This Galway home comes with a business — an alpaca farm

Curraghduff Farm

Oughterard, Co Galway
€670,000
Size	84sq m (904sq ft)
Bedrooms	3
Bathrooms	1
BER	G

NOT just a property, Curraghduff Farm in Oughterard is a farm, a business, a lifestyle and an opportunity for an adventure.

For Ruth and Stuart Newton, owners for the last nine years, it’s been all these things and more. Since buying it as a rundown 22-acre farm in 2017, they have created a glamping/alpaca experience, hosting tourists from around the world and offering them an opportunity to walk with an alpaca.

Alpaca farm Curraduff Curraghduff Farm

Arriving in Ireland from the UK as a pair of work-stressed mental health nurses in search of a new life, they brought their 14- year-old son and four alpacas.

Curraghduff Farm is 10km from Oughterard and close to Lough Corrib. It proved perfect for their planned glamping/alpaca business, although the cottage needed significant renovation.

The priority was to get the business up and running so they set about creating alpaca enclosures and making the farm safe for guests.

“We began by advertising alpaca walks which attracted local interest at first and then tourists, says Ruth.

In 2019 they added three individual glamping pods and built guest facilities.

“By 2023 we had 29 alpacas as well as pygmy goats and some chickens and sheep and were offering alpaca walks, yoga with alpacas and doing birthday parties, as well as glamping.”

Stuart and Ruth Newton at their alpaca farm in Oughterard.

Glamping quickly became Curraghduff Farm’s biggest earner and Ruth says that in 2023 they booked 619 nights across the three pods.

“The glamping pods are always booked up in spring and summer,” she says, explaining that they have recently stopped alpaca tours to focus on glamping.

Renovations carried out on their 1940s-built three-bed farm cottage included installation of double glazing and the fitting of a new kitchen and bathroom. The property has a cottage-style kitchen with brick chimney breast, Stanley range, and white shaker-style units. There’s also a living room with a stove, a modern bathroom, and three bedrooms.

The Newtons didn’t get around to obtaining a new BER so, although upgraded, the cottage still has the same G rating it had when they bought it.

The three glamping pods include the Alpaca Hut, a teepee-shaped log cabin; The Corrib, a barrel- shaped pod with views of the lake, and the Connemara Hut which resembles a traditional shepherd’s shed.

Guest facilities include an outbuilding with a kitchen, showers, and toilets, and there’s a games room and a barn to house the alpacas.

Although they have loved their Oughterard experience, the couple have decided it’s time for a new adventure and travel.

On the market with a guide of €670,000, Curraghduff Farm has 22 acres of land divided into two sections, including seven acres with the cottage and outbuildings.

“The business could easily be restarted,” says Ruth, adding that they are willing to share information about the enterprise and include seven remaining alpacas and six pygmy goats.

Selling agent Spencer Auctioneers say Curraghduff Farm offers new owners an excellent opportunity to acquire a successful tourist attraction.

VERDICT: An alpaca experience for a buyer in search of a lifestyle change.