easter holidays and Mother's Day, making our walks a popular choice for family days out and thoughtful gifts. All ages are welcome: children aged three to twelve share a lead with an adult, twelve to sixteens lead with an adult present, and over-sixteens walk independently. We are roughly fifteen minutes from Southampton, Winchester and Eastleigh, and easily reached from across Hampshire. Wrap up in layers, bring sturdy footwear for the odd soft patch, and come ready to make a very woolly new friend.