Six years on, Suzanne's interest in llamas has developed into a full-blown love affair and she has proved her doubters wrong by setting up Yorkshire's first llama trekking centre.

Having previously rented land for their flock of sheep, Suzanne and her husband James bought their own farm in the village of Wilsill near Pateley Bridge seven years ago.

While James concentrated on developing their herds of sheep and cattle, Suzanne added a few goats and ponies to their growing menagerie.

She is the first to admit that, when she returned home from a local livestock sale with a solitary llama, she knew nothing about the South American species.

"I just thought it could go with the other stock, but I found that llamas are not quite the same. I have always been interested in different species of animals and was keen to learn more about llamas.

"They have individual characters and, although they live in herds, they have their own pecking order and the adults keep the youngsters in line.

"Every llama has its part to play in the herd, but I didn't realise that until I got more llamas."

Suzanne visited a llama breeder who, at the time, was based at Staintondale near Scarborough. It was then that she began to realise that llamas are unique in terms of the livestock she had reared before and started to develop a clearer understanding of their nature.

"They are a fantastic species to have around, so gentle and regal. They are very soft to touch, but can also be quite comical and each one has a different personality.

"About five years ago, I decided to breed them and invested in a breeding pair. Initially all the babies that we had were female and when I started to research trekking I discovered that it is actually the males that are more suited to trekking."

Undeterred, Suzanne sold on the young females and added a few males to her herd instead. A one-year old male called Ted, which was bred by Suzanne, is the newest addition. She then began visiting trekking centres in other parts of the country to get an idea of what she could offer visitors to the Nidderdale area, and began taking family and friends out on a series of
trial treks.

"We live in a beautiful area and I really wanted to be able to offer trekking so that people can get out and enjoy the fantastic countryside, as well as spending time getting to know the llamas.

"We just needed to get the facilities right first, and get the llamas used to being out and about in Nidderdale. We also had to plan a series of routes that would be nice and quiet, and enable visitors to enjoy the superb views and wildlife."

A couple of months ago Suzanne finally realised her dream. For a trek, the llamas carry traditional carrying equipment that Suzanne buys from an American firm. These are loaded up with tea and other refreshments before visitors set off on their trip so they can enjoy a relaxing pit stop in a picturesque location mid-way through.

"Before setting off, the llamas make a gentle humming noise, which is their way of communicating with one another.

"It is great to see them interacting and also with our visitors. It's very rewarding to see people going out and enjoying being with my animals. We get all sorts of people coming. Some have tried bungee and parachute jumping and just want to do something different.

"But we also have children's birthday parties here and are hoping to do more work with local schools."

Pat Woffinden of Harrogate recently had a trek as a birthday. "My husband and I loved it," says Pat. Suzanne's llamas are so friendly and will let you stroke their necks. We walked for about three quarters of an hour before stopping in a woodland clearing for our tea and biscuits and then trekked back. I would do it every day if I could."

Suzanne and James' youngest sons Ben, 11, and Callum, six, enjoy helping out by getting the llamas ready for their treks, although their eldest William, 17, prefers to help his Dad on the farm. The family now have six trekking llamas, as well as a stud male that acts as a guard llama by protecting their sheep from stray dogs and foxes.

Suzanne says that for centuries llamas have been trained to guard other livestock from predators: "It is instinctive, our guard llama will race towards a dog with its head down. It's not so much about noise, more about body language."