Nestled in the heart of the rolling Wilderswood Hills, the Poppywood Alpaca Centre is the epitome of tranquillity. Sitting in the site café, adorned with twinkling fairy lights, owner Pippa Berry excitedly talks me through the site’s upcoming Christmas menu. It’s hard to believe that Pippa, who co-runs the walking centre with her partner Mike, has only recently broken free from a year-long planning permission battle for the space, despite, she claims, being told that planning permission was not necessary.
The application was unanimously approved by the council on Thursday, November 7. “We didn’t set out to become a business” said Pippa. “I had a riding accident a couple of years ago, I wasn’t able to ride anymore so we bought alpacas.
"They were therapeutic, they helped with my recovery and my PTSD because they are so gentle. (Image: Leah Collins) “People asked to see them and it continued to spiral from there. "But we don’t want to commercialise, we want to keep it as personal and community focused as possible, the site has that personal touch.
"The café is just secondary really, it’s only available to those joining for the group sessions, it’s all about the alpacas. We love them to bits.” The site, which was previously run as a horse-breeding business , currently boasts 51 alpacas, each proving to be a hit with the day’s visitors, who predominantly consisted of families and young children.
(Image: Leah Collins) In our group of 11, one fellow vi.
