Dartmoor Reach Alpaca Farm is owned and operated by Josh and Natalie Hyson. They first met when Josh joined one of Natalie’s yoga classes in Totnes. Despite Natalie’s usual professional boundary of not dating students or clients, she made an exception for Josh, and they got engaged just six months later.

Josh and Natalie shared a dream of creating a peaceful space where people could come and relax and enjoy the same lifestyle they have with their two daughters, Romy and Cerys. They started with a few chickens and two cats and gradually added more animals. They now take care of many chickens and ducks, two guinea pigs, two sheep, two pigs, two cats, and sixteen alpacas. As they built three glamping huts, they wanted to provide a special place for both adults and children to enjoy, and the alpaca herd became part of this experience. These gentle, inquisitive, and peaceful animals have their names and are treated as part of their loving family.

Furthermore, Josh and Natalie increased their herd of twelve alpacas to breed four babies (cria).

In 2021, the completion of three glamping huts marked the realization of their dream and Dartmoor Reach has been welcoming guests seeking a tranquil retreat since then. There are 3 gorgeous glamping huts and a converted double decker bus – find out more

As well as helping Josh run the farm, Natalie is also a qualified yoga teacher and you will often find her in her purpose made studio taking classes or providing individual tuition. Take a look at what is on offer and take advantage of some Yoga or Meditation time whilst staying at Dartmoor Reach.

Our eco-friendly initiatives have always included recycling and re-using materials and what we can from what we already have. From the materials used to build the accommodation, to the children’s play areas and animal shelters. We have 3 compostable toilets on site. We use eco-friendly cleaning and laundry products. We also have 3 compostable heat bins for toilet waste and food waste. This gets broken down and spread around our trees on the land. We insulated our double decker bus with alpaca fleece, as well as using it to stuff cushions and soft furnishings. We collect alpaca poo (with a special poo hoover!) and use this as fertiliser.

We have a poly tunnel and grow our own vegetables. We produce our own eggs. We rear pigs and lambs for their meat. We dug a borehole and have our own water supply and filter our own supply. Our goals include being as self-sustainable as possible and to use and re-use what we can. We regard ourselves the guardians of our special land and so what we can to maintain and protect it. We have planted over 150 trees here, planted acres of wild seed flower. We produce our own honey and have a bee hive. We lay the hedges for environmental reasons – to build and conserve our wildlife habitats. We have built bat boxes around the land and are home to bats.

In October 2023 we appeared on the Channel 4 TV series Four in a Bed. We didn’t win but we did convert one of the other couples to the delights of Glamping!

We pride ourselves on running a sustainable business and this was recognised by the judges at the Devon Women in Business Awards in 2023 where we were delighted to win the Eco Friendly Business of the Year accolade. We are also delighted to be a semi finalist for the 2024 West Country Women Awards.