Aigas Field Centre is the creation of Sir John and Lady Lucy Lister-Kaye, and what a creation it is. It is a combination of love of the land and love of place, natural habitat restoration, and education. It is done with a passion that is contagious, and it is done well. The week is spent on the grounds of the Field Centre in cabins that are quite comfortable. Many cabins have two bedrooms separated by a common room and kitchen that encourages visiting. Each bedroom has two comfortable beds and a bathroom with tub and shower. Meals are taken at the main Estate House in the large common room. Lucy Lister-Kaye is the consummate hostess who makes everyone feel at home. She is also a superb cook who overseas the kitchen. She also helps to serve and makes certain that everyone's needs are met. That applies to those of us who have special dietary needs. Each day is spent in some sort of activity that took us around the grounds or the countryside, to acquaint us with the flora and fauna, the issues of reforestation and conservation, and return of wildlife species, or the history of human life on the land and in the country. My wife and I had the most amazing and wonderful week. We thoroughly enjoyed meeting the others in our group, each one accomplished in some way and each one interesting. Hikes were with experienced ranger guides and at a pace that we all could handle, and were interspersed with stops to observe and talk about what we saw. My wife and I plan to return for another Aigas program.
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Robert G
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Robert G
Aigas Field Centre is the creation of Sir John and Lady Lucy Lister-Kaye, and what a creation it is. It is a combination of love of the land and love of place, natural habitat restoration, and education. It is done with a passion that is contagious, and it is done well. The week is spent on the grounds of the Field Centre in cabins that are quite comfortable. Many cabins have two bedrooms separated by a common room and kitchen that encourages visiting. Each bedroom has two comfortable beds and a bathroom with tub and shower. Meals are taken at the main Estate House in the large common room. Lucy Lister-Kaye is the consummate hostess who makes everyone feel at home. She is also a superb cook who overseas the kitchen. She also helps to serve and makes certain that everyone's needs are met. That applies to those of us who have special dietary needs. Each day is spent in some sort of activity that took us around the grounds or the countryside, to acquaint us with the flora and fauna, the issues of reforestation and conservation, and return of wildlife species, or the history of human life on the land and in the country. My wife and I had the most amazing and wonderful week. We thoroughly enjoyed meeting the others in our group, each one accomplished in some way and each one interesting. Hikes were with experienced ranger guides and at a pace that we all could handle, and were interspersed with stops to observe and talk about what we saw. My wife and I plan to return for another Aigas program.
A truly wonderful experience. If you want to see Scottish wildlife with like-minded people and be treated almost royally by Sir John, Lady Lucinda and their remarkable team then you need look no further. We saw otter, beaver, golden eagle, pine martin and a wide variety of birds and plants whilst under the watchful eyes of the young and talented ranger team. In these days of feigned concern and superficial commitment it was truly an experience to be in the company of a team that really is making a difference to conservation and conservation education. Just read all the other five star reviews as they express their views more eloquently than I. On a more personal note, Lady Lucinda and her catering crew provided excellent food - which was especially welcomed by my wife who is a coeliac (gluten intolerant) and a strict vegetarian – and that is a difficult combination to cater for!
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GrahamTrowbridge
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GrahamTrowbridge
A truly wonderful experience. If you want to see Scottish wildlife with like-minded people and be treated almost royally by Sir John, Lady Lucinda and their remarkable team then you need look no further. We saw otter, beaver, golden eagle, pine martin and a wide variety of birds and plants whilst under the watchful eyes of the young and talented ranger team. In these days of feigned concern and superficial commitment it was truly an experience to be in the company of a team that really is making a difference to conservation and conservation education. Just read all the other five star reviews as they express their views more eloquently than I. On a more personal note, Lady Lucinda and her catering crew provided excellent food - which was especially welcomed by my wife who is a coeliac (gluten intolerant) and a strict vegetarian – and that is a difficult combination to cater for!
I went to Aigas at the end of June for the Wildlife week, it was brilliant. There were about 20 of us split into two groups and we went out on trips in mini buses every day. The rangers were amazing, knowledgeable not only on their own subjects but local history, geology of the area, stories of the clans and if you had a question they usually knew the answer - if not they found it when we got back to the house either from one of the other staff or the huge range of books in the library. The rangers could spot wildlife that to the rest of us didn't appear to be there, then set up the 'scope so we could see it too. All of us were 'wildlife spotting' out of the buses and alerting the rest with 'eagle at 11 o'clock' that then turned out to be a buzzard! I hadn't been to Scotland but driving around the highlands was amazing. The weather was pretty good and one day was very bright and sunny which made some of the bays with the white sand and turquoise water look like some I have seen in the Med. My log cabin was cosy and comfortable and the bed was the best I have slept in away from home. There were late nights watching badgers and pine martins, early evenings to spot beavers feeding on lilies in the loch and early mornings to watch otters. The food was amazing, all home cooked by the lady of the house, local produce whenever possible. Everyone on the staff were lovely and couldn't do enough for you, it really was like being part of a large family. I went by myself, single lady, not always good in social situations, but there were other single people and it was so friendly and relaxed that it was easy not to feel excluded. It was great to get together in the common room before dinner to exchange details of what creatures had been seen during the day and at breakfast who had been daft enough to stay up until 3am waiting for badgers to arrive. Whatever age you are, if you love wildlife, go to Aigas. You won't be disappointed. I am going back next Sept, hopefully to watch the deer rut. Can't wait.
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LINDA J
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LINDA J
I went to Aigas at the end of June for the Wildlife week, it was brilliant. There were about 20 of us split into two groups and we went out on trips in mini buses every day. The rangers were amazing, knowledgeable not only on their own subjects but local history, geology of the area, stories of the clans and if you had a question they usually knew the answer - if not they found it when we got back to the house either from one of the other staff or the huge range of books in the library. The rangers could spot wildlife that to the rest of us didn't appear to be there, then set up the 'scope so we could see it too. All of us were 'wildlife spotting' out of the buses and alerting the rest with 'eagle at 11 o'clock' that then turned out to be a buzzard! I hadn't been to Scotland but driving around the highlands was amazing. The weather was pretty good and one day was very bright and sunny which made some of the bays with the white sand and turquoise water look like some I have seen in the Med. My log cabin was cosy and comfortable and the bed was the best I have slept in away from home. There were late nights watching badgers and pine martins, early evenings to spot beavers feeding on lilies in the loch and early mornings to watch otters. The food was amazing, all home cooked by the lady of the house, local produce whenever possible. Everyone on the staff were lovely and couldn't do enough for you, it really was like being part of a large family. I went by myself, single lady, not always good in social situations, but there were other single people and it was so friendly and relaxed that it was easy not to feel excluded. It was great to get together in the common room before dinner to exchange details of what creatures had been seen during the day and at breakfast who had been daft enough to stay up until 3am waiting for badgers to arrive. Whatever age you are, if you love wildlife, go to Aigas. You won't be disappointed. I am going back next Sept, hopefully to watch the deer rut. Can't wait.