A Busy Few Months At Swinton Green Animal Experiences

Last month, I officially opened the doors at Swinton Green Animal Experiences, and it’s been busy ever since. My animal team seems to have all settled into their new roles and are enjoying meeting new people and getting lots of attention.

It's just over a month since I opened Swinton Green Animal Experiences to the public. I’ve been wanting to open up a centre where people can visit the animals, create a connection, and get some hands-on experience for over 8 years, so to finally realise it, is incredibly rewarding and a dream come true.

Since June 1, I’ve had visitors from all across the UK and even overseas. Little Alf’s global following goes far and wide across the world and is growing every day.

At the moment, I’m operating on a book-by-experience system, which allows the public to get hands-on experience and a 1-2-1 session to find out all about the characters from my popular Children’s books.

The alpacas, Bean, Bear, and Blue, have all settled into their new home and have been with us for 2 months. They got sheared last month, and so don’t look as fluffy but are still very cute. They are currently under an animal training programme, so hopefully next year we will be able to take them out for walks and offer an extra experience.

Although the alpacas aren’t up for walking yet, Little Alf and Pepper are enjoying taking people around the land and learning about what Swinton Green has to offer. I love gardening and seeing vegetables grow from tiny seeds; I even have a huge vegetable garden for the animals. At the moment I’m growing lots of carrots for the ponies and lettuce for Arthur the Sulcata tortoise.

It’s been very busy since opening, and I have lots of plans to develop it in the future. For 2024, I’ll be offering courses and workshops that will include beekeeping days, animal management, and outdoor-based opportunities.

It’s lovely to see everything I’ve worked towards come together. My animals have provided a great focus for me over the last 9 years. With Swinton Green animal experiences, I want people to enjoy them as much as me, but I also want to work towards therapy intervention programmes where people can enjoy the therapeutic benefits of animals.