Our story so far…
We are Will and Sophie Hargreaves, and after catching the alpaca love back in the UK, we could no longer ignore our desire for our own smallholding life or live without alpacas, and we wanted to share these wonderful animals with others. We moved to France in December 2020 after finding the perfect setting opposite the magnificent Chateau de Sanzay, and welcomed our little intimate herd; Clove, Astrid, Rohini, Holly, Pepper, Blaze and Blossom and Ringo. Jura followed shortly after when Ringo left for his forever home in a male herd. We’ve always enjoyed spending time with people and animals and we think this is the most ideal location, setting and experience for our visitors and guests.
What to know more? Read about our farm in the DSM every month
We’ve loved getting stuck into the mucky jobs of creating a secure and happy home for the herd with fence installation and land management, followed by creating a secure and happy holiday homes for our guests who stay in our accommodation; we have a charming glamping tent which gives you the opportunity to camp on an alpaca farm but with everything thought of and provided to keep you comfortable. We’ve rennovated one of our two small houses on the farm into a one bedroom gite, perfect for couples or those happy to share living space. To us, there is no better setting for your holiday than staying with our adorable alpacas overlooking the historical Chateau de Sanzay in the beautiful french countryside.
It was a big move for us having come from more corporate backgrounds. Will used to sell wine and spirits and Sophie worked in housing management. When the pandamic hit in 2020, the bars and restaurants closed and Will was hit with a covid-induced redundancy. It was this, along with the date of Brexit looming over us that made us realise the opportunity we had ahead of us to try and live our dream life and work harder than ever before. After some intensive training to make sure we could give the best care for our alpacas, we took the leap and moved to France.
We caught the alpaca love…
We are totally mesmorised by the feeling and joy these animals bring to people around the world.
Spending time with animals has been proven to improve both physical and emotional health in so many studies. Knowing this and seeing our herd of alpacas naturally acting in a careful and caring way towards more vulnerable people, we wanted to explore, understand and try to enhance this experience.
Sophie then undertook specialist training in working with alpacas and llamas in animal assisted interventions. Completing various courses before in alpaca husbandry, handling and breeding, we were amazed at how much more could be learned and really just how intelligent they are; whilst we adored them before we’d even first touched one, we don’t think we’d ever given them enough credit for their intuitiveness until now.
We really cannot get enough of our alpacas and have a passion for sharing this with you. With this, we see our customers return to us again and again, having caught the alpaca love bug too!
Delivering memorable and special experiences is our goal and we’re very proud of the work we do.
We have a passion for everything “alpaca”, and process the herd’s fibre each year into incredibly precious yarn and small clothing items to sell. With only a small herd, once it’s gone, it’s gone so we will make sure it is used sensibly and ethically.
We also have a workshop onsite where we create more creations from the wool, fertilisers from the alpaca poo, sustainable wooden furnishings and keepsakes using reclaimed wood (mainly barrels), which can be customised. Many of these items are available from our online and onsite shop, but sadly we’re currently unable to ship some items outside of France.
We believe that being a small farm, we can deliver a truly special experience to you as you discover the beauty and fun within each of our alpacas. Who is your favourite?
Will has a focus on woodwork and enjoys creating new products which can be personalised to each customer’s or brand’s needs whilst Sophie is the creative crafter and comms champion for the business. We have an equal share of the alpaca husbandry, handling and chores. There’s lots of work ahead whilst we grow our business and we’re enjoying every moment.
Nestled in the village of Sanzay within Argenton-Les-Vallees, opposite the historic Chateau de Sanzay we have created La Petite Ferme d’Alpagas Sanzay - “The little alpaca farm Sanzay” where our herd will has 2 acres of grazing land, including the front garden where they’re fondly seen enjoying the view! We have 8 girls which includes one cria (baby) and previously had a little boy Ringo who was born on our farm and rehomed with a wonderful family with 3 other 2021 alpaca boys. Our focus at the alpaca farm is to deliver exclusive and memorable experiences for our visitors, whilst ensuring these moments are mutually beneficial to both people and alpacas. Some of the herd (and visitors of course) enjoy regular walks around the village of Sanzay, all of the alpacas happily entertain and bother our picnic guests and enjoy being sociable with farm visits and being adored by those around them. We have the intention of keeping small and friendly with the ideal situation of our customers knowing our girls as well as we do both by name and by charachter, with our farm being as much everyone else’s as it is ours, although we have plans to grow a little.
We’re also home to the chateau’s bees who help pollonate all of the wonderful plants, trees and fruits in the local area. The Chateau are often onsite to carry out their beekeeping duties and run regular beekeeping courses should you want to partake. We are being honest when we say it’s the best honey we’ve ever tasted! It means a little less maintenance for us and we adore a more natural looking farm compared to something over-landscaped, meaning there’s plenty of food to keep the bees happy.
As well as Chateau de Sanzay with its moat opposite the farm, there’s lots more to explore near to the farm including Fromagerie Dessèvre, a cheese-producing goat farm in Sanzay, the beautiful natural area of Clos de L’Oncle Georges is a stone’s throw away, plenty of vineyards around the corner, and a little further are the crement de Loire houses. We’re very close to Puy du Fou and Parc de la Vallees, great for children. Find out where to explore nearby