Alpaca Walking Essex: Blackwater Alpacas and Pygmy Goats

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Did you know you can go alpaca walking in Essex?! Blackwater Alpacas and Pygmy Goats, just outside of Braintree, offer really fun alpaca walking experiences! Walks need to be pre-booked over the phone in advance and are currently selling out quickly due to restrictions on capacity numbers.

Alpaca Walking in Essex

My experience ended up lasting for 2 hours and I thought it was brilliant! Two people sharing one alpaca costs £37 (£18.50 each). Guests are asked to turn up at the farm 10 minutes before the start of the walk. This gives everyone a chance to get parked up and get their hands washed before starting the walk.

First, everyone starts off by practicing walking the alpacas around their paddock. Ours was called Jon Snow! The alpacas are pros, they have their preferred spot in line and they know the drill! You practice guiding them around ‘obstacles’ such as rabbit holes and tree stumps. They are very obedient and literally just follow you wherever you lend them.

Alpacas aren’t found in the wild, they have been domesticated for thousands of years. They are bred mainly for their fiber (aka wool. I’ve heard several people say that socks made from alpaca fiber are some of the best socks you’ll ever wear!). Alpacas are often mistaken for llamas but there are several differences, such as llamas are bigger and will often spit more than alpacas!

The Walk

The actual walk lasts around 45 minutes and is lead by Glenn and Claire, the owners of Blackwater Alpacas. It’s more of a leisurely stroll through the woods on the farm, alongside the River Blackwater. There are several opportunities to switch walkers and to take photos and videos along the route. It’s best to wear long trousers or jeans and welly or walking boots. After all, you are on a farm and it can get muddy if it rains or you might step in poop.

We stopped half way round to feed the alpacas some leaves from the surrounding willow trees. Mine was an absolute pig and wanted to eat the whole branch!

At the end of the walk, you can stop for a group photo with the alpaca before moving on to the next part of the experience! Please be aware that children under 14 are welcome, but they will not be able to hold the lead during the walking section. However, they are able to hold it for a photo once back in the paddock.

Goat Fishing

After a quick hand wash it was on to goat fishing! This is just a fun way of feeding the goats, you don’t actually go fishing for goats! Everyone is given a big long tree branch that is held over the fence for all the goats to munch on!

You may also get the opportunity to hand feed the goats. The food is poured onto your hands and then you hold them through the fence. The goats go crazy for it! We got to have 2 turns at doing this!

Many of the female goats were pregnant and several were due to give birth any day. If you looked closely you could see the babies kicking inside its tummy!

Feeding The Alpacas

Only the male alpacas are taken on the walks, but the females can often be more friendly! We got to go into the female alpaca paddock and hand feed those too! There was a young male alpaca in there too, who was absolutely adorable. JUST LOOK AT HIS FACE!!!

Baby Pygmy Goats

The last stop on the ‘tour’ was to go into the baby pygmy goat paddock. Here we got to pet the goats and then hold one of the babies.

Then we were surprised with Bantam chicken chicks that had hatched only 2 days previous! We were able to hold those too and they were so soft!

It was then one final hand wash to finish up the experience.

Baby Pygmy Goat at Blackwater Alpacas and Pygmy Goats Essex

Final Words

The best way to pre-book is via the Blackwater Alpaca Facebook page. Here you’ll find an ‘event list’ of all the available dates and times. Then simply give Glenn or Claire a call from the numbers listed on the page. Payment is taken via an online bank transfer, which is very quick and simple if you have online banking set up. This confirms the booking and you’ll be sent some documents like the risk assessments to have a read through.

Currently, in July 2020, there are extra precautions put in place such as, social distancing, additional handwashing, the leads are sanitised between each walk, food is poured into hands for feeds, and you only share a goat or a alpaca with the other person in your family bubble. It’s a really good option if you are nervous about visiting somewhere larger like Colchester Zoo. I was very impressed with how they’ve adapted the experience.

The Blackwater Alpaca and Pygmy Goat farm is located around 10 minutes from Braintree, in Bradwell, just before you reach Coggeshall (or just after if you are coming from Colchester direction). There’s a dirt track just off Cuthedge Lane with a small sign on the left-hand side. Google Maps will take you straight to the farm if you stick it in the search bar!