Where to begin? Soaring sea eagles, endearing puffins at our feet, dolphins blowing bubble rings and leaping, otters feeding and swimming, pine martens on the windowsill... fantastic! We had a really interesting talk from a local keeper, too, who gave us insight into life in Ardnamurchan.
R.C. Manchester, May 23
Tour Itinerary and Reports
- Itinerary
- Tour report - June 2024
- Tour report - May 2024
- Tour report - May 2024
- Tour report - June 2023
- Tour report - May 2023
- Tour report - May 2023
- Tour report - June 2022
- Tour report - June 2022
- Tour report - June 2022
- Tour report - May 2022
- Tour report - May 2022
- Tour report - June 2021
- Tour report - June 2021
- Tour report - May 2021
- Tour report - May 2019
- Tour report - May 2018
- Tour report - May 2018
- Tour report - May 2017
- Tour report - May 2017
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Ardnamurchan - Wild Scotland in Spring
Tour Code: GBR51An 8-day holiday focusing on the birds and mammals of the Ardnamurchan Peninsula in spring.
£1,795 (land only)
Highlights
Tour Itinerary and Reports
- Itinerary
- Tour report - June 2024
- Tour report - May 2023
- Tour report - May 2024
- Tour report - May 2024
- Tour report - May 2023
- Tour report - June 2023
- Tour report - May 2022
- Tour report - June 2022
- Tour report - June 2022
- Tour report - June 2022
- Tour report - May 2022
- Tour report - May 2021
- Tour report - June 2021
- Tour report - June 2021
- Tour report - May 2017
- Tour report - May 2018
- Tour report - May 2018
- Tour report - May 2019
- Tour report - May 2017
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Summary
As we do for our very popular autumn tours, we will spend 7 nights at the Glenborrodale Centre which is ideally situated on the peninsula’s southern coast. We will enjoy morning walks along Loch Sunart to look for Otters, and another enigmatic mustelid, the Pine Marten, can be enjoyed from the comfort of our living room. We will spend the week exploring the peninsula where Golden Eagles have a healthy population, as does the majestic White-tailed Eagle, while Hen Harrier, Merlin and Short-eared Owl may also be seen. During our stay we will take to the seas and a real highlight will be a full day visiting the fabulous Treshnish Islands. Puffins are the undisputed stars here and we will take a small tender to make a landing and get up close and personal to these wonderful birds. As well as all the exciting wildlife that a visit to Ardnamurchan provides, the feeling of being totally cut off from the hustle and bustle of the real world is a joy in itself.
- Visit Treshnish landing on Lunga to walk with Puffins and other seabirds
- Raptors including Golden and White-tailed Eagle, Hen Harrier
- Otters in the nearby lochs
- Pine Marten a regular visitor to our accommodation
- Chequered Skipper butterfly
- Stunning scenery in remote wilderness
Grading
Short easy walks onlyOutline Itinerary
What's Included?
- Accommodation: Comfortable and all en-suite at the Glenborrodale Centre throughout
- Food: All included in the price
Reviews
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Long awaited holiday after Covid and this did not disappoint. Excellent leaders who had the knowledge of the area and of all the flora and fauna there. Arranged itinerary and visiting areas in accordance with weather conditions for best sightings. Certainly went the extra mile to achieve requests and make this a tour to remember. Able to relax in the knowledge that we were in safe hands. Very friendly, professional service with an excellent choice of destinations. Previous tours have been very well led and where required a local guide has been on hand throughout. No problem when tours cancelled through Covid and offered the choice of a full refund or transfer of the booking to a later date or alternative, when available. Well organised and reliable service which together with any flight cancellations, etc., being re-organised by Naturetrek, leaves one to enjoy having all amendments taken care of, as and when necessary.
A.D. Nottinghamshire, June 22 -
A wonderful week exploring the Ardnamurchan peninsula with expert guides. Fabulous wildlife, great organisation, good accommodation and food. All brilliantly organised and every detail thought about to ensure each individual guest got great viewing and experiences. Naturetrek is a really well organised, friendly company to deal with. An extensive choice of trips worldwide makes them the go to company for our wildlife adventures.
M.B. Devon, June 22 -
Exceedingly well organised tour with a well thought out itinerary, comfortable accommodation and excellent food included. I've travelled with Naturetrek on numerous occasions and they have exceeded my expectations on every occasion. Everyone at Naturetrek is friendly, helpful and very knowledgeable.
E.F. Surrey, Jun 21 -
We saw otters, puffins, pine marten, an arctic skua, walked on empty beaches, had amazing meals, visited historic sites and made new friends. It was unbeatable value as we had the services of two enthusiastic expert guides throughout. Naturetrek are the best tour operator I've used. I've been with them to Scotland three times and there will be more.
J.T. Hertfordshire, Jun 21 -
This holiday had a good balance of mammals, birds, insects and plants. The tour leaders were fantastic - really enthusiastic, knowledgeable and worked very hard to ensure we had a great holiday. I loved the trips out to Lunga and Staffa islands to see the puffins and other seabirds. I also loved seeing otters and pine martens in the wild. I really enjoyed travelling with a group of people who had different interests and knowledge. Having never done a group holiday before I wasn't sure what to expect but it was great. I will definitely travel with Naturetrek again.
C.P, Hampshire, June 2021 -
We spent a week on the Ardnurmurchan peninsula in Scotland looking for wildlife which we saw everywhere. The rest of the party were very compatible and the guide amazingly good at his job. We saw all and more than we expected and will be more than happy to go on a further Naturetrek holiday and to recommend them to our friends. The weather was reasonable for Scotland, as good as we expected and the midges not too bad! We stayed in a very comfortable Bunkhouse and were looked after by a very helpful chef who had the care of everything in the Bunkhouse with assistance from his wife. Both the guide and Naturetrek were very helpful when I thought I had lost my i-pad but luckily it was found and all was well.
M.H. Oxfordshire -
The Ardnamurchan peninsula has stunning scenery which the rain did nothing to diminish. And when the sun came out it was even better! Eagles, deer, dolphins and, of course, the pine martens kept cameras clicking and binoculars ever at the ready. A lovely place to stay and the friendliest group of fellow travellers. A very knowledgeable leader who was also very great company and had a good sense of humour (which, I find, is often necessary with Naturetrek groups!).
M.E. South Lanarkshire -
Food was excellent, guide extremely knowledgeable and a very good driver.
C.H. Cambridgeshire -
It was well organised and the tour leader ran it at an easy pace. The catering at Glenborrodale is excellent. Good sightings of the expected birds.
M.F. London -
Good accommodation and food. In particular I enjoyed the trip to the Treshnish Islands immensely.
P.C. West Midlands -
All worked very well. Great to see Otters, especially great to see Pine Marten. Boat trip and Puffins wonderful!
B.J. West Midlands -
The accommodation was much better than "bunkhouse" standard and Alan provided excellent meals and was generally very helpful. Dave Pierce made every effort to make sure we got the maximum experience that the wildlife presented. I would certainly rate this at the top of Naturetrek's UK trips.
D.C. Edinburgh
Dates & Prices
2025
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The majority of our wildlife tours focus primarily on birds, allowing us to offer a huge choice of bird holidays. On most of our birdwatching tours we aim to see a wide variety of species, while taking time to enjoy other wildlife as well as cultural highlights and architecture.
Naturetrek Birdwatching Tours
We have one of the largest selections of professionally organised, small group birdwatching holidays around the world and all of our birdwatching tours are accompanied by at least one professional ornithologist leader with detailed knowledge of the area.
The majority of our bird tours have a relaxed, flexible approach which allows more time for photography, detailed wildlife exploration, leisure time and the region’s people, culture, history and architecture, while allowing the group to see a wide range of bird species.
Here is a small selection of our many bird holidays:
- Southern Morocco – an exploration of the birdlife in Morocco’s southern deserts, oases and mountains
- The Camargue in Spring – a short break to enjoy the spring birds of the Rhône Delta and Camargue wetland
- Wallcreepers & Cranes in Northern Spain – a 2-centre holiday focusing on Lammergeier, Wallcreepers, raptors, Cranes, bustards, sandgrouse and more!
- Madeira & Desertas Islands – A Seabird Extravaganza! – a short break focusing on special breeding seabirds, including a night on the remote Destertas Islands
- Peru – Macaws & Machu Picchu – searches for boobies, macaws and Inca Terns
- Spain & Morocco: Birding on Two Continents! – watch the spectacular spring bird migration from both sides of the Straits of Gibraltar
Our Bargain Birdwatching Selection
Our Bargain Bird Tours are intensive birdwatching holidays suitable for the serious birder. They are led by expert English-speaking local guides (and not accompanied from the UK by a tour leader). You can expect a higher-paced tour and to spend long hours in the field.
Our specialist recommends...
Byron Palacios - Tour Leader
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Mammal Watching Holidays
Many of the world’s mammals are instantly recognisable to us. Animals such as Lions, Tigers, elephants and bears capture our imaginations from an early age. At Naturetrek, we take great pleasure and pride in helping people to fulfil their lifelong dreams of seeing these iconic species in the wild. We also enjoy introducing our clients to some of the world’s more unusual mammals, many of which are just as fascinating.
Naturetrek Mammal Watching Tours
Many of our tours have a primary focus on mammals and we offer the widest choices of mammal-watching holidays across the globe, from the poles to the tropics. Our holidays are guided by at least one professional naturalist tour leader and usually benefit from additional guiding by expert local naturalist guides. We have holidays to see an incredible range of the world’s most sought-after mammals, such as orangutans, lemurs, bats, polar mammals, big cats, and mammals of the African savannah. A significant number of tours also targets some of the planet’s more unusual and elusive species, from pottos and pangolins to slender lorises and obscure cetaceans.
Here’s a selection of our mammal tours:
- India’s Kanha and Pench Tiger Reserves
- A cruise to Spitsbergen in search of Polar Bears
- A chance to see the ‘Big Five’ and much more in South Africa’s Kruger National Park
- Search for Blue, Fin and Sperm Whales in the Azores
- Close-up views of Brown Bear and Wolverine in Finland
- Enjoy the mammals of Kenya’s Masai Mara, while staying in luxury camps
- Search for elusive nocturnal mammals, such as Aardvark, Black-footed Cat and Aardwolf, in the Kalahari Desert
Bargain mammal selection
We offer a range of action-packed bargain holidays for the dedicated mammal enthusiast, which are exceptional value for money, from Belize to Zambia.
Our specialist recommends...
Paul Stanbury - Operations Manager
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Flight-free Wildlife Holidays
At Naturetrek we make full use of the Eurostar rail service through the channel tunnel, and of the ferry routes between England’s south coast and France and Spain, to offer a range of ‘flightless’ wildlife holidays in Belgium, Holland, France and Spain. In addition, we also offer the widest selection of wildlife holidays within the UK, none of which require a flight to participate in. Therefore, if you prefer not to fly, for whatever reason, we have a range of varied and exciting wildlife holidays for you to choose from, and we are committed to regularly adding more.
It is also the case that many of our other holidays within Europe are also accessible by rail. Generally, where there’s a will, there’s a way, and we’d be pleased to offer advice to anybody who wishes to join any of our tours within Europe by a means other than flying!
Our specialist recommends...
Kerrie Porteous - Operations Manager
Prefer to Travel in a Private Group?
For any interested natural history club or society, we can arrange for a private departure of this tour.
EnquireTour Reports
- Tour report - June 2024
- Tour report - May 2024
- Tour report - May 2024
- Tour report - June 2023
- Tour report - May 2023
- Tour report - May 2023
- Tour report - June 2022
- Tour report - June 2022
- Tour report - June 2022
- Tour report - May 2022
- Tour report - May 2022
- Tour report - June 2021
- Tour report - June 2021
- Tour report - May 2021
- Tour report - May 2019
- Tour report - May 2018
- Tour report - May 2018
- Tour report - May 2017
- Tour report - May 2017
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Why Naturetrek?
At Naturetrek we craft expertly-guided group and tailor-made wildlife holidays and cruises to all seven continents. On one of our holidays, you can be assured that our passionate team will enable you to experience and enjoy the best of the world's wildlife and natural spectacles in as comfortable and rewarding a manner as possible, caring as best we can for the environment in the process. We are proud to provide:
- The widest choice of wildlife holidays worldwide
- Tours managed and led by naturalists, for naturalists
- Outstanding value and exceptional customer service
Furthermore, as a Naturetrek client, our office team are always to on hand to help you – so if you have any queries about your holiday, whether before or after you have booked, we will be delighted to answer them on the phone. Please just give our team a call!
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