Cairngorms and coast wildlife vacation, Scotland

Planet

CARBON REDUCTION

To help reduce carbon emissions we have a centralised meeting and drop-off point at a public transport hub at the beginning and the end of the tour. Transport for this tour will be a mini-bus to reduce the number of vehicles that are used.

Food during the tour will almost always include Vegetarian and Vegan options as standard (dietary requirements are requested from guests prior to our tour commencing so this can be planned and catered for).

Our ‘no paper’ policy means that all our tour information is sent to guests digitally.

Our accommodation provider has as strong environmental policy and takes steps to reduce their impact on the local environment, such as replacing chemicals and single use plastics, reducing waste, recycling, introduction of energy saving methods, installation of EV charging points and increasing their vegetarian and vegan options on their menu.

ENVIRONMENT AND WILDLIFE

We travel in a small group with a maximum of 7 to minimise any impact on wildlife, habitats and local communities.

We encourage our guests to avoid using single-use plastics, instead bringing their own personal reusable water bottles and thermal mugs for the tour.

We also encourage our guests and our partners to exercise a Reduce, Reuse and Recycle mindset and take this forward on further travels.

This tour directly supports the Scottish charity Trees for Life, by planting at least one native tree in their woodland for every guest and leader who joins our tour.

As there are rare species sensitive to disturbance in Scotland, such as Capercaillie, we avoid visiting their habitats during the breeding season. The reasons for this are openly discussed on tour, along with other measures we can take to help rare and/or threatened species in Scotland.

During the tour itself we visit and meet the wardens and managers of various RSPB reserves. In addition to the financial donations given to this organisation and the local Braemar Nature Group, these visits also provide an educational element to our guests and promote conservation-orientated tourism beyond the tour.

People

LOCAL ECONOMY

We inspire our guests to think local: during the tour we will utilise goods and services provided by locally owned businesses, including our accommodation, transport and food, all of which contributes to the local economy. We pride ourselves on the good relationships we have developed and maintain with local businesses.

All food is purchased locally for the tour and there are opportunistic visits to local businesses and markets for guests to purchase local crafts and foods. We also encourage guests to try traditional foods where available.

EMPLOYMENT, INCLUSIVITY AND DIVERSITY

We utilise our well-developed network of local contacts to achieve optimal wildlife sightings, demonstrating our value of local knowledge and promoting the research and work of local nature groups across the Cairngorms and Aberdeenshire. This tour donates to the local Braemar Tourism Group to help fund the nature trail in the area.

We work with various local providers who, along with our own expert leaders, provide an authentic and exceptionally in-depth exploration of this region.

All our tours are LGTBQ+ friendly.