BUSINESS PROFILE

NAME: Ashdown Forest Llama Park

BUSINESS NATURE: Visitor attraction

DATE ESTABLISHED: 1996 LOCATION: Wych Cross, near Forest Row

NUMBER OF EMPLOYEES: 20

ANNUAL TURNOVER: £475,000

With big hair and bigger shoulder pads, nothing was too extravagant when it came to fashion in the 1980s.

According to Linda Johnson, the decade’s desire for following crazy trends even extended into farming.

And reading about some of those trends back in 1987 is what led her to eventually become the owner of Ashdown Forest Llama Park.

Linda said: “Back in the late-1980s, everyone was into alternative farming, with businesses springing up, farming snails, deer or other bizarre animals. I read an article about a guy in Horsham who was breeding llamas. It wasn’t far away so I went down and bought a couple off him.”

Linda took her new companions home to Surrey, where they quickly settled in. Soon, what started off as a whim turned into an obsession.

Linda said: “In the 1980s there were no books written about how to keep llamas. We had a few problems during the first few years and just learned as we went along.

“Their nutritional and dietary requirements are demanding and they need mineral supplements. But by the mid-1990s we had about 60 and my husband was asking what we were going to do with them.”

Linda decided to open a tourist attraction and bought a farm inside Ashdown Forest.

The park opened to the public in 1996 and now attracts more than 20,000 paying visitors each year, with a similar amount visiting the café and gift shop. It is home to more than 70 llamas and 25 alpacas, their smaller, more woolly cousins.

Linda puts the popularity of the park down to the irresistible nature of the animals themselves. She said: “You don’t have to ask why I love them. They are lovely creatures – gentle, quiet and very chilled. There is a huge amount of nonsense talked about llamas, about how they spit at people. But they only do it in the same way dogs bite or horses kick – to assert authority with other animals.

It is rare for a llama to spit at a human.”

Llamas and alpacas originate in the Andes region of South America and were originally brought to Britain in Victorian times – Queen Victoria had a couple herself.

The former are used as pack animals, while the latter’s wool is highly valued for its colour and fineness.

Linda said: “Alpaca wool naturally comes in lovely colours, from black, grey, white and brown to fawn. Its quality is comparable with cashmere and it’s becoming popular because it is a naturally sustainable source.”

The park produces its own garments from alpaca wool, although it’s not the money-spinner people might expect.

Linda said: “The amount of money we get through wool is not great – if we cover the cost of shearing then we are doing well. They can produce it in Peru much cheaper, even with the cost of shipping, so what we are concerned about is producing the very best wool.”

The park also makes money through breeding and selling the animals, hosting corporate events and organising llama walks.

Linda said: “People are looking for experiences, not just somewhere to go and visit. The llama walks are popular. It’s something you cannot describe until you have done it.”

Ashdown Forest is central to the park’s success so it’s no surprise Linda has become environmentally conscious over the years.

The business has a detailed environmental policy, which commits it to being energy efficient, recycling and sourcing Fair Trade and locally produced goods.

In the future Linda wants to build a biomass generator – wind turbines would not be allowed by planning officials – and introduce rainwater harvesting. She said: “We try to operate as sustainably as we can.

“Everyone needs to adapt to our future low-carbon economy. We won a Seeda sustainability award back in 2005. The things we were doing back then are mainstream now.”

Llamas and alpacas are docile creatures so the park has managed to avoid many escape-related incidents.

However, Linda said: “One llama, called Snowy, was a bit more adventurous.

“He would often go walkabout and we would get a phone call from the neighbouring hotel, saying, ‘There’s a llama on our golf course’.”

For more information about the park, go to www.llamapark.co.uk.