A Week of Wild Delights in the Scottish Highlands

The Scottish Highlands were the setting of our inaugural Festival of British Wildlife, which operated in late May 2022. Based on the fabulous Aigas Estate, guests were treated to a week of fantastic British wildlife in the company of the on-site rangers and our expert Festival team of naturalists and photographers.

Run by the Lister-Kaye family, the 220-hectare estate provides opportunities to see a wealth of bird and mammal species through a network of walking trails and viewing hides, but is also ideally located for exploring the surrounding Glens and for full-day excursions to the Black Isle and West Coast of Scotland.

Red squirrels were a common sight throughout the estate grounds, and with the aid of floodlit hides, we were able to enjoy superb views of both badgers and pine martens at close quarters. A family of beavers were seen daily in the half-light of dawn and dusk on the Aigas Loch, emerging from their lodge to feed on the marginal sedges.

A surprise visit to the loch from a female white-tailed eagle caused much excitement, even attracting the attention of an osprey, that though dwarfed in size, proceeded to mob the enormous bird – the two birds locking talons in an aerial dog fight.

In late May, summer migrants were arriving almost daily, and the woods were filled with the sound of willow warbler and cuckoo, while several spotted flycatchers took up residence around the Baronial Hall. On excursions to the nearby Glens of Strathconon and Strathfarrar, we were treated to sightings of golden eagle, wood warbler, whinchat and breeding whooper swans, alongside hundreds of red deer. Stands of bog, rich in sphagnum moss and carnivorous sundews, held populations of enormous Dolomedes raft spiders, the perfect subjects for the macro photographers in the party.

In Glen Affric, we were able to immerse ourselves in some of the finest remaining stands of Caledonian forest in Scotland, home to crested tits, Scottish crossbills and on the river below, families of dipper with newly fledged chicks. Early morning trips to the Moray Firth rewarded those willing to leave the warmth and comfort of their beds with sightings of otter and osprey, while full-day excursions to the Black Isle offered yet more variety in the form of bottlenose dolphin, auks and waders.

Travelling out to the west coast, to the small town of Gairloch and the beautiful stretch of coastline north of here, the group enjoyed yet further sightings of white-tailed and golden eagle, as well as great northern, red-throated, and black-throated divers. On the wind-swept sandy beach of Mellon Udrigle, sanderling and dunlin scurried in the surf and Arctic and common terns patrolled the waters offshore, with several splendid looking male wheatear on the dunes behind. Both grey and harbour seals were seen frequently, in addition to small pods of harbour porpoise and a very confiding pair of otters.

Returning to the estate for drinks by the fire and a sumptuous meal in the Baronial Hall, leaders and guests alike reflected on the day's sightings before retiring to the drawing room for a nightcap or even heading back out to one of the nocturnal hides.

The week was universally considered a great success, and we very much look forward to returning in late May 2024 to the Aigas Estate.

Images by Neil Aldridge, Moira Gardner, Ian Coley, Richard & Wendy Jones, Paul & Carole Nicholson.

Join us on our next Festival of British Wildlife! To book your place or to find out more, contact our team.