Catanger Farm
Catanger is the name of our land, it is a Saxon word meaning where wild cats roam
and sometimes written as Cat Hanger or Cateanger.
Lying outside the local parish boundary hedges, it would have been uncultivated
and quite a wild place in medieval times, where wild cats would have been quite
at home. In 1992 David & Mary Pryse bought 40 acres of this land which was all
under arable cultivation. It has slowly evolved into something quite different,
unique even, as it is the home of Catanger Llamas and Catanger Llama Trekking.
Catanger Farm is situated in the heart of the Northamptonshire countryside.
Northamptonshire is often referred to as
the county of 'squires and spires' with idyllic villages and beautiful rolling countryside,
unspoilt and blissfully quiet. What better way to get away from it all and enjoy
the beautiful scenery than by walking a gentle llama along bridleways, farm tracks
and country lanes.
20 acres of native woodland have been planted with paths and rides threading through
them, the rest is pasture and hay fields for our herd of llamas and a few donkeys.
Highland cattle were the first livestock to arrive in 1994, followed by Angora goats
and a guard llama called Henry. The rest is history. Henry totally captivated us
and after 6 months of llama ownership we felt compelled to get more llamas and start
breeding. We slowly built our herd up and in 1998 we started trekking with Henry,
Hector, George and a one year old home bred boy called Crofter. We now have a team
of trekkers, second to none!
With an expanding breeding programme, it became vital that we be on site at all
times and eventually, we got planning permission to live at Catanger. Our log cabin
is made of timber from sustainable forests and insulated to a high degree. We have
a zero carbon rating as we are not connected to the National Grid, producing all
our own electricity from the sun. Cooking and heating is produced by burning wood.
