‘I gave up being a childminder down south to care for Alpacas on a Yorkshire farm after holiday romance’

53-year-old Anna and her husband Chris Ramsey decided to ditch the city life and move to Butterwick village on the outskirts of Malton, North Yorkshire just before lockdown.

There they bought disused farmland to pursue their dream.

Anna said: “When I met Chris we came up with this wild idea of buying a piece of land and setting up an Alpaca retreat.”

The mother-of-two said she loved her child minding business but was looking for something else to fulfil her.

“Alpacas don’t talk back to you,” said Anna.

Once the couple had secured the land, Anna set about learning everything she could about the animals.

She said: “Chris had left his job in commercial construction so we really wanted our new venture to be focused on the Alpacas first then the people we serve, many of whom have sensory issues.

“We’re not bothered about making lots of money. We want it to be a tranquil place where people can escape to and where the Alpacas are calm and happy.”

Having a history of working in construction, Chris sorted out the logistics of transforming the wasteland into Butterwick Alpaca Retreat.

Anna said: “It was all his vision and I have been able to help him carry it out with the day-to-day tasks of caring for the Alpacas and the people who come to visit us.”

The couple work with lots of children and adults with learning disabilities as well as transporting Alpacas to elderly care homes and welcoming people from all walks of life who want to venture into the countryside, go trekking with the Alpacas and feed them.

Anna said: “It's been transformational for the people that come. We’ve had criticism from some of the villagers who see us as hobby farmers but we take it really seriously and we just want to help others who like us need an escape from the rat race.”

Over three years Anna and Chris have self made their dream and they now also have a six man bell tent for the summer months for a family at a time to experience the simple life.

Anna added: “We’re not going to be building a busy camp site, a play area or anything else, this is about giving people a chance to escape the daily stresses and as we say ‘Alpaca their stress away’ as Alpacas are such sensory animals.”