On a recent trip to Scotland, we visited the beautiful Loch Ness. While we were there, we heard of a sighting of a weird beastie in the loch. But no, not Nessie, the famous monster, or even a loch kelpie. The beast, or more properly, beasties were a small herd of alpacas, that had escaped their enclosure and decided to go for a swim.

What are alpacas doing swimming in Loch Ness? Loch Ness Alpacas explains on their website:

We bought our first alpacas in May 2021, on a bit of a whim, because we needed some animals to graze the fields. I ordered 3 from a breeder in Northumberland, and she warned me they are addictive. By the time those three had done their quarantine week before leaving, I had found another 2 to share the wagon!

Because alpacas have such individual characters, we were never sure whether they would be suited to trekking or interacting with the public until we got them, but we struck lucky because they all have lovely temperaments.

But we were never going to be able to stop at 5! In September, another 4 arrived from Cornwall – 2 slightly older and experienced trekkers to give confidence to my boys, and 2 babies who hadn’t had much handling but have turned out to be wee crackers and a favourite of our smaller visitors!

The addiction is real! Keep your eyes peeled for new additions!

Loch Ness Alpacas offers alpaca “meet and greets”, trekking, and alpaca parties for the kids.

Loch Ness monster spotted or is it a cheeky Alpaca escaped from local sanctuary?