‘It was amazing, thanks. I went with my partner, Killian, his two girls, his sister and his mum. He’s the groundsman here so you’ll meet him soon, but he’s not in this weekend.’
‘Big family holiday,’ I said.
‘It was, and I’ll admit to being a teeny bit nervous about going away with everyone. Killian and I have only been together for four months, but it honestly couldn’t have gone better. I properly feel like part of the family now and we’re already talking about going away again together in the summer.’
‘Sounds lovely.’
‘It really was, although I missed the Magnificent Seven, of course. I got my dad to send me photos and videos so I could get my alpaca fix. Do you want to meet them?’
‘I’d love to.’
Bedding finished, Emma poured some pellets into a bucket.
‘Have you ever met an alpaca before?’
‘Until I came here, I’d never even seen one. Your dad said you wouldn’t mind if he did the intros, but it didn’t feel right when I hadn’t met you so I said I’d wait till you returned.’
‘I wouldn’t have minded, but I’m pleased to have the honour. I get such a kick out of introducing them to new people.’
After hanging up a couple of nets of hay from ceiling hooks in the shack and pouring more pellets into a feeding trough outside, Emma gave me a short briefing on where the alpacas liked to be stroked and where to avoid. Then she grabbed the bucket of feed and took me through a holding pen into a pasture, shaking the bucket and whistling. It didn’t take long for the alpacas to appear from the far end, a light grey one leading the way.
‘That’s Barbara,’ Emma told me. ‘She’s the boss lady. Check out the swagger on her. I’ve had fun filming her and adding songs to the videos. Remind me to show you the one of her strutting to “Saturday Night Fever”. It’s my favourite. Guaranteed mood-lifter.’
I smiled as I studied Barbara’s approach. She really did strut rather than walk.
Emma rattled off the other names – white alpacas called Florence and Bianca and two light fawn-coloured ones called Charmaine and Camella.
‘The dark brown one’s Jolene and the one at the back is Maud. She’s got a grey fleece like Barbara but it’s a different shade called rose grey. Isn’t it pretty?’
‘They’re all pretty.’
They were very close so Emma shook the bucket again and led them through the holding pen to the feeding trough where they all dipped their heads and started munching.
‘They’re fluffier than I expected.’
Emma nodded. ‘Their fleeces are really soft – great for keeping them warm in the winter as well as making fantastic wool. They get sheared when we get warm weather but we’ll keep most of the fluffiness on their heads.’
She told me that there weren’t any customer walks booked in for today as she wanted to spend her first day back settling in and giving her undivided attention to the herd, but she would still be taking them out for a walk and I was welcome to join her. I didn’t need asking twice. Charmaine apparently refused to walk on afternoons so, after they’d eaten, Emma added halters and attached leads to Charmaine, Florence and Bianca, telling me that there were friendship groups within the herd and those three had a really strong bond.
I felt a little apprehensive as Emma handed me Charmaine’s lead. We were a family of animal lovers but none of us had ever had pets so I’d never even walked a dog before, but I needn’t have been concerned. The three of them sauntered along the drive with no need for direction.
‘They’ve walked the route so often that they know where they’re heading,’ Emma said. ‘They’ll occasionally pull you over to a hedge so they can have a scratch, which is fine, and they might stop to eat the grass but there’s an area we use round the back of the house so a gentle tug on the lead will keep them on track. They do know where their official feeding stop is, but they like to try it on sometimes.’
‘Have you always had alpacas?’ I asked.
‘I’ve always loved them but, this time last year, I was a teacher and alpacas definitely weren’t on my radar…’
As we walked the three alpacas, Emma told me how her fiancé at the time – Grayson – had secured a tenancy on one of Beatrix Potter’s farms near Coniston and she’d made the decision to leave teaching to help him run the farm. The previous owner had told her about some research she’d done into alpaca walks around the farm, which immediately captured Emma’s interest. The Magnificent Seven were a herd in need of rescue but, as she was about to start some building work on the farm to prepare for their arrival, Grayson dropped the bombshell that he didn’t want the alpacas at the farm and he didn’t want her there either.
‘I was devastated at the time but it’s funny how a bit of time and distance can give you a fresh perspective. Grayson was an awful partner – all take and no give – and I didn’t realise it at the time. I wasted a lot of years on him, but I needed to go through that to get where I am today with my alpacas, this stunning place as my office, and Killian. I’ve also got an amazing half-brother who I didn’t know existed and I finally have a great relationship with my dad, which is something I’d never expected. So, toxic as it was with Grayson, I wouldn’t change my time with him for the world because of where it led me.’
It was a really healthy way of looking at the darkness and she presented it with such gusto. Would I ever be able to do that? Our circumstances were different and clearly there would never be a positive from losing my son, but could there be a time when I saw my divorce from Flynn as a positive thing which had propelled me to a better place? I couldn’t imagine that I would. I’d already had nearly seven years of time and distance and no positives had emerged then so I doubted they ever would. Probably because there weren’t any. Emma’s relationship had been toxic but ours had been incredible. She’d wasted years on Grayson but every moment I’d spent with Flynn had been precious. Then tragedy struck and I went into self-destruct mode.
We’d reached the back of the hall. The lawn stretched out ahead of us but there was a rougher grassy area alongside some old sheds which was where we paused for the alpacas to graze.
‘I loved teaching,’ Emma continued, the leads for Florence and Bianca held loosely in her hands, ‘but I love this even more. I still get to use my teaching skills but in a different context and without any of the stress. I can’t tell you how much better I feel working with animals and spending my days outdoors. If things had been different and I’d set up my business at the farm as planned, it would have been special and I’d have loved it, but not on this level.’ She closed her eyes momentarily and breathed in deeply before opening them and smiling at me. ‘It’s so restful here. I can’t get enough of it. I know you’ve only been here a week, but can you feel it?’
‘There’s definitely something special about the estate.’
