.png)
Meet the Owners, Alice & Kevin
Alice's fascination with animals has spanned her lifetime, and she has accumulated over 17 years experience working with a diverse range of animals from common species such as goats and sheep to the more exotic like owls and reindeer. After studying Animal Management at Hartpury College; a leading UK specialist education provider in animal, agriculture & equine, Alice moved to The Small Breeds Farm Park as the residential Animal Carer. Shorty after, she became the Owl Centre Manager, caring for over 150 individual owls across 32 different species & rearing up to 60 owlets each year.
Along the way, Alice met Kevin and in 2018 they made the decision to move in together with Kevin's parents at their 90 acre hill farm, called Fostings Farm - hence our herd name! As a 6th generation farmer, Kevin grew up on the farm and has worked alongside his Dad and brother his whole life, tending to their sheep, cows and running his own agricultural contracting business.
But understanding that the farm was not financially viable or sustainable long term (a sad reality for many farms nowadays), Alice and Kevin set about a plan for diversification and landed upon keeping alpacas alongside providing holiday accommodation...
The Farm
Fostings Farm is a 90 acre, family run, working sheep farm that sits atop the Radnor Valley in the tiny village of Kinnerton near Presteigne in Mid Wales. Elevated at an average of 1,300ft above sea level, it offers incredible views of three counties; the Black Mountains, Powys, Hergest Ridge, Herefordshire and Clee Hill, Shropshire.
Diversifying at the farm
To be sure alpacas were right for them, Alice and Kevin attended an alpaca husbandry course which solidified their decision to establish their very own alpaca herd and in summer of 2018, Alice and Kevin acquired their first group of 4 alpacas and opened their adult only retreat; Hush Hush Glamping the following summer.
To fund these venture start ups, Alice qualified as a Project Manager via a Local Council apprenticeship, worked evenings as a Virtual Assistant and Online Business Manager (redesigning back end tech processes for clients to streamline their business) and packed eggs at the weekends and sandwiched working at a pet shop into the week too, whilst Kevin (when not helping on the family farm) continued to run his agricultural contracting business, Trebanog Contracting, offering hedge cropping & fodder beet drilling services. After a long while of juggling up to 4 jobs at once on top of getting the glamping and alpaca business off the ground, Alice now dedicates her time fully to running the glamping business and managing their alpaca herd which provides a lifeline for the longevity of the farm.
Alpaca Husbandry Courses
If you're embarking into alpaca keeping, whether as a recent newcomer to the field or as a prospective owner, having a sounds understanding of alpaca husbandry goes a long way to making sure your alpacas will be happy and healthy. The foundation provided in our Alpaca Husbandry Courses ensure you begin your alpaca journey on the right foot...