Island Life Magazine Ltd February/March 2015 | Page 70

ISLAND LIFE MAGAZINE

Eye-catching alpacas
W

hat started as
a dinner party
conversation with
friends four years ago has
turned into a successful
business venture for Neil and
Michelle Payne, owners of West
Wight Alpacas at Wellow.
Some of the finest alpacas
to be seen anywhere in the
country roam the 24-acre
site, but still somewhat to the
surprise of Neil, who smiled:
“Michelle had just sold a
business and when a friend
asked her what she intended to
do next she replied ‘I’m going
to buy four alpacas and walk
them with the public’. I didn’t even know
what an alpaca was!
“Three months later I was dragged away
to look at alpacas in Lyme Regis - and we
returned to the Island with 11. So that’s
how it all started.”
Neil and Michelle then sold their house
to buy the land where the alpacas - and a

few other animals - now reside, and with
the introduction of a cafe and shop, it has
become a popular visitor attraction. There
are two types of alpacas, the Huacaya
and the rarer Suri, with Neil and Michelle
opting to breed the Suri variety, which
they have done successfully, buying highquality stud males from Utah in the US.
Neil continued: "When Michelle said

she would walk alpacas with
the public, I just laughed. But
we visited a mainland site with
the public walk with alpacas,
saw how successful it was,
and did the same. In 2012
we did more than 100 walks,
and it expanded from there.
Everything we’ve done has
been a bit of a struggle, but
we’ve got there in the end.”
The cafe opened at Easter,
2013, and Neil and Michelle
now have 64 alpacas on site,
along with super-friendly pigmy
goats, miniature donkeys,
sheep, guinea pigs and rarebreed poultry. And in the very
near future seven llamas will be arriving
- so something for all the family to enjoy,
whether it’s to trek or just view the various
species.
Entry to the West Wight Alpacas farm is
£3.50 for adults and £2.50 for children,
and is open all year round.

Yellow Book for garden plans

I

f you are a keen garden visitor you're
probably familiar with the famous
National Garden Scheme 'Yellow Book'
which lists around 3,800 gardens across
the UK. The National Garden Scheme
is a charitable organisation, originally
founded to support the training of
voluntary District Nurses in the late 19th
century, writes Tina Hughes.
In 1926 after the death of the charities
patron Queen Alexandra it was suggested
that funds could be raised by volunteers
opening their gardens to visitors for the
princely sum of one shilling (5p). In 1927
the National Garden Scheme was set
up and in 1928 the charity became the
Queen’s Nursing Institute, which also
supported nurses after they retired.
Since then the charity's gone from
strength to strength; they’ve supported
the National Trust who in turn have
opened their gardens for the NGS , and

70

www.visitilife.com

in 1980 The National Garden Scheme
Charitable Trust was
established. Since
1984 the scheme
has widened its
support to a number
of other charities.
Macmillan Cancer
Care, Marie Curie,
Help the Hospices,
The Carers Trust and
Perennial are now all
beneficiaries of this
remarkable scheme
which has donated
the astonishing total
of £42 million to
these organisations.
Since 2010
the NGS has also
supported a 'guest' charity each year,
nominated by the NGS volunteers.

Parkinson's UK were chosen in 2013-14
and they've received £200,000 du ring
that time enabling them
to provide specialist
nurses to care for more
sufferers as well as
raising awareness of this
condition.
If you're a keen
gardener looking for
inspiration on the Island
then you have more than
20 gardens to choose
from; leaflets are available
from local libraries and
there's plenty to choose
from ranging from manor
houses to small private
gardens, so get your diary
out and start planning.
Many offer plants for sale, teas, and if
you're lucky cakes as well!