From start to finish, the week's course was excellent: the wonderfully warm Aigas welcome from Sir John and Lady Lucy and their team, the delicious food, comfortable accommodation and, of course, the prime reason for booking this particular course - Laurie Campbell's excellent tuition. I learnt a lot in a variety of wildlife locations and in a very relaxing environment. It was my third visit to Aigas and I hope there will be other opportunities to return - one day the Aigas badgers will put in an appearance for me!

A fantastic week. The welcoming speech informs you that you are there as guests of the family and that certainly comes through. All the staff were excellent. The Rangers were very knowledgable, personable and multi-talented (proven at the Ceilidh evening). Our photography course with Laurie Campbell was very instructional and enjoyable. Shame the dolphins did not follow the script but photographing pine martens was a memorable experience and was the same with leaping salmon and trout. Good accommodation, lovely people, the scenic Highlands and to top it all off delicious evening meals in a very grand setting. Thanks to you all.

My early morning walk (06.00hrs) was rewarded with almost every step - seeing the Red Squirrels chasing each other up & down the huge Sequoia Redwoods while the early blackbirds awoke numerous other song birds the list would be more than 25 without trying too hard. The estate grounds are huge with your very own loch to explore. My main objective was to reach the loch-side Beaver Lodge before they all retired for the day after feeding and home building during the early hours. Approaching quietly (nobody else was up yet) I spotted the young male Beaver chewing on his last "bread stick" a freshly cut branch from his favored Aspen tree. What a picture! it sure made my day but then again every day was literally made for us all. I joined my wife and the other birding group members for strong coffee served personally by Lady Lucy as was hot porridge for those wishing to "fill up" before the days adventures. Lord John - an expert naturalist - reminded us to note & report back any "special sightings" during his pre-dinner drinks visit. A Red Throated Diver; Black Throated Diver & Crossbill all on one day possibly impressed me rather more than him - but I am no birder. This mattered not as the fantastic group we accompanied were all very keen to share their knowledge and help us with identifying more than one hundred species during the week. Best of all was our Ranger/guide/driver/map-reader/tee coffee maker & most important qualified nursing "Tick" remover! Namely - Jenny Campbell. She was admired by us all so much that we all wanted to take her home but she would not leave AIGAS - which was no surprise. For a wildlife experience and a chance to see Beavers Badgers & Pine Martens up close in the most tranquil & scenic country side of the Scottish Highlands YOU MUST GO TO "AIGAS FIELD CENTRE" Visit www.aigas.co.uk for all details and dates.