Pilates Just Got Fluffier: Alpaca Classes Return to Dorset This Summer

If your usual Pilates class is missing a large, fluffy audience, Hope Farm in Corfe Mullen has the answer.

Alpaca Pilates is returning to Dorset this summer, with Hot Pink Pilates instructor Jessica Hole leading mat-based sessions in a field of freely roaming alpacas. Classes run on Sunday mornings from 8.45am to 10am, starting May 24, with further dates on June 7, June 14, July 19, August 2, August 16, and August 30.

The Pilates itself is gentle and suitable for all levels, from complete beginners upward. The alpacas, however, follow their own agenda. Some watch quietly from a distance. Others will join you on your mat, investigate what you're doing, and make themselves very much at home. Last year, a baby alpaca spent an entire class nibbling Jessica's hair. A larger resident has taken to stationing himself at the front, watching the group with what Jessica describes as the air of someone checking everyone's form.

"They will make you giggle," she said. "I love bringing some fun and laughter into my Pilates classes, and the alpacas do this perfectly."

Sessions cost £22.50 and end with a chance to feed the alpacas - which, for many past attendees, has been the highlight of the morning. Bring your own mat and towel.

Book through Hot Pink Pilates.

www.hotpinkpilates.com