Pembrokeshire Llamas trek down the valley to bring goods and smiles to residents

Good neighbour Matt Yorke is harnessing up his 10-strong herd of the woolly South American creatures to deliver groceries to residents of Rhydwilym in the foothills of the Preselis.

Matt, 39 and his fiancé Alex, 40, have had a long-time love of llamas …to the extent of getting engaged in the middle of a field full of them!

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A career change inspired by Matt having a health scare led them to set up their Pembrokeshire Llamas trekking business in 2015, with the sociable animals also being popular as special guests at weddings.

“When the coronavirus situation began, we started helping our neighbours who were isolating by delivering their shopping – they are all kind people who have helped us out over the years, and we wanted to do something back,” said Matt, who is an IT consultant by profession.

“In the beginning, we were walking or driving along the valley, but not all the properties are easily reached by car.

“So I thought: we’ve got a field full of llamas who are born to be pack animals, so I just put the shopping in bags on their back and off we go, with them taking turns on delivery duties.

“It’s great for the llamas – it helps socialise them and it saves having to cut their toe-nails, which would be quite a job. And our neighbours love them, it brightens up their shopping delivery days."

The members of the Pembrokeshire Llamas herd – all ‘real characters’, said Matt – are Ieuan, Teilo, Zazu, Albie, Myrddin, Noah, Hendrix, Dylan, Thelonious and Macsen, who is named after Matt and Alex’s two-and-a-half-year-old son.

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The family’s menagerie is completed by two pigs, six free-range chickens, a pair of free-range geese, a tortoise, ten feral cats, a parrot, two guinea pigs, an attic full of bats and a chimney full of honey bees.

Matt is also the llama rehoming coordinator for the British Llama Society, as well as their liaison with the Senedd and has set up the rescue charity llamasanctuary.uk.

He explained: “The eventual aim is to give any llama in need across the country a permanent home here in Pembrokeshire. We aim to work with these llamas and use them as therapy llamas, making them available to other charities and special needs groups, such as adults and children with learning difficulties, retirement homes and young offenders.”

For more information about Pembrokeshire Llamas, see llamas.wales