Posts for April, 2022

Scotland: The Big Picture. A leisurely walk and talk alongside the dynamic River Feshie with Peter Cairns, owner of Ballintean and advocate for landscape-scale habitat restoration, or rewilding. Peter will talk about the changes that have taken hold over the last 25 years and how his 120-acre ‘rewilding reserve’ fits into the wider ecological landscape.

A 2.5-mile Ranger-led walk following the Tomintoul Circular trail. Starting near the bird hide, which gives great views over one of Scotland’s best areas for breeding wading birds, we will see land management to help these endangered species. The walk continues along the Conglass water and also has wonderful views over the River Avon to the Cairngorms.

Family fun with the Glenlivet Ranger! Follow the self-guided one-mile trail of Red Squirrels through the woodland past the Adventure Playground and Snail Maze. Can you find all the wooden squirrels? Submit your creative photos of the wooden squirrels to the Glenlivet Ranger and see if you can get a photo of a real squirrel as well!

Look out for all the woolly waders around the hide and on the path through to Tomintoul. Can you see more in any of the local shops? Submit your creative photos of the knitted birds to the Glenlivet Ranger – can anyone get a photo of a real bird and a woolly one in the same shot?

A day of celebrations for 20 years of community land ownership at Dun Coillich. Join a guided walk led by our Forest Manager and native woodland expert Willie McGhee, who will guide you across the site, looking at the regenerating and planted woodland and how the site has changed over the last 20 years. This will be followed by a community picnic to round off the day!

Explore nature through the written word. Go for a wander with Guardian Country Diarist Merryn Glover to gather words and ideas for writing about nature. We will explore the woods and shoreline around Loch Insh and draw from our senses to craft poetry and short descriptive pieces. Open to anyone who can wield a pencil. Doesn’t require any nature knowledge‚ but equally good for people with expertise. Suitable for adults and children alike. Please arrive at the event promptly as we will depart together just after 3pm.

The Cateran Ecomuseum is a museum without walls, all its sites are outside. Situated on the 500-million-year-old Highland Boundary Fault – the great geological feature that divides the Scottish Highlands from the Lowlands, the area’s human history stretches back through millennia with sites identified from Neolithic times. Use the website’s itinerary builder to design your own adventure, choosing from mystic stone circles, hill forts, Macbeth’s tales and ancient battles.

Step inside and discover the sights and sounds of a lek, through the eyes of one of our rarest and most threatened birds: The capercaillie. Enjoy an immersive walk-through experience and find out more about this iconic species in their last UK stronghold, the Cairngorms National Park.

The Cairngorms Astronomy Group gives a brief introduction to the Dark Skies and what can be seen from Glenlivet Estate. We will also talk about the importance of night-time for wildlife. Followed by a short walk to look at the moon through binoculars while learning all about it. We will be using bat detectors to see if we can discover some of our local flying mammals.

Discover a hidden gem in the Glenlivet countryside. A three mile ranger-led walk to Scalan Seminary and Clash of Scalan with a climb partway up Tom Trumper with great views over Glenlivet. At this time of year there will be a good opportunity to see and hear moorland birds such as curlew and lapwing.