You can book online with our easy online booking system. We use a 3rd party provider called Stripe (www.stripe.co.uk). We do not store any of your data on our website etc. If you are having difficulty with booking online or would rather speak to us by telephone, then please ring us instead.
While we understand that there can be unexpected circumstances in your lives, due to all the hard work that goes into looking after our Alpacas we ask before you are considering cancelling to think carefully. We offer a cancellation policy of 7 days which means that if you give us 7 days notice we can reschedule your appointment for another date. We will offer a full refund if you give us 30 days notice.
Yes we do and we have a disabled car park right next to the Alpaca Field. Obviously some of our walks due to the terrain and lands are unsuitable for wheel chair users but our ‘Meet and Greets’ are perfectly suited and also our ‘private walks’ can be adapted.
Unfortunately dogs are not allowed. They are allowed to stay in your car in the car park. Alpacas are highly sensitive and bright animals and can sense a dog nearby which will alert them and unsettle them making them nervous and agitated.
We are very proud of our ecotoilet which we affectionally call the ‘Alapacaloo’. This is also designed for wheelchair users.
Alpacas are very friendly and interact well with children. Our ‘Meet and Greet’ sessions are perfect for younger members of the family. All we ask is that you remember that alpacas are not pets and need to respected at all times!
If you have made an online booking but received no confirmation please kindly check your junk folder before contacting us by email at info@gallowayalpacas.co.uk or alternatively by telephone.
Alpacas originate from the Altiplano (Spanish for high plain) in west-central South America. Spanning the borders of Peru, Chile and Bolivia, this area of the Andes averages nearly 4000 metres above sea level.
Alpacas are one of the camelid species, closely related to the llama. There are four species of South American camelid – Llamas (Lama glama) and alpacas (Vicugna pacos) are domesticated and vicuna (Vicugna vicugna) and guanaco (Lama guanicoe) remain wild and are protected species. All four are found mainly in Peru in the Andes, with smaller numbers in Chile and Bolivia.
It is believed that the alpaca and the llama were domesticated from the wild species vicuna and guanaco over 6000 years ago. The alpaca was developed primarily as a fleece producing animal with meat as a secondary product.
There are two types of alpaca: A huacaya (pronounced wa-ky-ya) alpaca; A suri alpaca.
The huacaya appearance is due to its fibre growing vertically out of its skin in small bundles with a tight crimped wave which makes the fleece sit vertically off the skin giving it a ‘Teddy Bear’ look. The huacaya fibre is more akin to a woollen process of manufacture.
The suri appearance is due to its fibre growing out of the skin in bundles/locks without any crimped wave. This makes the suri locks twist and hang down along the flank of the alpaca giving it an appearance much like a Wensleydale sheep. The suri fibre at its best is akin to silk and lends itself to the worsted process of manufacture. It is seeing increasing use in men’s suiting and coats.
The llama was developed primarily as a pack animal and has the ability to carry about 25kg of weight on its back and travel 10-12 miles per day up and down the mountains of the Andes.
Information gleaned from the mummified remains of ritually sacrificed alpacas and humans in the high Andes indicate that by the time of the European conquest of Peru, the alpaca produced some of the finest fibre and textiles ever known to man.
When the Spanish invaded Peru in 1532, there were 10 million indigenous people living in the Andes. Fifty years later there were one million. The Spanish Conquistadors did not understand the alpaca and after eating what they needed, they pushed it higher into the Andes and moved their cattle and sheep onto the grazing land.
This, coupled with the displacement and loss of so many people to work the mountains, quickly destroyed the sophisticated breeding programmes of the Inca. The alpaca herds were decimated in numbers and quality in favour of sheep and for the next 450 years, the alpaca became a subsistence livestock for the indigenous peoples of the Andes.
