Winter Wildlife of the Cairngorms

Tour Code: GBR183

A 5-day break in search of the region's native and overwintering wildlife.

5 days from
£1,695 (land only)
book now

Highlights

Summary

Summary

On this tour we will be focusing on the most iconic birds and mammals of the Cairngorms National Park in the Scottish Highlands. On the mountains themselves we will look for Ptarmigan and wintering Snow Bunting, while the encircling Caledonian pine forests and heather moorlands hold Red Squirrel, three species of Crossbill (Common, Scottish and Parrot), Crested Tit, Red Deer and Mountain Hare. Both Red and Black Grouse are also possible, whilst lochs and marshes are home to wintering wildfowl and waders.

  • Mammals include Red Squirrel, Mountain Hare, Pine Marten and Red Deer.
  • Woodland birds including Siskin, Crossbill and Crested Tit possible.
  • Stunning scenery of the Cairngorm Mountains, Speyside and Caledonian pine forests.
  • Raptors including Golden Eagle and Hen Harrier.
  • Wintering coastal birds such as wildfowl, waders, grebes and divers.
  • Coastal visit for sea ducks.
  • Led by expert naturalist guide.

Grading

Grade B - moderate day walks involving some rough terrain and possibly deep snow.

Itinerary

Outline Itinerary

Day 1
Arrive Inverness, afternoon excursion
Day 2/4
Wildlife excursions around the Cairngorms and surrounds
Day 5
Return to Inverness after lunch
cloud_downloadDownload Full Itinerary
What's Included

What's Included?

  • Accommodation:

    We will be staying in a comfortable hotel near the Cairngorms National Park.

  • Food:

    All meals are included in the holiday cost, from the evening meal on day 1 to lunch on day 5.

Reviews
Dates & Prices

Dates & Prices

2025

Departures Availability Cost
Mon 27th Jan – Fri 31st Jan SPACES £1,695
Book Tour Show Details
Land only cost:
The "Land Only" cost is the tour price you will pay if you choose to arrange your own flights/transport.
£1,695
Single Room Supplement:
Single Room Supplement.
£125
Tour Leader:
Please note that, whilst we assign leaders to particular tours well in advance, we reserve the right to make changes if necessary
Chris Rose
Chris-Rose.jpg

Tour Leader: Chris Rose

Chris Rose is an award winning artist who specialises in paintings of wildlife, particularly birds, within the natural landscape. Recognised as one of the UK's leading wildlife artists he has exhibited widely in the UK and overseas and has been a member of the prestigious Society of Wildlife Artists (SWLA) for over 25 years. Until recently he was secretary of the SWLA and previously served on the board of governors of the Federation of British Artists (FBA) at the Mall Galleries, London.

He has won several awards including the Arts Club Award, British Birds journal's Bird Illustrator of the Year and was twice winner of Birdwatch magazine's Wildlife Artist of the Year. In 2015 he won the Wildlife Trusts Undersea Art Award and appeared on the BBC's Countryfile programme drawing underwater whilst scuba-diving.

His work appears in many books and he has been the subject of numerous magazine articles. A book of his paintings, In a Natural Light, was published in 2005 and was chosen as the Guardian newspaper's 'Natural History Book of the Year'. He has been the sole illustrator for many books including the Robins and Chats (Bloomsbury 2015), Swallows and Martins (Helm 1989) and Grebes of the World (Coleman 2003). He has had work in many other publications including the popular RSPB/AA Birds of Britain and Europe and the seminal work Handbook to the Birds of the World (Lynx Edicions 1992 - 2013).
Chris studied biology at Nottingham University, where he was president of the Ornithological Society, before embarking on an art career. A keen birder, his passions for birds, wildlife and art have taken him to many countries. He spent three months in Malaysia working on the Birds of the Thai-Malay Peninsula (Bloomsbury 1999) and in 2010 spent 5 ½ weeks with research scientists aboard a 20m yacht drawing and painting the wildlife and landscapes of South Georgia. The resulting exhibition raised funds and awareness for albatross conservation and he regularly gives illustrated talks on this and other subjects. 

  Array
(
    [180] => stdClass Object
        (
            [id] => 180
            [parent_id] => 165
            [level] => 2
            [path] => tour-focus/birds
            [title] => Birdwatching
            [alias] => birds
            [description] => 
Birding Tours Led by Expert Naturalists


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:



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...






"Try Coto Doñana & Extremadura for an excellent introduction to Europe's wetland and steppe birds. I would recommend our bargain holiday, 'Nepal – A Birdwatching Tour' for those interested in Siberian rarities and Ibisbill, while Costa Rica offers a chance to search for arguably the world's most beautiful bird, the Resplendent Quetzal."

Byron Palacios - Tour Leader




  


 


All Birdwatching Tours

            [params] => stdClass Object
                (
                    [category_layout] => 
                    [image_az] =>  https://i.assetzen.net/i/4nqk52HDKwI4/w:1500/h:824/q:70.jpg
                    [image_alt] => 
                )

            [metakey] => Birds
            [note] => 02
            [parent] => stdClass Object
                (
                    [id] => 165
                    [parent_id] => 1
                    [level] => 1
                    [path] => tour-focus
                    [title] => Tour Focus
                    [alias] => tour-focus
                    [description] => 
                    [params] => stdClass Object
                        (
                            [category_layout] => 
                            [image_az] => 
                            [image_alt] => 
                        )

                    [metakey] => 
                    [note] => 
                )

        )

    [186] => stdClass Object
        (
            [id] => 186
            [parent_id] => 165
            [level] => 2
            [path] => tour-focus/mammals
            [title] => Mammal Watching
            [alias] => mammals
            [description] => 
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:



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...







"Africa is perhaps the greatest continent for mammal-watching. I would recommend 'Botswana’s Desert & Delta (Mammals)' for combining stunning scenery and wildlife. We also offer a tour to Uganda which includes a chance to see Mountain Gorillas. And India, along with Tigers, has a superb variety of mammals. Closer to home, short breaks to Spain in search of Wolves and Iberian Lynx are hard to beat.”

Paul Stanbury - Operations Manager




  


All Mammal Watching Tours

            [params] => stdClass Object
                (
                    [category_layout] => 
                    [image_az] =>  https://i.assetzen.net/i/4nqk52HDKwI4/w:1500/h:824/q:70.jpg
                    [image_alt] => 
                )

            [metakey] => Mammals
            [note] => 08
            [parent] => stdClass Object
                (
                    [id] => 165
                    [parent_id] => 1
                    [level] => 1
                    [path] => tour-focus
                    [title] => Tour Focus
                    [alias] => tour-focus
                    [description] => 
                    [params] => stdClass Object
                        (
                            [category_layout] => 
                            [image_az] => 
                            [image_alt] => 
                        )

                    [metakey] => 
                    [note] => 
                )

        )

    [197] => stdClass Object
        (
            [id] => 197
            [parent_id] => 165
            [level] => 2
            [path] => tour-focus/no-fly-tours
            [title] => No Flight
            [alias] => no-fly-tours
            [description] => 
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...






"Our Picos & Plains tour offers an environmentally-friendly route down to Spain for some excellent birding and cetacean-watching. More broadly, we’re very keen for Naturetrek to offer the most dynamic, market-leading carbon-reduced holidays available, and we hope you enjoy browsing our list of no-flight wildlife holidays!” 

Kerrie Porteous - Operations Manager




All No Flight Tours

            [params] => stdClass Object
                (
                    [category_layout] => 
                    [image_az] =>  https://i.assetzen.net/i/4nqk52HDKwI4/w:1500/h:824/q:70.jpg
                    [image_alt] => 
                )

            [metakey] => No Fly Tours
            [note] => 31
            [parent] => stdClass Object
                (
                    [id] => 165
                    [parent_id] => 1
                    [level] => 1
                    [path] => tour-focus
                    [title] => Tour Focus
                    [alias] => tour-focus
                    [description] => 
                    [params] => stdClass Object
                        (
                            [category_layout] => 
                            [image_az] => 
                            [image_alt] => 
                        )

                    [metakey] => 
                    [note] => 
                )

        )

)

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.

Enquire
Why Naturetrek?

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!