Some women might hope for champagne, flowers or a trip away for their 60th birthday. Susan Barrow’s husband marked his wife’s milestone by buying her a llama park.

After 16 years living and running a business in the arid desert city of Dubai, Barrow and her husband Bobby Schuck now own the Ashdown Forest Llama Park – 33 acres of land in East Sussex that’s home to 50 llamas, 26 alpacas and a team of reindeer, not to mention a café and knitwear shop.

“It all sounds a bit mad but actually, it’s perfect,” says Barrow. “I love animals, my husband’s an ex-restaurateur and I have experience in both fashion and marketing so we were thrilled to find something that brought all those things together.”

They had initially walked away after first viewing the park, daunted by the coterie of animals they would be responsible for. But they found they couldn’t get the place out of their heads.

“We’ve done all sorts of silly things – bought near lakes in Australia, I lived in Chile for a while – and this seemed too exciting an opportunity to pass up,” says Barrow, who is originally from Kent. “I’d always ridden horses and I thought if I can look after horses, I can look after llamas.”

The couple moved on to the site on Barrow’s birthday, May 16, after previous owner Linda Johnson, who opened the park to the public in 1996, decided to retire.

“It’s fabulous. I stand and look out across the land and I can’t believe it’s ours. It’s stunningly beautiful especially after the Middle East. I run around sniffing the air after someone’s cut the grass because I’d forgotten how good it smells.”

With the help of the existing livestock manager, the couple have been getting to grips with the animals, who all have individual biographies on the park’s website. Tom, says the site, “is possibly the most handsome of our llamas and often requested when llama walks are booked”. Timmy is “a mixed-up alpaca who thinks he is a llama” while Blitzen is “a most important reindeer, in charge of the sleigh team while Father Christmas is at the North Pole”.

“I already have my favourites,” admits Barrow. “Animals are like people – there are some that are more attractive than others and that you’re instantly drawn to. It’s like a love affair.”

This month, Barrow will bring her two horses, a Spanish stallion and a mare, to join the llamas, alpacas and reindeer. Barrow also hopes to introduce other animals in coming months.

“We’ve taken entry fees down by 20% but there’s going to be a lot more to see.” In the winter, they hope to open a restaurant on site, to encourage more people to enjoy the scenery and animals.

“To add to it all, my husband went out and bought a black labrador puppy the other week,” laughs Barrow. “So we’ll be surrounded by puppies and foals and baby deer all over the place. It’s great. Most of my life I’ve been desk or city-bound and had to fit in my love of horses and the great outdoors at weekends. Now it’s my life.

“I get to spend my days in one of the most beautiful places in the South East, working with animals and a lot of good people and still call it work. They say life begins at 40... but for me it’s 60.”