Posts for August, 2025

As climate changes accelerates and weather extremes become more frequent, the need to create diverse, resilient landscapes grows ever more important. Trees play a critical role in the landscape, providing essential shade, shelter and forage, as well as slowing the flow of water off the hills, maintaining soil health and enabling food production.

This immersive learning day provides a unique opportunity to find out everything you want to know about tree planting, tree protection and woodland management at the multi-award-winning Lynbreck Croft, owned by Lynn Cassells and Sandra Baer. With 28 years of combined practical experience, Lynn and Sandra are creating a landscape at Lynbreck where trees and food production go hand in hand.

With practical hands-on learning opportunities and Lynn’s expert guidance, this course will help you to observe and understand the varied ways that trees are nurtured, managed and utilised on a working croft, emphasising their central place within a landscape that benefits nature, climate and people.

The Learning Day will cover:
– tree planting best practise
– small and large scale planting schemes, from wood pasture to continuous woodland blocks
– planning and planting an orchard
– creating shelterbelts
– tree protection and deer/rabbit management
– existing woodland and decaying wood management
– grazing of herbivores and pigs in woodlands
– creating and establishing hedgerows
– planting and harvesting tree hay for livestock
– firewood processing and making charcoal for domestic use

Across mainland Europe, the Eurasian lynx is staging a comeback. Freed from the pressures of unsustainable hunting and benefiting from a softening of public attitudes, this enigmatic feline has been successfully reintroduced into several countries and is now growing in numbers and expanding its range.

This special Learning Day will explore what a reintroduction in Scotland might look like, what challenges we might face and how we might manage coexistence.

We will also explore what it would be like to walk in the lynx’s footsteps once again, as we sharpen our senses to forgotten cues and learn how to identify and track pine martens, wildcats, badgers and foxes, comparing their behaviours and signs to those of a lynx. We will learn to think both like a lynx and like the lynx’s prey, experiencing the landscape through their eyes, ears and noses, as we seek to re-imagine how our woodlands would feel in the presence of this apex predator.

The Learning Day will cover:
– An introduction to lynx ecology and behaviour
– What a Scottish reintroduction might look like
– How a lynx reintroduction could benefit Scotland
– Remaining barriers to a lynx reintroduction and how they might be overcome
– Thinking like a lynx – tracking skills and the art of silent stalking
– Living with lynx – a fresh look at life (and death) through the eyes of a roe deer

Join us for a walk around Moray’s earliest surviving tower house, reputedly built for Scotland’s vilest man, Alexander Stewart—the infamous Wolf of Badenoch. Drumin Castle, an impressive medieval fortification, stands on a commanding bluff overlooking the confluence of the River Livet and the River Avon.

Upon reaching the castle, you’ll learn about its architecture, history, and the notorious Wolf, whose evil deeds continue to cast a long shadow over Moray’s history.

Drumin Castle has now reopened after masonry repairs, with access to the first floor now possible via a narrow stone staircase. Sensible footwear is recommended.

Step back in time and uncover the mystery of the Picts with the Glenlivet & Inveravon Heritage and Dark Sky Ranger. This engaging talk and tour will introduce you to the Pictish people, their unique art, and the symbol stones that continue to inspire centuries after they were carved.

Set within the ancient and atmospheric site of Inveravon Church—an important place of worship and pilgrimage for generations—we’ll closely examine the intricate carvings on the four remarkable Pictish stones discovered here. You’ll learn how these enigmatic symbols fit into a wider cultural story and how the Picts helped lay the foundations of modern Scotland.

Join Lynn Cassells, co-owner of Lynbreck Croft, for an immersive learning day focused on planting, growing and working with trees, surrounded by the inspiring landscapes of the Cairngorms National Park.

As climate changes accelerates and weather extremes become more frequent, the need to create diverse, resilient landscapes grows ever more important. Trees play a critical role in the landscape, providing essential shade, shelter and forage, as well as slowing the flow of water off the hills, maintaining soil health and enabling food production.

This immersive learning day provides a unique opportunity to find out everything you want to know about tree planting, tree protection and woodland management at the multi-award-winning Lynbreck Croft, owned by Lynn Cassells and Sandra Baer. With 28 years of combined practical experience, Lynn and Sandra are creating a landscape at Lynbreck where trees and food production go hand in hand.

With practical hands-on learning opportunities and Lynn’s expert guidance, this course will help you to observe and understand the varied ways that trees are nurtured, managed and utilised on a working croft, emphasising their central place within a landscape that benefits nature, climate and people.

A circular walk, led by RSPB archaeologist Jill Harden

Step back in time and uncover the mystery of the Picts with the Glenlivet & Inveravon Heritage and Dark Sky Ranger. This engaging talk and tour will introduce you to the Pictish people, their unique art, and the symbol stones that continue to inspire centuries after they were carved.

Set within the ancient and atmospheric site of Inveravon Church—an important place of worship and pilgrimage for generations—we’ll closely examine the intricate carvings on the four remarkable Pictish stones discovered here. You’ll learn how these enigmatic symbols fit into a wider cultural story and how the Picts helped lay the foundations of modern Scotland.

This is an opportunity to connect with Scotland’s ancient past, surrounded by the stunning scenery of Speyside.

Practical Information:

Meeting point: Access to Inveravon Church and burial ground is via a single-track road off the A95, about half a mile north of the entrance to Ballindalloch Castle. Follow the brown tourist sign for the Inveravon Pictish Stones.

Parking: Available at the bottom of the drive and in front of the church building.

Family-friendly: Young visitors are often fascinated by the Picts and are warmly encouraged to attend. All children and youth under 16 attend free.

Inveravon Church is currently under threat of closure and sale by the Church of Scotland. The local community is working hard to preserve it as a heritage centre and community hub. Your support helps keep this unique site alive and accessible for future generations.

Please note that toilet facilities are not available on site. Public toilets are available in Cragganmore at Ballindalloch Station on the Speyside Way or in Aberlour.

Well behaved dogs may attend but must be leashed.

This event is generously funded by Foundation Scotland from the Dorenell Wind Farm Community Benefit Fund.

“Glenlivet — it has castles three: Drumin, Blairfindy and Deskie…”

Step back in time and explore the hidden histories of Glenlivet on this easy, guided walk to the recently conserved 16th-century tower house of Blairfindy.

We begin at the world-famous Glenlivet Distillery, where our journey through one of Scotland’s most iconic glens begins — a landscape once shaped by powerful families, illicit distillers, and whisky smugglers.

On the way, enjoy stunning views and discover:

· Tales of smuggling and illicit stills in the hills of Glenlivet
· The strategic role of castles like Blairfindy
· How Glenlivet became a name known around the world for whisky

Blairfindy Castle, completed in 1564 by John Gordon, is a remarkable L-plan tower house — still standing proud after centuries. Thanks to recent conservation efforts by the Tomintoul & Glenlivet Landscape Partnership and the National Lottery Heritage Fund, the castle is open to visitors for the first time in decades and now also supports nesting birds and pollinators.

Meeting point: Outside the Glenlivet Distillery Stillhouse
(under the green signpost marked “Blairfindy Castle ½ mile”)

Parking: Available at the Glenlivet Distillery car park

Booking advised: Reserve your spot in advance or email to confirm Heritage Ranger availability.

Suggested donation: £4 (supporting local heritage tourism – free for under-16s)

Family-friendly: Children love castles — and they’re very welcome!

Join us for a history walk through the world-famous glen of Glenlivet.

We would like to express thanks to Foundation Scotland, who help to fund this event through the Dorenell Wind Farm Community Benefit Fund.

Step back in time and uncover the mystery of the Picts with the Glenlivet & Inveravon Heritage and Dark Sky Ranger. This engaging talk and tour will introduce you to the Pictish people, their unique art, and the symbol stones that continue to inspire centuries after they were carved.

Set within the ancient and atmospheric site of Inveravon Church—an important place of worship and pilgrimage for generations—we’ll closely examine the intricate carvings on the four remarkable Pictish stones discovered here. You’ll learn how these enigmatic symbols fit into a wider cultural story and how the Picts helped lay the foundations of modern Scotland.

This is an opportunity to connect with Scotland’s ancient past, surrounded by the stunning scenery of Speyside.

Practical Information:

Meeting point: Access to Inveravon Church and burial ground is via a single-track road off the A95, about half a mile north of the entrance to Ballindalloch Castle. Follow the brown tourist sign for the Inveravon Pictish Stones.

Parking: Available at the bottom of the drive and in front of the church building.

Family-friendly: Young visitors are often fascinated by the Picts and are warmly encouraged to attend. All children and youth under 16 attend free.

Inveravon Church is currently under threat of closure and sale by the Church of Scotland. The local community is working hard to preserve it as a heritage centre and community hub. Your support helps keep this unique site alive and accessible for future generations.

Please note that toilet facilities are not available on site. Public toilets are available in Cragganmore at Ballindalloch Station on the Speyside Way or in Aberlour.

Well behaved dogs may attend but must be leashed.

This event is generously funded by Foundation Scotland from the Dorenell Wind Farm Community Benefit Fund.

EXPLORE WALKING HOLIDAYS IN SCOTLAND: WALK ON THE WILD SIDE IN THE CAIRNGORMS NATIONAL PARK

When you explore walking holidays in Scotland with a focus on wildlife encounters, you’ll find this trip on your radar. This trip takes place in the Cairngorms National Park, Britain’s largest National Park.

visit the Strathspey Wildlife Hide managed by Speyside Wildlife
walk on the RSPB Abernethy reserve with the opportunity to see Scottish Crossbill, Crested Tit and even the elusive Capercaillie
keep your eye out for ptarmigan and snow bunting when we head up Cairngorm