Springfield, Ky. — The stately historic home with welcoming porch and shaded courtyard at the top of the gently inclining drive is completely expected; the alpacas, however, are a surprise.

At the award-winning Maple Hill Manor, an 1851 Greek Revival Plantation home listed on the National Register of Historic Places, 30 Suri alpacas roam the nearly 15 softly rolling acres, protected by six formidable llamas, their jaws made for crushing foolhardy coyotes.

Kathy Witt / Special (ENLARGE)

The parlor at Maple Hill Manor is the perfect setting for reading, playing games and puzzles and gathering.

(ENLARGE)

Suri alpacas graze in a pasture at Maple Hill Manor's farm.

Maple Hill Manor (ENLARGE)

The manor's John James Audubon Suite.

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"We were looking for a small farm to raise alpacas after seeing them at a state fair and doing some research," explains Todd Allen, who co-owns this relax-in-style bed and breakfast with Tyler Horton. "Alpacas are ideally suited to a small farm."

The exotic animals — rare outside of their native South America — give Maple Hill Manor a notable niche on the lodging landscape and present something of a motif in the guest rooms and gift shop. The innkeepers import products made from alpaca fleece, including teddy bears, throws, sweaters, capes, mittens, scarves and more, and several of the items cozy up the rooms.

"This is a super silky, lustrous fiber," says Allen. "People compare it to cashmere, but I think it's actually softer than cashmere."

Luxurious alpaca fiber blankets are found on all guest beds, an especially welcoming touch for nippy early spring nights. The cuddly teddy bears and swaddling throws add soft, homey touches in each of the seven guest rooms. Adding to the elegant yet comfy ambience are fireplaces in several suites and, in two, Jacuzzi tubs.

When construction began on the house in 1848, it was part of a 600-acre plantation and was to be Thomas McElroy's wedding gift to his 17-year-old bride, Sarah Jane Maxwell. It was finished in 1851, and the couple moved into the 13-room home with its lavish Italianate architectural accents a week after Sara Jane's 20th birthday.

Visitors today can still appreciate the home's graceful craftsmanship, arched window panes, 2 1/2-foot cornices, 14-foot high ceilings and nine-foot windows, as well as gleaming hardwood floors and a cherry staircase to a spacious, antique appointed sitting hall.

Considered one of the best preserved antebellum homes in the Commonwealth, Maple Hill Manor is in the heart of Kentucky's picturesque Bluegrass Region, in a peaceful country setting with a 3,000-acre race horse farm on one side and a 300-acre cattle and tobacco farm on the other. In the immediate vicinity are the innkeepers' 100-plus fruit tree orchard, 200-plus raspberry bush bed and a Nature Preserve.

Over the past century and a half, Maple Hill has been used as a Civil War Hospital, the childhood home of former New York Giants' quarterback Phil Simms, a popular dinner hall and a children's home. A Kentucky Landmark Home, it has been a bed and breakfast for 19 years and owned by Allen and Horton for the past seven.

Famous Kentuckians or notables who left their mark on the Bluegrass lend their names to the guest rooms, each of which is outfitted with antique furnishings and private baths: the McElroys, whose name brands the lavish honeymoon suite; distinguished wildlife artist John James Audubon; composer Stephen Foster who gave the 15th state its beloved anthem with "My Old Kentucky Home;" Abraham Lincoln, whose mahogany wood-trimmed Library Suite (the customized bookcases hold 600 books); and writer Elizabeth Madox Roberts, whose roomy suite looks out via three windows onto the undulating countryside.

Two other rooms, the adjoining Kentucky Artisans Suite and the Harriett Beecher Stowe Suite, are well-suited for family and ladies groups. The former features a double antique sleigh bed and a Jenny Lind twin bed; the latter also has antique beds, plus a view of the lake.

The inn can accommodate up to 20 guests with most of the rooms featuring queen-size beds. Luxury is in the details, from Italian tile to 600-thread count sheets, alpaca blankets, Turkish towels and antique European china — but the indulgence doesn't end with the rooms.

"Each evening, we serve a warm homemade dessert, local wines, specialty teas, hot cocoa and our own specialty evening drink — hot toddies," says Allen, noting that Maple Hill prides itself on using Kentucky-made products, wines and spirits.

Guests may unwind beneath the soft lighting provided by an antique chandelier, join a game of cards or curl up with a good book. In the morning, they'll be gently roused by chamber music and the wafting aromas of freshly brewed coffee and Chef Horton's signature Eggs in a Basket (scrambled eggs and cheese wrapped in a crescent shaped like a basket).

Breakfast offerings might include maple-glazed bacon, cranberry and cream cheese-stuffed French toast, lemon soufflé pancakes and other fragrant concoctions. The morning meal is served on crystal in the dining room, where one of the walls displays a 1960s-era mural of a scene depicting the house when it was built — a discovery made after the old wallpaper came down.

In a converted shed steps away from the main house is Manor Cottage Gifts, with a display of teddy bears, sweaters, capes, slippers, gloves, hats and other items.

Area attractions include historic Bardstown, My Old Kentucky Home, My Old Kentucky Dinner Train, Abraham Lincoln's Birthplace National Museum in Hodgenville, Lincoln Homestead State Park & Golf Course, the Bourbon Trail and area wineries, including Springhill Winery and Lover's Leap Winery.

Turn up the winding country drive and let yourself be delighted by the alpacas and llamas — pygmy goats, too — and charmed by the bed and breakfast. Most likely, you'll be met at the door by the inn's two unofficial greeters, golden retrievers Sophie and Samson, and ushered into a weekend of peace and pampering.

IF YOU GO

Getting there

Driving: Springfield, Ky., is about 390 miles north of Atlanta, about a 6 1/2-hour drive.

Flying: Delta Air Lines offers nonstop direct service from Atlanta to Lexington, which is about an hour's drive from Springfield. Expect to pay about $450 round trip.

About the inn

Historic Maple Hill Manor is at 2941 Perryville Road, U.S. 150 East, Springfield, Ky. Rooms start at about $110 a night. Check the Web site for special packages, such as the $499 Ultimate Honeymoon or Anniversary Escape, which includes two nights accommodations in a double Jacuzzi room, either the McElroy Honeymoon Hideaway or Stephen Collins Foster Room (each additional night to be discounted 20 percent); full gourmet breakfast each morning at a separate dining room table or a breakfast tray suitable for breakfast in bed; private, four-course dinner by candlelight at the inn for one night (additional nights may be added); welcome "tray of treats" and a keepsake gift from the inn. 1-800-886-7546, www.maplehillmanor.com

What to do

In Bardstown:

• Civil War Museum of the Western Theatre, Museum Row, 310 E. Broadway. 502-349-0291, www.bardstown.com/~civilwar

• My Old Kentucky Home State Park, 501 E. Stephen Foster Ave. 1-800-323-7803, www.state.ky.us/agencies/parks/kyhome.htm.

• My Old Kentucky Dinner Train, 602 N. Third St. 1-866-801-3463, www.kydinnertrain.com.

• Kentucky Bourbon Trail sites including Heaven Hill Distilleries Bourbon Heritage Center, 1311 Gilkey Run Road, 502-337-1000, www.bourbonheritagecenter.com; Jim Beam American Outpost, Hwy. 245, 502-543-9877, www.jimbeam.com; Maker's Mark Distillery, 3350 Burks Springs Road, 270-865-2099, www.makersmark.com; and Oscar Getz Museum of Whiskey History and the Bardstown Historical Museum, 114 N. Fifth St., 502-348-2999, www.whiskeymuseum.com.

In Hodgenville:

• Abraham Lincoln's Birthplace National Historic Site, 2995 Lincoln Farm Road, www.nps.gov.

In Springfield

• Lincoln Homestead State Park & Golf Course, 2079 Lincoln Park Road, 859-336-7461, parks.ky.gov/findparks/recparks/lh. Hours: 8 a.m.-7 p.m. (hours extend with daylight). Admission: $2/per person for tours of the Lincoln Cabin & Blacksmith Shop and Barry House (May 1-Sept. 30) that can also include the just renovated Mordecai Lincoln House (Note: An appointment is needed for this house).

• Washington County Courthouse, Main and Cross streets, site of the original Thomas Lincoln and Nancy Hanks marriage records. 859-336-5425, www.springfieldky.org/attractions.shtml#courthouse. (Original documents currently being restored but due back mid-April; call before visiting.)

• Springhill Winery, 3205 Springfield Road/Hwy. 55. 502-252-9463, www.springhillwinery.com.

Where to eat

In Springfield

• Mordecai's on Main, 105 W. Main St., is Springfield's only fine dining restaurant, with seafood, steaks and chops, plus live entertainment on weekends. Entrees, with side dish, soup and salad, $12-$18. 859-336-3500, mordecaisonmain.com. For melt-in-your-mouth pie, visit country-style Cecconi's Restaurant next door, 117 W. Main St. $2.45 a slice. 859-336-5136.

In Bardstown:

• The Euro-spiced Kreso's Family Restaurant & Mozart Café (everything from Jaeger Schnitzel to Cordon Blue to Trout a la Navarra) is tucked into two former historic theaters, 218 N. Third St., 502-348-9594, www.kresosweb.com ($6.95-$21.95).

• Kurtz Restaurant, 418 E. Stephen Foster Ave., is American fare in historic digs. 502-348-8964. ($7.95-$18.95)

• The Old Talbott Tavern, 107 W. Stephen Foster Ave., serves up Southern specialties including the Old Kentucky Hot Brown, Mrs. Eleanor's homemade chicken and dumplings and fried chicken slow cooked in a seasoned iron skillet ($7.95-$19.95). 502-348-3494; www.talbotts.com.

• For a fun lunch stop, head to Hurst Drug Store Soda Fountain, 102 N. Third St. ($3.20-$4.57; $6.42 for sandwich and one of Hurst's famous milkshakes). 502-348-9261.

Information

Bardstown-Nelson County Tourist & Convention Commission, One Court Square, Bardstown Ky. 1-800-638-4877, www.bardstowntourism.com