Most Sunday mornings I wake up about 8am, have a lazy couple of hours eating jam on toast and catching up on new Netflix episodes before Josh wakes up. Then we’ll usually go out for a nice coffee and maybe a mosey around the shops. We’ll have something delicious for lunch and then panic that Tesco is shutting soon and hurry off to do the weekly food shop before 4pm. That’s an average Sunday for me. (Rock and roll, I know.)
But last Sunday was a little different. A lot different actually.
I set an alarm to get up a bit earlier, dressed in casual, comfy clothes and trainers, picked my pal Sam up and headed to Towcester in Northamptonshire (about 40 mins away from me in MK). And y’know, there might have been a Maccy D’s breakfast stop en route, I can’t be sure.
But we arrived at Catanger Llamas at 10am ready for a morning of llama trekking!
Yes, you read that right. LLAMA TREKKING.
We were actually there with a Virgin Experience Day voucher and to be honest I was a little nervous about it. I’ve never actually been up close and personal with llamas – Are they docile? Are they scary up close? Do they bite or kick or spit? Well it was time to find out, kiddo.
After a short intro in the cabin about where llamas come from, a history of the farm and a cheeky name drop of the TV shows these llamas have appeared in (VIP llamas over here), we went to be given our llamas for the day. It turns out, there’s not too much we needed to be told in terms of how to handle these babies. Two hands on the rope, let them go where they want in the line and stroke their necks with the back of your hand if you want (obvs the best part).
Sam and I were given Grappa to trek with, a soft creamy llama with a bit of a strut. Quite the sasspot. He was also a lot taller than I thought llamas were (I think I was thinking of alpacas), which was a little intimidating at first. But he did bring his head down to our eye level throughout the trek, the babe. Probs to keep an eye on us and check we were cool. But I liked it.
And off we went on a two and a half hour trek around the countryside with our llamas!
When I told people I was going llama trekking, other then asking why (why not, mate?!), they asked if we were riding them. No, pal. They’re not horses, they’re domesticated animals with lovely calm natures and we were just taking them on a nice walk.
We walked through woodland and fields and got to know their personalities. Grappa was pretty well-behaved but loved to grab a leaf for a munch from a low-hanging tree, as well as throwing his body into a nearby bush for a good scratch! But some of them were quite naughty which was pretty funny!
There was a slight drama as a group of horses and bloodhounds on a hunt (I was assured the hunt was purely for a scent and not for foxes) crossed the field in front of us and spooked the llamas. But they all settled down pretty quickly after, it wasn’t scary at all.
Seriously, these babes are just like big furry dogs. Super docile and cute.
Oh and the pace of the trek was just nice and slow, so anyone could do it. I was a bit apprehensive beforehand being 5 months pregnant and needing a break after 20 minutes of walking nowadays, but I managed it okay.
We also stopped for a few grazing breaks throughout the walk, plus a few photo opps (because a llama selfie is obviously mandatory), then sauntered on back to the farm.
It’s actually only the male llamas that come on the treks, so when we got back to the farm, they had their ropes taken off and ran back to their pals in the field. And we followed and got to see the females and babies!
It was super cute. We couldn’t like go up and pet them they don’t like that so much), but it was nice to sit in the fields and watch them play and cuddle and take dust baths! (Where they just roll around in the sand lol) And they all have very cute names like Hobnob and Jaffa Cake. Cuteness overload.
I also felt that this was a really nice place for the llamas to live.
Like, with most animal-based activities I get really worried that it’s humane and the animals are well-looked after, y’know? I think it’s kind of a minefield for travellers these days as the information changes so quickly. We all know not to go to Tiger Temple in Thailand and that Seaworld sucks, but are zoos still ok? It’s hard to know what’s cruel and what’s not. But I came away from Catanger Llamas with the overwhelming feeling that these llamas have a really nice life. The staff are so lovely and clearly care very much about these animals and they have lots of space to run around in (the llamas, not the staff). So it’s a yes from me. Just wanted to clear that up.
Anyway, the whole experience was about 3 hours long in total and afterwards a lot of the people on our trek hung around to eat picnics overlooking the fields of llamas and horses and dogs. It was such a cute way to spend a Sunday and I totally recommend it for something a bit different to do on the weekend.
And, I mean, it was definitely more enjoyable than the Sunday Tesco run.
Would you go on a llama trek? Let me know in the comments below or head over to Instagram or Twitter for regular updates on my adventures.
Total Blogger Transparency: I was gifted the Virgin Experience Days voucher for this experience but all thoughts and opinions expressed are my own. I wouldn’t play you like that, shorty.