I love seeing interesting things to do in our area and I was delighted to be asked along to visit Glencar Alpacas. I went along with my friends Fiona and Michelle and we went on an hike with Aston, Reilly Arlo and Sonny the alpacas.
We were welcomed by Des and Paula who run Glencar Alpacas, and we also met their son Malachy who is a wonderful helper, their daughter Stephanie wasn’t there today but she’s also a great helper. The farm has been in the family for generations and it’s steeped in history, there are a number of older cottages on the land and we got to hear the history of them.
The farm has always been a sheep farm but when Covid hit Des started clearing the paths with alpaca treks in mind. It’s a great idea and it’s in a fantastic location. The views overlooking Glencar Lake and Valley are just stunning, and as we walked higher the views got even better, we could see Knocknarea and the surrounding areas.
We were walking with of Sruth in Aghaidh An Aird on one side, this is known by some as the Devils Chimney – at 150 metres or 492 it’s higher than Powerscourt Waterfall. On the other side was another waterfall that the family call Cashmene waterfall as that’s the name of area. As we had such a wonderful day weatherwise (always a bonus!) Sruth in Aghaidh An Aird wasn’t flowing, but if you go after a heavy rainfull or when it’s windy you’ll be in for even more of a treat.
The alpacas are gorgeous creatures, they were so well behaved and it was a pleasure to walk with them. They were very tempted by the trees and plants, as we walked through a staircase of trees it was suggested it must have been like a McDonald’s drive-thru for them. We also got to meet some of the sheep, including the oldest sheep on the farm – who has been there for years and is called the Granny.
Fiona was walking Reilly the alpaca and I really enjoyed the sounds he was making on our walk, it sounded like some kind of song – or he could have been groaning as I think my knees were on some of the steep parts of the walk 😉
At the top of our walk we got to see The Swiss Valley, again it’s just beautiful but to get to this part I’d say you’d have to be well used to walking (especially uphill), I was grand but I’m used to walking. Des tells me that people can opt for a gentler walk so do tell them when you book about your level of fitness and they’ll look after you.
Before the walk I had a quick visit to Glencar Waterfall and on my way I noticed a sign for Stand Up Paddling, so you could have a great adventure between alpacas and paddle boarding, and be sure to visit Glencar TeaShed too – you’ll thank me – here’s a blog post about the exceptional afternoon tea (you need to pre-book this).
To book you alpaca adventure you can contact Des on 085 184 9574 or find them on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/GlencarAlpacas Thank you so much to Des, Paula, Malachy, Reilly, Arlo, Aston and Sonny for a wonderful morning, to Fiona and Michelle for the company, and to Nuala from Tawnylust Lodge for putting me in touch with them.
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