Saturday was our daughter Keira's 10th birthday. She is a big fan of llamas and alpacas - she even got a cute alpaca plush as a present from her uncle - check out Tofu Cute and Art Box for these.
The Ashdown Forest Llama Park is in Forest Row, East Sussex and is set in 33 acres of beautiful countryside, we've driven past it many times when we've been heading down to the coast but had never been before.
It is home to llamas, alpacas, reindeer, Andalusian horses, Shetland ponies, reindeer, goats, Jacobs sheep, donkeys, woodcock and pigs. There are also a variety of bantams, chickens, peacocks, ducks, Guinea fowl, geese and turkeys.
A family-of-5 ticket cost us £27 - and I paid an extra £5 per child so they could have a donkey ride.
Donkey rides usually take place at 1.30pm, you need to book on arrival. There are two donkeys called Tommy and Muffin. The children had around five minutes riding time, where they were lead around the paddock by two members of staff. Helmets were provided and the children really enjoyed their rides.
Something else the park offers are Llama Walks. The first is a full walk for adults and older children. You get to lead a llama on a one and a half hour walk through the local forest. The second walk is for families and is a shorter 30 minute walk around the park. These are bookable at the desk.
There is a bouncy castle and small adventure play area, as well as some little wooden cabins for the children to play in. When we arrived two of the llamas were roaming around the park. They have recently been shorn so they look quite gangly. Keira got to feed one of them, food is available to buy for the animals in the shop.
There are picnic benches and hand washing facilities in the play area.
Inside is the gift shop which offers Peruvian crafts, toys and clothing as well as alpaca knitwear. There is a coffee shop and restaurant on site too.
We all really enjoyed our visit, it would be a great experience to do a llama walk another time.
The park opens daily between 10am-5pm and a family of 4 costs £22 for the day.
As we were leaving - we were treated to this display from one of the peacocks.
