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After a short delay in
Worthing waiting for a replacement coach, the
original had problems; we left at about 11am
for the 75-minute journey to the Llama Park in
the Ashdown Forrest. The weather was quite
warm, a little overcast, but the sun was
trying to come out, so I was looking forward
to a good day.
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On arrival we were
whisked through the obligatory gift shop
into the park where Barbara had already
set up a super picnic for us all on the
picnic tables in front of a small heard
of inquisitive Llamas who paid
particular attention to Anns lunch.
Lunch was a
chicken piece, salad, roll and crisps
followed by a strawberry meringue and
then fruit, all washed down with tea or
coffee, lovely. |
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After lunch we were giving a very educational
talk by Linda Johnson the manager at the park,
she told us all about the Llamas and that they
are not bred for their meat and that their
wool was of little use as it is unsuitable for
weaving. She explained that the Llama has two
coats of fur, one long haired the other short
and when shorn its not practical to separate
the two distinct hair types, but they are
a very hardy animal, ideal for pack use,
camping expeditions etc. and are regularly
used by farmers who have had problems with
foxes taking their new born lambs, put a
couple of Llamas in a field of sheep and they
will protect the young from being attacked by
foxes, others are sold as pets and others are
sent to parks and zoos around the country.
They also had a few Alpaca at the park, these
are related to the Llama, much smaller than
their cousins, but their hair is all one
length and is suitable for weaving. It is made
into lovely clothes that unlike woollen
jumpers don’t aggravate the skin, as their
wool doesn’t have the barbs that are found
in sheep wool, and so can be worn against the
skin in comfort.
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We then had a hour or
so to look round the rest of the park,
first we went into the museum where
there was a short film running, after
that we strolled down to the paths to
see the young Llamas playing in the
fields, chasing one another about, and
then back up the paths to see newest
recruits, three reindeer that they had
recently introduced to the farm. |
We then went back into
the well stocked gift shop with restaurant
attached, we were going to have a well earned
cup of tea, but we were too late, as they were
just about to start loading the coach, so we
had a good look around the shop instead.
Another good day out, many thanks for all
those involved in the organisation.
by Robin Stephens
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