Last week I took a few days off to visit my good friend Hannah. We’d considered going llama trekking last year, but ended up not doing it for various reasons. This time, however, we (i.e. Hannah) successfully organised it and – luckily – booked it for one of the sunniest days of the year.

If you’ve never been on a trek with three dogs, two llamas, a donkey and a Scotsman, I highly recommend it.

Our Scottish guide was 73 and surprisingly normal for someone who runs a business based around llamas and camels. Apparently he called Hannah and asked if we had any special dietary requirements beforehand. When she said no, he responded, ‘Oh, so you’re normal then.’ As I said to Hannah, ‘Bloody hell, if he’s expecting normal people, he’s going to be sorely disappointed’. But it actually turned out pretty well – I would say he was my kind of person. Interesting, a tiny bit strange, but very down to earth and friendly. I guess that’s the kind of person you are if you have £40,000 of llamas as your assets.

From the sounds of it, he’s used to meeting all kinds of crazy people, because apparently llama trekking is the activity of choice for everyone from European bankers to Sikh grooms and celebrities (he does weddings, huge charity events, TV documentaries and all sorts as well. In fact, my llama was on Channel 4 this week).

We got introduced to our llamas, Miranda and James, and hit it off with them straight away. By which I mean I ended up with the highly temperamental Miranda who refused to move. It was the first time I’ve ever started the day with a llama tug-of-war…but hopefully it won’t be the last. It was kind of fun.

Left: Miranda. Right: James

Getting owned by llamas.

I actually think Miranda might be me in llama form. Cheeky, about as stubborn as you can get, and never stops eating given the chance.

Nom.

Walking through the Forest of Dean, even with so many animals in tow, was extremely peaceful and relaxing. I absolutely loved it purely because of the simple enjoyment of walking through tranquil woodland on a beautiful day. There was no internet, no phone signal, and rather than feeling twitchy about it as I would normally, I just went with it. Most of the day I didn’t even know what the time was as the donkey was carrying my phone. It was very liberating.

At one point our guide pointed out some buzzards in the sky, and I realised how much time I spend looking down or straight ahead rather than up. I must miss out on some pretty amazing stuff.

I thoroughly enjoyed the day, and apparently there’s a group that does walking with wolves, which is totally on my list of things to try now.

Jeffrey the donkey

Hannah and James

And now back to the scheduled programme – work!