From the comfort of the 240-hectare Aigas Estate, we spend a week celebrating some of the UK’s most iconic wildlife. With an expert Festival Team working alongside the Aigas rangers, we enjoy a mixed programme of excursions, talks and workshops ranging in topics from wildlife photography sculpting and painting to UK conservation projects. The trip is designed to cater for all wildlife interests and abilities, and the activities are conducted in small groups, with an excellent leader-to-participant ratio.
During the week, 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. In the evenings, we come together to enjoy a sumptuous meal in the Baronial Hall before heading back out to a nocturnal hide, or enjoying a night cap by the fire.
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.
Over the course of our weeklong stay, we enjoy a wide range of activities both on the estate and in the surrounding area, celebrating the region's fantastic wildlife. As with all of our Festivals of Wildlife, we are the only guests on-site and have the freedom to choose our programme for the week, allowing us to make the most of the prevailing weather conditions, which even in late May, can be temperamental.
On-site, a series of trails allows us to explore the mosaic of habitats present, including stands of coniferous forest, moorland, wildflower meadows and the Aigas Loch. Here we find a diverse range of birds and mammals, that with the arrival of summer migrants at this time will be changing almost daily. The trails are not strenuous, and slow peaceful walks can reveal a variety of resident and migrant passerines, in addition to possible visits from raptors including red kite, buzzard, goshawk and osprey. With such a diversity of habitats, the estate supports a wide range of plants and invertebrates, ideal subjects for the macro enthusiast.
In the early evening, our attention will shift from the birds to the mammals, as nocturnal species hidden from view during daylight hours begin their nightly rounds. From the comfort of specialist hides equipped with night lighting, we have the chance to see and photograph pine marten and badgers, and from the loch hide, the opportunity to see the beaver family that resides here. When conditions allow, we also run moth traps and bat walks, in addition to visiting the wildcat breeding programme.
Workshops will be offered for photography, wildlife sculpting and painting, allowing you to capture a moment from your time in the field or the hide, and creating your own animal in three dimension or on canvas.
A trip out to the West Coast offers the possibility of seeing otter, alongside some stunning scenery, as well as both white-tailed sea eagle and golden eagle, red-throated, black-throated and great northern divers and if the waters are calm, harbour porpoise and minke whale.
A visit to the Black Isle offers yet a different experience as we encounter a mix of farmland, woodland and coast. Coastal mudflats offer the chance of a variety of waders including curlew, dunlin and greenshank, while the fertile farmlands hold populations of skylark, red partridge and yellowhammer, as well as the recently reintroduced red kite. Arriving at Cromarty, we embark on an exhilarating 2-hour boat trip in search of the Moray Firth’s resident population of bottlenose dolphins, in addition to an array of seabirds, including common and black guillemot, razorbill, gannet and fulmar.
We also find time to visit the nearby Glens of Affric, Strathfarrar and Strathconon. Glen Affric National Nature Reserve is often considered as one of the most scenic and iconic glens in Scotland, however all three offer completely contrasting experiences. Between them, our visits should provide opportunities to see golden eagle, dipper, wood warbler and newly arrived cuckoos, amongst many other species and plenty of red deer! For the macro photography enthusiasts, the areas of heathland and bog hold populations of fabulous raft spiders and green tiger beetles, alongside carnivorous sundews and butterwort.
Each evening, we gather for pre-dinner drinks before enjoying a sumptuous meal in the Baronial Hall. It's an opportunity to reflect on the day's sightings and share highlights before potentially heading out to the hides or gathering for a bat walk. For those not returning to the field, there's the chance to enjoy a nightcap around the fire or even retire to your room with a natural history book from the library in hand.
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 £3,495 pp
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.
Emma is a popular and experienced wildlife photographer and tour guide, whose images have been printed in wildlife photography magazines.
Emma first entered the wildlife travel industry eight years ago, and now combines her role as a wildlife travel consultant with time in the field, leading wildlife photography trips. With a lifelong passion for travel and wildlife, she has a particular love for the smaller, often overlooked creatures of the world, specialising in macrophotography. She leads trips to a diverse range of destinations including Botswana, Bulgaria and Antarctica, and has travelled to all seven continents.
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!
Nick is an award-winning ceramic sculptor, who gains inspiration from the animal kingdom. The majority of her pieces are based on observations of animals in the field.
Many of her subjects are highly endangered and, in depicting them, she seeks to enlighten the viewer to their beauty, humour and tenderness. She aims to get under the skin of the animal, giving each sculpture its own personality.
Her work is widely exhibited in international collections, and in 2010 she won the Wildlife Artist of the Year Open Category. In 2012 was again a category winner and overall runner-up. Each year she makes the trophies for the Wildlife Photographer of the Year Competition. In 2015 she won the David Shepherd Wildlife Foundation 2015 Artist of the Year award with her fantastic collection of ceramic warthogs.
Ben is a published wildlife photographer with over 10 years experience, specialising in British mammals and birds.
Ben has been shortlisted in many high end competitions such as the British Wildlife Photography Awards and looks to further improve on this in the near future.
Ben has travelled to many countries from a young age including North and Central America, as well more widely in Europe. Ben's fascination for travelling helped fuel his passion for wildlife photography and couple with his infectious enthusiasm, he is an excellent young leader.
Darren is a graduate of the Royal College of Art, London, and he's a passionate watercolourist whose work is created entirely on location, drawn directly with the brush.
Darren has been a lifelong freelance artist, travelling and exhibiting widely, and was recently elected a full Member of the Royal Scottish Society of Painters in Watercolour. He has worked extensively with the BBC, appearing on Springwatch, Autumnwatch and Winterwatch as a live on-screen demonstrator and Artist in Residence, as well as on Landward, BBC Radio 4, Radio Scotland and STV.
He taught for many years at George Watson’s College, Edinburgh, Loretto's School, Musselburgh as well as Edinburgh College of Art, and has led painting courses to North Norfolk, Orkney, Arctic Norway and Sweden.
Driven to paint from life, Darren seeks to encourage and nurture enthusiasm through the experience, energy and freshness of first-hand observation and the connection then made to the natural world. He gives regular talks and demonstrations, describing his working methods both home and abroad.
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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