A brand-new alpaca trek experience will bring a slice of the Andes to Ayrshire this spring.
Little Peru, in Crosshill near Maybole, is launching in March and will see four friendly alpacas - Santiago, Pedro, Diego and Javier - show off their cheeky personalities to kids and adults alike.
The family business - run by Robin and Claire Louise Kelly alongside their four home-schooled kids Hayden, Scarlett, Amélie and Daisy- will also offer boutique eco glamping pods for those seeking a countryside getaway.
Dad Robin said: “I wouldn’t say it’s quite the Andes but it’s a lovely landscape we’ve got here, with hills and forestry.
“We’re hoping the people coming out here will be planning to stay for a couple nights, chill out and have a break from their 9-5, and hopefully go and explore places they’ve not visited before.
“We want to draw people to the area and encourage them to use local services like eat locally and visit local places.
“We don’t want something super big scale. We want it to be something we can manage and offer a really high quality offering without scrimping and cutting corners.”
Robin said Little Peru will be a “full family enterprise” with the kids mucking in to look after the alpacas.
He said: “The kids are starting to share wee nuggets of information about the alpacas that we don’t know because they spend so much time with them and they’re getting to know their characters.
“It works out well because there’s four alpacas and four of them.”
Mum Claire Louise added: “It’s good for the children because it’s a learning experience.
“And I think that’s what other children can get out of it; learning about how your behaviour impacts the alpacas and the responsibility of looking after them.”
Part of Little Peru’s offerings will be children's parties, complete with an alpaca trek, obstacle course and feeding time, craft activities like felting with alpaca wool, and lunch on site.
Little Peru also hope to add a social enterprise element to the business by offering their glamping pods to families in need and utilising the alpacas as therapets to care homes, schools and nurseries.
Robin said: “We’d like take these guys on the road in a trailer and take them to a care home and offer that service.
“Alpacas are good fun to be around, they bring a smile to people’s faces.”
Claire Louise, who is a physio for Rainbow House, said: “Alpacas are particularly good for children who have autism or similar conditions because they are very reactive to you so if you’re still, they’re still.
“A lot of people do find that they have calming benefits and they really pick up on you as a person.
“If you sat down in the field they would come to you, which is nice and works well especially for children who are neuro-diverse because they can almost invite the alpacas in on their terms.”
Robin said the same would apply for the glamping pods, which sleep up to four people, offering them to those in need of a break.
“If we’ve got a quiet spell in between bookings, rather than having them sat empty, we’d like to offer them to families or people who need a wee break,” he said.
“Our kids are very lucky but there’s kids who don’t have those opportunities.”
Claire Louise said: “It could be for whatever reason - health, social or just circumstances which would see a family benefit from seeing the alpacas and going for walks.
“We’re really fortunate that we’re just a couple miles outside the Galloway forest, and the skies are just amazing.
“That’s part of the reason we’ve not gone for hot tubs and lots of outdoor lighting because we want to encourage people to really enjoy nature and what’s here.
“Honestly you can sit and see loads of shooting stars, so that’s the idea that people can sit out on the porch and look.”
The family have thanked the Ayrshire Rural and Islands Ambition Fund and Angela Lamont for their support and assistance in the project, for which they say "it wouldn't be possible without them."
Follow Little Peru on Facebook for updates and official launch date, and email info@littleperu.co.uk for more.
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