A beach walk with an alpaca
A few hours.
The route
Just outside Dunbar, a farm at Hedderwick Hill keeps a herd of more than fifty alpacas, and you can take one for a walk.
The trek leads through quiet woodland and out onto the sand by John Muir Country Park, with your alpaca on a lead beside you, then back to the paddocks to feed the herd carrots. Children from eight can come on the beach trek with an adult, and there are shorter walks in the paddocks for younger ones.
Before you go
Book accommodation nearby
If you are staying over: here are ours nearest where the day starts and ends.
The nearest of ours is Blue Cabin by the Sea in Cockburnspath, 10 miles away. Sleeps 4.
Book the Beach and Woodland Trail online for 10am or 1pm, from £22 an adult or £25 for an adult and a child aged 8 to 14 sharing an alpaca: the calendar shows the days that run, and everyone needs a ticket except babies in a carrier.
The day
Hedderwick
A morning on a farm by the sea, walking an alpaca through the woods to the beach and back, then meeting the herd's babies over a bucket of carrots.
About two hours
John Muir Alpacas
John Muir Alpacas is at Hedderwick Hill Farm, just outside Dunbar, and parking at the farm is free. Follow the address rather than the postcode, which can send a satnav to the beach car park instead: the farm is the turning nearer the roundabout. Every visit is booked ahead. The Beach and Woodland Trail sets off at 10am and 1pm and takes about an hour, through woodland and long grass and out onto the sand. Then it's back to feed the alpacas carrots and visit the babies in the next paddock. From 14 you lead your own alpaca, and children from 8 to 14 share one with an adult. For younger children, the mini treks at 11.30am and noon stay in the paddocks, with time afterwards for a picnic in the tipis. Wear wellies or boots. Dogs can't come, as the alpacas are frightened of them. There are toilets at the farm, an accessible one among them.
If it rains
The alpacas walk in light rain. If it's pouring or the wind is too strong they stay in, and the farm gets in touch to move your booking to another day.
Where to stay
Make it a weekend
