Tag: unusual stays

Winter on our Llama Farm Stay

Winter on our Llama Farm Stay

Some may think that we have the winter off on our Farm Stay in France. In the same way that teachers get lots of holidays! The winter is for us, like school holidays are for teachers, a time to plan, prepare, find inspiration and recuperate. 

Missy – My Story

Missy – My Story

The final part of Missy’s journey to find her forever home.

Farm Stay Holiday in France!

Farm Stay Holiday in France!

We are excited for Summer 2020! Loire Valley Llama Farm Stay re-opens on 1st April 2020 for Glamping in the Lotus Belle Tents, Luxury in the Llama Lodge and stop overs in the Old Barn Rooms.

Contact us for availability, prices or just to say hi!

Read our pretty llama-zing Reviews, to find out what guests say about us

We offer a variety of comfortable and quirky accommodation. Whether you opt for the Llama Lodge, converted from the ancient wine press, enjoying its own kitchenette and private shower; or prefer to glamp in one of our thoughtfully positioned luxury belle tents with proper beds, Egyptian cotton bedding and solar power; or maybe a stay in one of the two comfortable rooms in the old barn. Whichever you chose, it is likely that you will find yourself spending relaxed evenings, warmed by the fire pit and overlooked by the starry skies of the Vallee du Loir.

Baby goats are well scary!

Baby goats are well scary!

Listen, do you want to know a secret? Do you promise not to tell? closer, Let me whisper in your ear….. Baby goats are well scary! I know this to be true as I have witnessed the fear that they instil, and the terror that is evoked by 

Finding Treasure!

Finding Treasure!

Today was a great day that found the treasure I have been patiently waiting for.Today we went to a riverside brocante in Montsoreau, a beautiful French town that sits next to the Loire. Our favourite days out are finding Brocantes and searching for treasure. The drive 

Getting to know you…

Getting to know you…

It has been bought to the attention of this Llama Mama that despite lots of posts, videos and photos, the Loire 7 (our llamas) have not been properly introduced! We must rectify this as soon as possible, as for all I know, you could all be thinking that they are a rabble of spitting, flighty, “don’t give a fig” type creatures, when in fact this couldn’t be further from the truth… not just the fig part ????

So today it has been on my list of priorities to put this situation straight.

This will be the easiest blog I have ever written, the llamas carry their personalities with pride, they are never half hearted in anything they do. These are emotional beings and you would need to possess extremely poor skills of observation to not quickly get to know them as individuals.

Where to start? Llamas have great respect for their matriarchs, so we will start with Ayesha, born in May 2011, so coming up for 8 years old. Ayesha is Axle’s mama and she’s the boss! All leaders must be clear headed, calm and brave and Ayesha is all these things. When the llamas first arrived on our farm, Ayesha was challenged a couple of times for leadership, but this girl is not ready to give up her crown. We have just started training with Ayesha so she can join the younger llamas on their treks. Her favourite thing at the moment is to sneak in the chicken shed when I’m checking for eggs and eat chooky food (to be fair the chickens are pretty partial to llama food but more about that shortly)

Next up is Hannah, now Hannah (Savannah’s mama) is 4 days younger than Ayesha, they’re lookylikies and they are half sisters sharing the same father ~ Yoda, but the 2 llamas couldn’t be more different, not including their stunning looks and height. Hannah would like to be in charge but has settled for the position of look out & alarm raiser… If anything is not as Hannah feels it should be around the farm, she will let out a llama alarm cry (honestly you need to search for this on U-Tube) a loud warbling noise made in the llamas throat. Llamas are guard animals and Hannah does a cracking job keeping our herd, plus our chickens safe. She also warns the wildlife for miles around when the chasseurs are around!

Third we have Portia, if you follow Instagram you may have heard of our Portia, she is trying to be a social media star! Portia was born in June 2011 so is just a month younger than her elders, she is also half sister to Ayesha and Hannah, sharing the same father ~ Yoda (flipping ‘eck he was a busy boy!) Portia is the sweetest llama in all of France and allows us to lift her feet with no fuss at all, when asked nicely she will go and stand in her place, ready for her health check over. She has the kindest face and stands looking at you with her gentle eyes. She is learning telepathy and is always very happy when her attempts result in llama treats. Portia’s favourite thing is to spit at her grandson Orion… he is a greedy monkey, and doesn’t get away with stealing food from Portia! Portia is mama to Lola and grandmama to Orion.

Next is Lola! Lola’s birthday is August 2013, so is just coming up for 6 this year. Lola’s mama is Portia and she is mama to Orion. Lola is a very small llama in comparison to our herd. All our llamas have made excellent mothers, but Lola is truly the best. Lola is really very easy going, she is happy spending time with the others but can often be found either alone or with her boy Orion, having found some juicy grass that she is keeping quiet about. Lola may be little but in the stable she likes to help us out, if one of the 3 older girls are making our lives difficult, Lola will help with a well aimed spit and we have instant cooperation!

Now on to the three youngsters, our trekkers. All 3 are half siblings, sharing the same father ~ Oscar (another busy boy!) Axel was born in April 2016 so is 3 next month! Son of Ayesha, Axel is often favoured by visitors as he is striking in colour, very dark brown / black with a white flash up his neck. Axel loves to hang out with Orion. He is an extremely messy eater dropping half his food on the floor to the delight of the chooks who come and clear up after meals! Axel is growing in confidence as he gets older and is great to walk with, as long as we are generous with treats! Axel, along with Hananh, like to break into the chicken run, our chicken run has a roof which is much shorter than a llama, but llamas can be very nimble and flexible and, it seems, can fit in low roofed chicken runs!!

Our Penultimate llama is Orion, born in May 2016 he is coming up for 3. Orion is our most cuddly llama, in fact he is way more cuddly than most llamas and  would probably win medals for his cuddling skills. Amongst his other favourite things are; chewing in our faces, sucking my ponytail, giving kisses, receiving kisses, pulling funny faces, being nosey, wriggling (they all like this!) and smiling. He is the happiest llama in the whole world despite also being the most spat at.

By no means least in Savannah, also born in May 2016 and daughter to Hannah. Savannah is an Amazon; a beautiful, strong giant of a llama! She is gently inquisitive and I challenge anyone not to fall in love on sight. Savannah is still growing and is nearly our tallest llama, she will be by the time she stops growing. Savannah walks on the leash with grace, however as she becomes an adult, she want to spend less time with the clowns (Axel and Orion) and be amongst the women, hence us training Ayesha to join us! Savannah’s nature is gentle, she stands with the crowd and watches. We love her, as we do the whole rabble!

I hope you feel you now know our llamas a little better, I love to talk about them ❤

It’s all about the Llamas

It’s all about the Llamas

There is not much missing from our life on our Llama Farm, but there has been something that I haven’t been able to put my finger on. It’s been bugging me since we first moved to the farm in June last year. It was on 

Chewing over the Cud

Chewing over the Cud

For anyone that has ever wondered where the expression chewing over the cud comes from… Now our Llamas are a very social bunch, they always stick together and do not like to be apart from each other. Being amongst them in the field and listening 

A Tail of 2 Kittens

A Tail of 2 Kittens

I was once a happy, slightly obsessive cat servant to two Maine Coon x brothers. These boys were called George & Bernard, I loved them with my entire being ❤ I was the cliche that is The Crazy Cat Lady. But, as in the lyrics of Puffs song “A Dragon lives forever, but not so little boys”, after 15 years of mutual love, I had to say good bye to my boys, both within a few months, this was 4 years ago…

I didn’t think I would ever be able to give a home to another cat, I didn’t think I could ever let my heart break again, I didn’t think I would ever find a cat that measured up to the boys, I didn’t think I could keep my promise to my boys that I would one day give their bowls, bed and my lap to a rescue cat, in honour of their memory… 

I have been offered kittens over the years that have since passed, but not once have I hesitated in declining the offers… I wasn’t ready

So, what the flipping heck happened!!!We have acquired 2 little girl kitkats, they are mentals, did I ever mention I’m allergic to animals? The fish are okay! Actually the Llamas haven’t made me sneeze either, maybe its their fibre? our dogs give me the occasional snuffles, but ‘Oh My Goodness’ this morning I woke up and thought I’d had pins stuck in my eyes. It turns out that Lola is now so comfortable in our company that she decided to sleep on my head.

Oh and another thing, they are thieves! they have stolen the dogs beds (ridiculous having a tiny kitty in a flipping great Labradors bed) stolen the sofas, stolen the dogs food, stolen a little plastic thingy that covered a hole in the kitchen shelf, and…

stolen our hearts ❤❤

So, as you can see, it’s all going brilliantly and the little ones are definitely keepers! So ???? to Lola & Sammie, our new babies and also to my boys never forgotten.. and lastly to 2 dear dog friends that both recently passed and who we named these two after, To Lola & Sammie! ????????

Life in Lavernat? Yes! there is

Life in Lavernat? Yes! there is

We’ve been a bit naughty! well quite a bit naughty really ????… Having arrived at our new home in June and had the final signing in July, you’d have thought that we would have been to our local bar and become part of the furniture