Category: Rachel’s Diary

Rachel’s diary: the ups and downs of an Alpaca farmer


Devon County Show 2023

Last week was Devon County Show when finally, post Covid, it returned to its normal time in May. This meant [...]

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New Mule

Great excitement here as the new mule arrives, one amazingly versatile farm vehicle. Our old one that we bought in [...]

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Shepherd’s Hut: Open for Business!

At long last our Shepherd’s Hut, the Alpaca Hideaway, is open for business. We have had four sets of guests [...]

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Shows, shows, shows

Exhaustion reigns, honestly we are dead ducks after a weekend at the British Alpaca Society National Show in Telford, followed [...]

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British Alpaca Society National Show

When you read this, Chas and I will be stood up at the British Alpaca Society National Show at the [...]

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Unravel in Farnham

Last weekend we were at Unravel in Farnham, that was a bit of a blast from the past, in that [...]

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That Time of Year

This is the time of year when we sort the wheat from the chaff and decide which of our weanlings [...]

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Castles & Coastlines (and Snow!)

From snowy Northumberland to snowy Devon last Friday, at the end of our short holiday. Probably colder in Devon although [...]

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Unbelievably Wet

It is still unbelievably wet here. We’ve had to move any alpacas that were down in the valley up to [...]

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Merry Christmas

Happy Christmas to you all and thank you for your custom in 2022. Watch out for our next newsletter in [...]

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First Frost

Dry at last, no rain here for several days so we are all drying out and although we have had [...]

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Alice – horses, walkers, cars, lorries

It has been a sad week as Alice, our black cavapoo, our constant companion for eleven years, has had to [...]

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A Trip to Lyon

It is remarkably warm and unremarkably wet here so all sorts of funghi are erupting in our fields. There is [...]

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It’s good to be home

It is good to be home at our beautiful Devon farm to take in the big views and stand around [...]

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A weekend at Yarndale

Great to be back home after a weekend at Yarndale in Skipton. This show was a bit weird with the [...]

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RIP Queen Elizabeth II

This has been the most momentous time with the death of The Queen and the accession of King Charles. I [...]

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Goodbye Jules

Sadly, our oldest alpaca Jules has died. He was 21 and a great character, loved by all who met him. [...]

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Heatwaves!

The heatwave turned Vulscombe Farm into something of a prairie with the alpacas eating what can only be described as [...]

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Happy Holidays

I love the seaside and collecting things so all holidays have to have a beach element where we can all [...]

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Simply Crochet Photoshoot

It seems a long time ago now, but in May, we were the hosts for a Simply Crochet photoshoot. Just [...]

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