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Kate pets alpacas and lambs on royal visit to Northern Ireland farm

A snake was thrown into the mix too!

The Duchess of Cambridge spent time with alpacas and lambs on a visit to a farm in Northern Ireland.

Kate, 38, visited the Ark Open Farm in Newtownards to promote her online landmark survey, ‘5 Big Questions on the Under Fives’.

The survey aims to spark a national conversation on the early years that will ultimately help bring about positive, lasting change for generations to come and will close on February 21.

Kate was a fan of the alpaca! (Credit: SplashNews.com)

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Kate looked casual but chic in black skinny jeans, brown Penelope Chivers boots and a khaki Barbour jacket.

During the visit, the Duchess spoke to local parents and grandparents about their experiences of raising young children and their thoughts on the early years survey.

In sweet photos, the mother-of-three is seen stroking alpacas and bottle-feeding lambs with the help of young children during a tour of the farm.

One cute moment captured showed Kate meeting children from local nurseries and helping them to feed the lamb.

Kate helped the children bottle-feed a lamb (Credit: SplashNews.com)

Kate also met a guinea pig and according to Hello! magazine, she revealed that her childhood nickname was “squeak”, which was inspired by her class guinea pig.

The Duchess also handled a snake even though farm owner Stewart Donaldson told The Belfast Telegraph that the royal wasn’t keen on meeting the reptile.

I wanted to hear directly from people across the UK.

Meanwhile, at the end of her visit, Kate unveiled a plaque which marked her visit to the farm.

Later on Wednesday, Kate visited the Social Bite cafe in Aberdeen, Scotland.

The cafés distribute food and hot drinks to people who are homeless and the company also employs people who have experienced homelessness.

The Duchess wasn’t afraid to handle the snake (Credit: SplashNews.com)

It marked the final day of Kate’s tour following her visits to Birmingham, Cardiff, Woking and London last month.

Kengsington Palace said on Instagram: “The ‘5 Big Questions on the Under 5s’ survey is designed to bring together the thoughts of as many people as possible – recognising that everyone has a role in ensuring strong, healthy foundations for the youngest in our society that will positively affect their lifelong outcomes.”

Speaking about the survey, Kate said: “I wanted to hear directly from people across the UK and it’s great to have been able to talk to people in Scotland, Northern Ireland, Wales and across England about their experiences.

View this post on Instagram

Grabbing a @Social_Bite in Aberdeen – in Scotland The Duchess of Cambridge visited the café to speak with employees, volunteers and customers who have experienced homelessness about how early childhood experiences can have a lasting impact. Social Bite runs social enterprise cafés across Scotland and distributes food and hot drinks to people experiencing homelessness. The organisation also employs staff who have experienced homelessness themselves. The Duchess has been taking her UK-wide landmark survey ‘5 Big Questions on the Under 5s’ to Northern Ireland and Scotland, following visits to Birmingham, Cardiff, Woking and London last month. Speaking about the #5BigQuestions survey, The Duchess said: • “I wanted to hear directly from people across the UK and it’s great to have been able to talk to people in Scotland, Northern Ireland, Wales and across England about their experiences. • I want to thank the 200,000 people who have filled it out because each and every response will help show us what society really thinks about raising the next generation. • I am excited to hear from even more people before it closes on 21st February”. • The #5BigQuestions survey takes just 5 minutes to complete – and aims to spark a national conversation on the early years. Visit the link in our bio to fill out the survey and help bring about positive, lasting change for generations to come. Photos © Kensington Palace

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“I want to thank the 200,000 people who have filled it out because each and every response will help show us what society really thinks about raising the next generation. I am excited to hear from even more people before it closes on 21st February.”

You can fill out the survey here.

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Rebecca Carter
Associate Editor (News)