Feeling left out as the modern apprentice booked himself a ‘work trip’ skiing, I decided to book a revenge holiday. Childish, but true. So, on a whim under the corruption of eldest child (and youngest too for that matter), we considered locations. Barcelona, Prague, Rome all ruled out. From nowhere ‘Marrakech’ was mentioned. Yes was my reply. Absolutely no idea about the place but that’s what it’s all about right? Next - I have a bank holiday blunder history and again I thought May Day was being moved for the King's Coronation - nope; I’d made a catastrophic blunder. 'Darling, I’m taking the c ..read more

The Good Times and the Sad Times As our wee business grows, we are always delighted to attend new venues and meet new people. And so, when we were invited along to a local Country Show, we jumped at the chance. It's always fantastic to attend these shows with local farmers, crafters and sometimes a bit of the unusual too (mainly that’s us!) all in attendance. We were next door to a collection of small animals; including a wee calf, sheep and a goat. He was a Boer goat – a breed used for meat. So...here’s how this story goes. Goaty was in the pen next door. He was very cute, very naughty and an ..read more

Saved by a team of true superheroes Meet Buddy, our newest member of the family...and what a 72 hours it has been! Mum Hattie delivered him in the wee small hours of Monday morning. He’s premature by 3 weeks and was a tiny 4.2 kilos. He was flat, unable to sit or stand and in serious trouble. Emergency vet contacted and plasma sourced from Velvet Hall Alpacas. Chris, our vet at Galedin, headed over to Beirhope. Buddy was so poorly he was taken immediately to the surgery in Kelso where the team performed the first of many many miracles. It was red hot on Monday, the heat clearly an influencer i ..read more

We are hugely delighted to have won Scotland's Business Awards ‘Consumer Award’ in The Borders 2019 finals. The Grand Final (country wide) was, like many things, effected by COVID. So the 2020 finals are being held this year in 2021! This poses the biggest challenge of my alpaca trekking career...the frock! What on earth does an alpaca trekker wear to a black tie awards ceremony?! Thinking about this, I have so far ruled out anything I currently own for very obvious reasons. I ‘liberated’ my office clothes many years ago when I gave up Social Work. Back then, I was quite into clothes, shoes a ..read more

Not ever did I think that my generation would ever play a significant part in history. I thought we’d quietly live life. Then the awful pandemic hit us and life changed forever. Team time in the Scottish Borders Ways of working have changed too, and no longer are the ‘team’ together as they once were with limited days in the office and the joys of virtual meetings via one of the many digital sources. And hey I think this is great – I’ve Zoomed all over the globe recently and it's just fab. However, wouldn’t it be better to get back together, to have a ‘team day’ in person here with us at Beirh ..read more

We opened our new business in June 2017. With absolutely no experience of managing any social media accounts other than my own Facebook page, the world of posts became my reality. My wonderful niece helped us set up accounts and encouraged us to get posting. The use of @, # and emoji’s was incredibly scary. Oh and blogs! Let’s not advertise it's taken me 3 years to muster up the courage... Gosh just got a whole new meaning So I needed a marketing strategy according to all of the business courses I’d attended. I have to say, our local Business Gateway were fab! How Lyn and Wilma put up with us ..read more

Holiday Time! For those living on smallholdings or farms know that getting away for a few days can be tricky. Who looks after the crew i.e. the alpacas, goats, horses, hens, cats and the other 2 dogs not coming with us? Well, with precision planning and a great team, I managed a wee mid week get away with my eldest daughter! As a nurse, she’s had a busy time too recently, so time together is more precious than ever and we both needed a rest to recharge our batteries. So, in true Beirhope style we chose to go bagging Munros and spent 2 days hill walking in the Cairngorms. Let's face it, what e ..read more

My gran was just the best. When I was little, she would play boules and tennis with me (using the sofa as a net!) and she spent hours teaching me to knit and crochet. She had the patience of a saint and would have our projects ready for when I visited. She also used to rub whiskey into my gums when I had toothache. I had toothache often but in those days things were very different! In between visits, she would undo and re-do my knitting disasters, and not once did she ever criticise or point out my mistakes. She just quietly fixed them. A Yarn Story My gran was also a keen follower of horse ra ..read more

In the very beginning of life at Beirhope, I sought to live the good life. Well, sort of. The good life with a few added comforts and luxuries! I felt disaster was not far away I had a longstanding urge to rear some pigs. Having wandered around the Yorkshire Show and watched endless TV shows I settled on Tamworth's. Not surprisingly, I learned of a pig breeder just over the hill (the Cheviot Hill but that’s a minor detail). So, I rang the lovely Sarah who still today keeps in touch with us. I asked hubby his thoughts. His reply was that we did not need pigs; which obviously meant I needed them ..read more

My introduction to alpacas and subsequent life changing decisions to give up my career in social work was completely unplanned and very much ‘in the moment’. Having gone to the glamping show looking for pods/yurts I came home with alpacas and a fab new life plan. Well nearly, but not quite! Browsing the seasonal aisle in Morrisons Six months passed between my chance encounter with alpacas to welcoming my new herd of five boys. I attended courses and picked alpacas that, come delivery day, didn’t arrive! Fortunately, I then met the lovely Debbie and Paul, who helped me achieve my hair brained ..read more