Programmes By Date - Aigas Field Centre

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.
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pickytripers

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pickytripers

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.
This was our first Road Scholar trip and we have already put a deposit down on our next trip. I particularly liked the small group model, even though this "small group" consisted of 32 people - a nice mix of former professions and interests. The Aigas Field Center and Rangers were welcoming. Everyone was personable and well informed. The food was spectacular. There was a good balance of activities. The Road Scholar model was indeed "value added" beyond what I could have planned myself.
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SuzanneLaX

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SuzanneLaX

This was our first Road Scholar trip and we have already put a deposit down on our next trip. I particularly liked the small group model, even though this "small group" consisted of 32 people - a nice mix of former professions and interests. The Aigas Field Center and Rangers were welcoming. Everyone was personable and well informed. The food was spectacular. There was a good balance of activities. The Road Scholar model was indeed "value added" beyond what I could have planned myself.
I concur with the praise from others for the standard week at Aigas. This is a special place. Every interaction with the staff at all levels was wonderful: * office staff -- Sheila and Marjorie * the rangers -- knowledgeable, cheerful, resourceful * the owners -- Sir John and Lady Lucy * even the kitchen staff (sorry I did not learn their names) We chose to extend our stay and do an extra day after the Highland House Party. They assigned ranger Jenny as our guide. She met with us a few times early in the week to understand what we were looking for. She came back with a proposal to go to the Cairngorms Mountain area. This was not on our itinerary for Highland House party, so we were pleased to see another part of Scotland. The 2 main attractions that she chose for us were: * Highland Folk Museum -- contains a 1700s village that was used for several scenes in Outlander -- really fascinating. This place also contains history and culture from other historic eras, but we did not take the time to see it all -- more for the next trip. * Cairngorms Mountain ski area -- this time of year covered with pink and purple heather in bloom. It is also a good spot for the Ring Ouzel -- a bird that we did not manage to see earlier in the trip. We found out that Jenny had spent the previous day scouting out the route -- checking timings, and toilet stops. That is emblematic for the level attention to detail to get when booking a trip at Aigas. Come and experience the joy.
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Shakespeare_Fan

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Shakespeare_Fan

I concur with the praise from others for the standard week at Aigas. This is a special place. Every interaction with the staff at all levels was wonderful: * office staff -- Sheila and Marjorie * the rangers -- knowledgeable, cheerful, resourceful * the owners -- Sir John and Lady Lucy * even the kitchen staff (sorry I did not learn their names) We chose to extend our stay and do an extra day after the Highland House Party. They assigned ranger Jenny as our guide. She met with us a few times early in the week to understand what we were looking for. She came back with a proposal to go to the Cairngorms Mountain area. This was not on our itinerary for Highland House party, so we were pleased to see another part of Scotland. The 2 main attractions that she chose for us were: * Highland Folk Museum -- contains a 1700s village that was used for several scenes in Outlander -- really fascinating. This place also contains history and culture from other historic eras, but we did not take the time to see it all -- more for the next trip. * Cairngorms Mountain ski area -- this time of year covered with pink and purple heather in bloom. It is also a good spot for the Ring Ouzel -- a bird that we did not manage to see earlier in the trip. We found out that Jenny had spent the previous day scouting out the route -- checking timings, and toilet stops. That is emblematic for the level attention to detail to get when booking a trip at Aigas. Come and experience the joy.