At Lambriggan Court we have two Alpacas called Gwineas and Gruda. They were born last year at North Cornwall Aviarys on Bodmin Moor. Gwineas is the female and is red/brown in colour and Gruda is the black male. They came to us when they had been weaned at 6 months old. We used to live on the south coast of Cornwall in a beautiful sea-side village called Gorran Haven. The Gwineas is a landmark rock about half a mile off the beach at Gorran Haven where the local children swim out to and The Gruda is the name of the fields above Vault Beach - the beach around the point from Gorran Haven. The alpacas wander around freely as we have had a cattle grid put in to stop them wandering off up the lane. Gwineas and Gruda like to accompany our guests as they walk around visiting the other birds and animals at Lambriggan Court. Gwineas in particular likes to edge closer and closer until she can have a good 'sniff' and then runs coyley away!
The Alpaca is from the family known as 'camelids' and resembles a small Llama.They can be found in herds high up in The Andes of Ecudor, Southern Peru , Northern Bolivia and Northern Chile at an altitude of 3500-5000 metres above sea-level. Their fleece is used for making knitted and woven items and comes in 22 natural colours.
There are 2 breeds of Alpaca - the Huacaya and the Suri. The Huacaya's fleece is wavy and the Suri's fleece is grouped in spiral locks and is heavier and shinier. Only about 3% of the world's Alpacas are Suris.
Alpacas live for 15-20 years. The gestation period is 11.5 months and births usually occur during daylight hours. The young alpaca or 'cria' are born late Spring/early Summer and twin births are extremely rare. They eat mostly grass, a little hay and water. From the last couple of weeks I could add crocus and daffodils to that list as I chase Gwineas and Gruda out of the courtyard for the umpteenth time!!!
The males become fertile from about 18 months and the females are ready to breed at around the same time. Our Alpacas have been extremely 'active' lately so we have high hopes for a new addition to the Lambriggan Court menagerie in a few months time.
Shearing takes place on a yearly basis in May by a sheep shearer with electric shears. On average a fleece will weigh between 2-5kg. It is a most interesting process to watch although very undignified for the Alpaca as they are whisked off their feet , spread-eagled and expertly shorn.
They are very inquisitive and intelligent creatures and much loved by all the guests. The only one that had a bit of a shock one dark night was the lady taxi driver who after delivering our daughter and her friend home from a hen party in Newquay was suddenly aware of two pairs of eyes peering at her in the driveway!
NB. Photographs of our Apaca can be found on the 'gallery'.
Friday 22 February 2008
Monday 18 February 2008
Anyone seen Mara?
Have you ever heard of mara? Neither had we until we visited Newquay Zoo one freezing day in January last year with our friends Cath and Ronnie. This very unusual creature was wandering around freely - and of course it caught Jon's eye.
A mara is classed as a rodent although it actually looks like it has the body of a small deer and the face of a rabbit with huge brown eyes and long eye-lashes. It has short brown fur, a dark rump and a white belly. Mara originate from the plains and scrubland of Central and Southern Argentina. They are monogamous and usually move around in pairs except in breeding season when they congregate at a communal den dug by the females. The females give birth to 1-3 young after a gestation period of 90 days. Within a day the pups start grazing and wandering a short way from the burrow.They stay around the burrow for about 4 months. The mother returns to nurse them once or twice a day . All the pups will greet a returning mother but she will sniff out her own young and only suckle those. The male mara stands guard and keeps the other pairs at bay. Low grumbles are used to keep contact with members of a pair with whistling calls between mother and young.
Their conservation status is 'lower-risk/near threatened.
We have 6 mara at Lambriggan Court , 3 males and 3 females (we hope!) Recently Jon became aware that one of the mara was being regularly attacked by the others so it had to be removed from the pack. Once isolated it became obvious that something was wrong with the mara. It appeared that it had an extremely large lump to the left of it's spine which made it appear hunched- back. I telephoned the vet in Truro to make an appointment to take the mara in to be checked over. It took a while to explain what a mara was and then the receptionist wouldn't book it in until it had a name. Eventually we agreed to call it 'Mara'.....
Our mara caused quite a stir amongst the staff at the surgery. The vet even telephoned the next day to thank us for bringing it in. She said it made a nice change from cats and dogs!!!
At first the vet thought the 'lump' might be a cyst but after a few whiffs of gas was able to examine the mara more thoroughly and also to do an X-ray. An added bonus was that they were also able to confirm that this mara was indeed a boy! The 'lump' in fact turned out to be a really bad case of congenital curvature of the spine. Being a nurse myself and having seen many X-rays in my work it was certainly the worst case of 'scoliosis' I've ever seen. This curvature was more like a hair-pin bend! The vet reassured us that the mara (or Taz as I have now named him) did not appear to be in pain. It had also been noted that Taz also had lots of little 'nips' on his rump and back so Jon decided to separate him from the others. It does mean that this weekend however will see us running around the paddock like mad-hatters trying to catch Taz's mate so that hopefully by the Summer we shall have lots of baby Tazzes at Lambriggan Court.
N.B - photos of our mara will soon be found on the gallery of our website
A mara is classed as a rodent although it actually looks like it has the body of a small deer and the face of a rabbit with huge brown eyes and long eye-lashes. It has short brown fur, a dark rump and a white belly. Mara originate from the plains and scrubland of Central and Southern Argentina. They are monogamous and usually move around in pairs except in breeding season when they congregate at a communal den dug by the females. The females give birth to 1-3 young after a gestation period of 90 days. Within a day the pups start grazing and wandering a short way from the burrow.They stay around the burrow for about 4 months. The mother returns to nurse them once or twice a day . All the pups will greet a returning mother but she will sniff out her own young and only suckle those. The male mara stands guard and keeps the other pairs at bay. Low grumbles are used to keep contact with members of a pair with whistling calls between mother and young.
Their conservation status is 'lower-risk/near threatened.
We have 6 mara at Lambriggan Court , 3 males and 3 females (we hope!) Recently Jon became aware that one of the mara was being regularly attacked by the others so it had to be removed from the pack. Once isolated it became obvious that something was wrong with the mara. It appeared that it had an extremely large lump to the left of it's spine which made it appear hunched- back. I telephoned the vet in Truro to make an appointment to take the mara in to be checked over. It took a while to explain what a mara was and then the receptionist wouldn't book it in until it had a name. Eventually we agreed to call it 'Mara'.....
Our mara caused quite a stir amongst the staff at the surgery. The vet even telephoned the next day to thank us for bringing it in. She said it made a nice change from cats and dogs!!!
At first the vet thought the 'lump' might be a cyst but after a few whiffs of gas was able to examine the mara more thoroughly and also to do an X-ray. An added bonus was that they were also able to confirm that this mara was indeed a boy! The 'lump' in fact turned out to be a really bad case of congenital curvature of the spine. Being a nurse myself and having seen many X-rays in my work it was certainly the worst case of 'scoliosis' I've ever seen. This curvature was more like a hair-pin bend! The vet reassured us that the mara (or Taz as I have now named him) did not appear to be in pain. It had also been noted that Taz also had lots of little 'nips' on his rump and back so Jon decided to separate him from the others. It does mean that this weekend however will see us running around the paddock like mad-hatters trying to catch Taz's mate so that hopefully by the Summer we shall have lots of baby Tazzes at Lambriggan Court.
N.B - photos of our mara will soon be found on the gallery of our website
Sunday 17 February 2008
Noah's Ark
'Lambriggan' means a holding for small animals which is very appropriate .Although the animals and birds did not exactly arrive 'two by two' as in the proverbial saying , arrive they did. Jon as all our guests know is passionate about his birds (the feathered variety) and has been since a young boy living on the edge of The New Forest in Hampshire.A cycle ride away lived an older lady- a wonderful character - called Ailsa Stewart-Craig. She was the housekeeper to Lord and Lady Lucas-Tooth. She had a few aviaried birds in her garden which Jon would hear as he cycled by. Of course curiosity got the better of him and he wandered in to have a look.Mrs.Stewart-Craig encouraged his interest and Jon became involved in both the domestic birds and the huge variety of pheasants and other game kept on the estate. This particular estate was also the first place to breed Australian grass finches in this country.
Jon's passion continued until in latter years he has become more interested in the more unusual breeds of birds and wildlife. A few years ago when we were living at Morwellham Quay in Tavistock he started breeding rheas which are flightless birds of the ostrich family. We were supplied the eggs which we put in the incubator. When the time drew near for the chicks to hatch Jon was constantly on the phone seeking advice from 'the experts' - or anoraks as I affectionately call them ( I call Jon this too!). Just before they hatch the eggs start rolling around in the incubator and 'talking' to each other in high pitched whistles. The shells on these eggs are very hard and usually the parent bird initiates or helps with hatching. With no parent bird available it is up to the breeder to carry out this task. Jon had to break into the egg at exactly the right place at the right time. At first he was terrified and so was I as it's rather a bloody process and one that I tend to refer to as birthing rather than hatching. Throughout this procedure he maintained telephone contact with 'the expert'. It was all rather dramatic at the time although we can laugh about it now. It was a successful birth and we had our first rhea chick but unfortunately all the other chicks were calling to be born so it was an extremaly busy time. After carrying this procedure out around 50-60 times Jon is now an expert himself and gives out advice to others. The birth of a rhea is in fact very reminiscent of the dinosaurs hatching out of their eggs in Jurassic Park
Late last Summer saw the arrival of 6 rhea chicks at Lambriggan Court. They are unusual in that they are white instead of the common or garden grey - and they are growing fast. They wintered in the stable but are now out in the field with the other unusual animals. They have a child's natural curiosity and love to run over to greet visitors and are particularly interested in pecking at anything that shines such as earrings, shiny buttons etc.
As they grow older they will 'see off' any predatory foxes and with a neighbouring village called Calestick (the place of the fox) there are many about.
Now about the other animals....
Jon's passion continued until in latter years he has become more interested in the more unusual breeds of birds and wildlife. A few years ago when we were living at Morwellham Quay in Tavistock he started breeding rheas which are flightless birds of the ostrich family. We were supplied the eggs which we put in the incubator. When the time drew near for the chicks to hatch Jon was constantly on the phone seeking advice from 'the experts' - or anoraks as I affectionately call them ( I call Jon this too!). Just before they hatch the eggs start rolling around in the incubator and 'talking' to each other in high pitched whistles. The shells on these eggs are very hard and usually the parent bird initiates or helps with hatching. With no parent bird available it is up to the breeder to carry out this task. Jon had to break into the egg at exactly the right place at the right time. At first he was terrified and so was I as it's rather a bloody process and one that I tend to refer to as birthing rather than hatching. Throughout this procedure he maintained telephone contact with 'the expert'. It was all rather dramatic at the time although we can laugh about it now. It was a successful birth and we had our first rhea chick but unfortunately all the other chicks were calling to be born so it was an extremaly busy time. After carrying this procedure out around 50-60 times Jon is now an expert himself and gives out advice to others. The birth of a rhea is in fact very reminiscent of the dinosaurs hatching out of their eggs in Jurassic Park
Late last Summer saw the arrival of 6 rhea chicks at Lambriggan Court. They are unusual in that they are white instead of the common or garden grey - and they are growing fast. They wintered in the stable but are now out in the field with the other unusual animals. They have a child's natural curiosity and love to run over to greet visitors and are particularly interested in pecking at anything that shines such as earrings, shiny buttons etc.
As they grow older they will 'see off' any predatory foxes and with a neighbouring village called Calestick (the place of the fox) there are many about.
Now about the other animals....
Tuesday 12 February 2008
LAMBRIGGAN COURT CORNWALL
Ist July 2007 and we were in! Lambriggan Court was ours. It had been 5 weeks of hard work and negotiation between all the parties involved - the vendors ,their solicitor,our solicitor,the estate agents etc.etc. And here we were ,once again standing in the courtyard not quite believing we were now the new owners. Everything had happened so fast. None of our relatives would believe that we had moved yet again but also that we had moved into a home that was actually habitable. One that not only had walls and a roof but had running water and electricity as well. For the first time we did not have to live in the caravan , the woodshed (yes honestly - ask all our friends at Gorran Haven), the tent (we spent two years renovating a property in France) or even the garage when building a house on the edge of Dartmoor .
The property consisted of the main house , 2 cottages which had been let as holiday cottages by the previous owners, a stone tractor shed (at this moment being converted into The Lemon Suite) and another long stone barn - all within a quadrangle forming the courtyard. The centre-piece of the courtyard is the beautiful Italian horse fountain which in Summer is full of the most gorgeous pure-white lillies. I have been told by Betty Miners - a wonderful octagenarian and Chairman of Mithian WI that when she was a young girl the children would collect the cows from the field on the way home from school at Bolingy and would chase them around the dung heap in the middle of the yard. That dung heap is now where the fountain stands.The previous owner had travelled Italy as a buyer of leather for the Clarkes shoe company and had gathered ideas and statues etc. which gives Lambriggan Court it's distinctive Tuscan feel. The shutters or 'les volets' as thay are called in France gives the main house it's French farmhouse look. All the shutters and paintwork are painted in a wonderful shade of blue - now known as Lambriggan Blue . Our new neighbours in the lane , Ade and Sal have painted their woodwork this colour as well so we all blend in delightfully.
We have 7 and a half acres of land with the property including 2 small lakes. Everything was very overgrown when we first moved here but in between renovating barns and bedrooms and with the help of our two very good friends Cath and Ronnie a programme of thinning out has taken place so that all the plants can now 'breathe' again . The upper lake flows down in to the lower lake with a little waterfall (we have ambitious energy plans for this at a later date) and is surrounded by exotic plants and Gunnera (like giant rhubarb). Perching on the edge of the lower lake is The Jungle House. We had this re-thatched in June last year and celebrated with a BBQ one evening with neighbours and friends . The lanterns were lit and it really did feel like we were in the middle of the jungle. Of couse we have the birds and animals here that make it very authentic. Ah but I haven't mentioned those yet have I?!!!
The property consisted of the main house , 2 cottages which had been let as holiday cottages by the previous owners, a stone tractor shed (at this moment being converted into The Lemon Suite) and another long stone barn - all within a quadrangle forming the courtyard. The centre-piece of the courtyard is the beautiful Italian horse fountain which in Summer is full of the most gorgeous pure-white lillies. I have been told by Betty Miners - a wonderful octagenarian and Chairman of Mithian WI that when she was a young girl the children would collect the cows from the field on the way home from school at Bolingy and would chase them around the dung heap in the middle of the yard. That dung heap is now where the fountain stands.The previous owner had travelled Italy as a buyer of leather for the Clarkes shoe company and had gathered ideas and statues etc. which gives Lambriggan Court it's distinctive Tuscan feel. The shutters or 'les volets' as thay are called in France gives the main house it's French farmhouse look. All the shutters and paintwork are painted in a wonderful shade of blue - now known as Lambriggan Blue . Our new neighbours in the lane , Ade and Sal have painted their woodwork this colour as well so we all blend in delightfully.
We have 7 and a half acres of land with the property including 2 small lakes. Everything was very overgrown when we first moved here but in between renovating barns and bedrooms and with the help of our two very good friends Cath and Ronnie a programme of thinning out has taken place so that all the plants can now 'breathe' again . The upper lake flows down in to the lower lake with a little waterfall (we have ambitious energy plans for this at a later date) and is surrounded by exotic plants and Gunnera (like giant rhubarb). Perching on the edge of the lower lake is The Jungle House. We had this re-thatched in June last year and celebrated with a BBQ one evening with neighbours and friends . The lanterns were lit and it really did feel like we were in the middle of the jungle. Of couse we have the birds and animals here that make it very authentic. Ah but I haven't mentioned those yet have I?!!!
Sunday 10 February 2008
LAMBRIGGAN COURT CORNWALL
At 9am the next morning we made enquiries at the estate agents. This set in motion 'a bidding war' which of course kept us and no doubt all the other parties concerned in a state of raised hopes and dashed hopes until close of shop at 5.30pm. Then at last the final call to say Lambriggan Court was ours - with a couple of conditions! The present owners were emigrating and their visas were running out. Could we exchange in 3 weeks ? Could we complete in 5 weeks? Well of course we could . Couldn't we?
Saturday 9 February 2008
LAMBRIGGAN COURT CORNWALL
Welcome to our very first weblog at Lambriggan Court in Cornwall. Lambriggan Court is our home as well as our business. We have 1-bed self-catering cottages and also beautifully appointed bedrooms for bed and breakfast accommodation in a stunning courtyard setting just 2 miles from The Atlantic Coast. When we first saw Lambriggan Court in the warm May sunshine just over 18 months ago , we walked into the courtyard and that was it! It felt as if we had just stumbled into the courtyard of a Tuscan villa or a rustic French farmhouse. It has that certain ambience about it that recreates the sights , sounds , smells and memories of 'an English man abroad'. All this and seven and a half acres of paddocks , lakes and gardens.
How could we say no and what happened next?
How could we say no and what happened next?
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