Our team, along with local expert naturalists will guide you during the comprehensive programme of activities across the 600-acre Aigas estate. Ideal for photographers and non-photographers this Festival of Wildlife offers a range of activities with talks and master classes ranging in topics from photography, UK wildlife and conservation projects. We have exclusive access to the well-established specialist hide network to observe and photograph some of the most iconic species in the British Isles including pine marten, badger, red deer and beavers.
The long spring days will allow plenty of time to explore the spectacular glens and straths and the evocative ancient Caledonian pine forest where European crested tit and Scottish crossbill thrive, while golden eagles may be encountered in the more rugged areas. Pine marten and badgers are regularly seen and photographed from the purpose-built hides and along the banks of Aigas Loch we look for resident beavers or visiting otters.
Read General Manager Dan Free's blog from our inaugural Festival for more inspiration.
Typical Itinerary
Day1: Arrival & introduction to Aigas
Meeting in Inverness we begin our transfer by minibus to the Aigas Field Centre. On arrival we will gather for an introduction and meet the team who will be accompanying us for the week. Depending on the time, we may be able to explore some of the nearby trails before dinner.
With exclusive use of the Aigas Estate we visit the hides and forests to the glens, lochs and firths to encounter Scotland's abundant wildlife. Each day will be filled with nature-based activities and workshops. If photography is your main interest, or you prefer binoculars, we will endeavour to cater to your interests. The team will carefully select activities daily, according to weather reports, tide timetables and when potential subjects are at their best and most reliable. The itinerary will be flexible as a result and will look to include as many opportunities and species that the field centre has to offer. We divide up into small groups and head out on daily excursions before re-joining at mealtimes.
Heading west to Glen Affric National Nature Reserve, often considered as one of the most scenic and iconic glens in Scotland, we explore the ancient Caledonian pine forest to look for warblers and other passerines, crossbills and crested tits, divers on the lochs and always keeping an eye on the horizon for the possibility of eagles. At Cromarty we embark on a two-hour boat trip in search of the Moray Firth’s resident population of bottlenose dolphins, as well as an array of seabirds. With a team of expert naturalist guides we search for the world’s fourth largest eagle and Britain’s rarest breeding raptor, the white-tailed sea eagle before bringing our gaze to the shoreline, along which otters rummage and fish. The photography workshops with Nick Garbutt and Alex Hyde make good use of the established hide networks where we have the opportunity to observe and photograph badgers and pine marten in the evening.
Each evening we gather in the Baronial Hall for a sumptuous dinner followed by an informal talk given by one of the team. Talks will be varied but each will be informative and entertaining.
Day8: Departure
This morning, after our final breakfast, it's time for our wildlife adventure in the Scottish Highlands to come to an end as we return to Inverness for our onward travel arrangements.
Key info
Duration and price excluding international flights: 8 daysfrom £3,295 pp
Naturalist and television wildlife presenter Nick Baker is host of BBC Autumnwatch Unsprung and Springwatch Unsprung, and presents the highly popular Weird Creatures series.
A lifelong naturalist, broadcaster and author, Nick is a self-confessed all-rounder (although he's not very good with plants). He has travelled the world as a film-maker, explorer and tour guide for the best part of 25 years and enjoyed every minute of it (except those spent in airports!). He's particularly into the world’s misunderstood creatures, those that are a little ugly and odd and those people love to hate. He has a particular penchant for South East Asia and has worked extensively with the reefs and rainforests of this region. Closer to home Nick enjoys exploring the wildlife of Dartmoor National Park and to the Isle of Mull where one of his favourite moments was when he was lucky enough to see a golden and white-tailed eagle on the same day!
Mike Dilger has been an obsessive naturalist since childhood, equally at home either identifying wild flowers in the British countryside, or surveying the Amazon for hummingbirds.
With degrees in Botany and Ecology, Mike’s obsession with the tropics began when studying moths in the South American Andes. This then led to over five years carrying out research work in the tropical forests of Ecuador, Vietnam, Tanzania and Peru.
Finally emerging out of the bush and returning to Britain to find a job in television, Mike is probably best known as the wildlife expert on the BBC’s The One Show. Pontificating about everything from bumblebees to basking sharks, Mike has racked up over 450 appearances during his 15 years on the show.
His main job now is as a professional plate spinner, which involves intermingling TV commitments, tour-leading, writing and giving talks. Mike leads trips for Wildlife Worldwide from the Somerset Levels to the Scottish Highlands in the UK, while abroad he takes guests to Ecuador and Madagascar.
A columnist for BBC Wildlife Magazine, Mike has also written eight nature-themed books, with his most recent being One Thousand Shades of Green - A Year in Search of Britain’s Wild Plants.
General Manager of Wildlife Worldwide Dan graduated with an MSc in Zoology, before spending six weeks exploring India’s tiger reserves.
Venturing on to Central and South America and finally Africa, he worked on conservation projects and gained a wealth of big-cat and wildlife knowledge, before returning to the UK where he worked for several years in ecological consultancy, conducting protected species surveys and speclaising in ornithology and herpetology.
Since joining the world of wildlife travel in 2011, Dan has led, pioneered and researched trips to a huge range of destinations in pursuit of some of the world's most sought after species. His enthusiasm for nature and conservation is contagious and his binoculars are never far from reach. Dan's fascination of the natural world extends through all taxa, from the badgers and foxes of his back garden and to the melanistic leopards and snow leopards of India, the Sunda clouded leopard of Borneo and aardvarks of Botswana. In truth there is very little about the natural world which evades Dan's interest!
Emma is a popular and experienced wildlife photographer and tour guide, whose images have been printed in wildlife photography magazines.
Emma has led workshops on camera settings, getting the best shots in the field as well as post production, to making sure clients can achieve their best images. Having had a passion for all things nature since she was very young, Emma travels across the globe to capture the wildlife in each area, and often supplies international agencies with photographs. With a love for primates, she is captivated by any living things from large mammals to tiny insects and macro photography.
Nick Acheson lives where he grew up, in North Norfolk. Following his two degrees, he lived for ten years in South America, working with conservation NGOs including WWF.
He has also spent four years in Asia and has worked with wildlife on every continent and ocean. Nick is an ambassador for Norfolk Wildlife Trust, a trustee of Pensthorpe Conservation Trust (which headstarts curlews and leads the reintroduction of the corncrake in East Anglia) and a patron of Felbeck Trust. For his book The Meaning of Geese, he cycled 1,200 miles on his mother's 40-year-old bicycle, following the lives of the wild geese which visit Norfolk each winter. From his flint cottage by a village duckpond he gazes at the sky, watches the birds that pass, swims in rivers and the sea, and walks far and wide across the countryside.
Bret is an award-winning wildlife photographer with a background in the wildlife travel and safari industry, with a particular interest in African and Australian wildlife.
After spending a year in Australia to pursue wildlife photography, he was rewarded with success at the prestigious Australian Geographic Nature Photographer of the Year competition, as well as winning the Birds in Flight category in Bird Photographer of the Year. Bret has experience leading groups in Europe, the Americas and in Africa.
The historic home of renowned naturalist Sir John Lister-Kaye, the House of Aigas and Field Centre has arguably become one of the finest nature and conservation centres in the British Isles and a premier location to truly experience the wildlife and stunning landscapes of the Scottish Highlands.
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Where: Scottish Highlands
Ideal for viewing: pine marten, red deer, crested tit, goldcrest, golden eagle
Excellent for: Wildlife festivals, Wildlife photography, Photography tours With Nick Garbutt, Birdwatching
The Moray Firth, a large coastal inlet is a spectacular and largely unspoilt part of Northern Scotland, famed for its colony of bottlenose dolphins. This coastal stretch is home to a wealth of other marine life including basking shark, grey seal, minke whale and harbour porpoise.
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Situated around the gardens and wooded areas of Aigas Estate in the heart of the Scottish Highlands and within easy walking distance of Aigas House, the timber cabins accommodate up to 40 guests. The cabins are completely self-contained, tastefully furnished and equipped with en suite bedrooms.
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