Scottish wildlife guide services
As a Scottish wildlife guide, I design trips around your interests, priorities and pace.
Whether you are:
- Visiting Scotland for the first time and wanting to experience its natural highlights
- Or you are returning and wanting to more thoroughly explore a specific area
I offer flexible, tailor-made, high-quality wildlife guiding in Scotland designed to help you make the most of your Scottish trip.
What to expect from a bespoke wildlife experience
A Scottish wildlife guide can help you in planning of your wildlife itinerary can be built around:
- Your availability (dates, start and end locations)
- The time of year you are in Scotland and the highlights for that season
- Any target species of habitats that you want to explore
- Your preferred pace and level of involvement and any accessibility needs
- Any other cultural sites or interests you hope to incorporate
Some flexibility is recommended to allow for changeable weather and unexpected opportunities.
Who this is for
My Scottish wildlife guide services are best suited to:
- Individuals, couples, or small groups seeking a more personal tailored wildlife holiday
- Visitors looking for a knowledgeable and skilled wildlife guide in Scotland
- Wildlife photographers who want to improve their photography and portfolio in a more natural setting
- Wildlife enthusiasts wanting to improve their fieldcraft and gain a deeper understanding of Scotland’s natural environment
No prior experience is required – just an interest in wildlife and willingness to spend time outdoors.
Wildlife guiding Scotland highlights
All bespoke itineraries vary depending on your interests and also the time of year. But, here are some of the top experiences you can experience with me on your Scottish wildlife holiday:
- Seeing Golden Eagles soaring over a mountain ridge
- Watching an Otter on the Scottish west coast
- Seeing Red Deer stags roar and even fight during the famous rut (autumn only)
- Being overwhelmed by tens of thousands of Puffins in a seabird city
- Or the world’s largest Northern Gannet colony at Bass Rock (spring and early summer only)
- Watching a Dipper on a fast moving mountain stream
- Seeing pods of Bottlenose Dolphins hunting Salmon close to shore
- and more, much more.
Let me know if there are particular species or experiences you want to include. I plan your itinerary around your priorities. For other ideas see these Love from Scotland ideas
Sample Itineraries
Isle of Mull (4-5 days)
Cairngorms (3-4 days)
Islay & Jura (4-5 days)
Coastal Seabirds (3 days)
Photography
It is completely up to you how much you want to incorporate wildlife photography into your trip.
For the experienced wildlife photographer, I can build excellent photographic opportunities into the trip.
Whilst for someone new to wildlife photography, I can support you with camera setup, technique and fieldcraft. You will get some great photos. and you will become a better photographer.
Lastly, if wildlife photography isn’t your thing, that is absolutely fine too. I would be happy to take some photos for you. You can share them with friends and family when you get home (no extra cost).
Practicalities
Here are some of the practical things about me as a Scottish wildlife guide and my private wildlife guiding services in Scotland:
- Location: I guide across Scotland but would only include Shetland, Orkney or the Outer Hebrides on a longer trip (ten days or more)
- Group size: Individuals, couples, families and small groups
- Duration: Anything from a single day in Central Scotland to a two week holiday covering most of Scotland. I find 5-7 days is often ideal for most people.
- Time of year: I offer year-round guiding, with focus on each season’s highlights. There is no bad time of year to plan a trip to see wildlife in Scotland.
- Equipment: I bring state of the art equipment including Swarovski scope and Hikmicro thermal monocular.
- Fitness level: Certain locations need a reasonable level of fitness and are not suitable for everybody. Other sightings can be enjoyed from the vehicle.
Pricing
At WildScot as a Scottish wildlife guide, I offer a simple, transparent and fair pricing structure as follows:
- You pay me a guiding fee (agreed daily rate).
- If we are using my vehicle (ideal for up to 3 passengers) you pay my costs (agreed rate per mile or daily rate)
- You book and pay direct for your own accommodation and costs of eating out.
- My accommodation and food costs are limited if we are using my vehicle (which is a small VW camper). If we are not using my vehicle (larger groups) you need to book me a room at your accommodation.
- You cover the costs of any other third party booking costs – hides, entrance fees, boat trips etc
Once we have agreed your itinerary, I give you a full breakdown of my costs and payment terms. When booking you agree to my standard terms and conditions.
Next step – get in touch
Interested in using me as your Scottish wildlife guide? Let us start planning a wonderful wildlife adventure for you in Scotland. Get in touch and let me know:
- group size – how many people in your group
- dates or time of year – when you will be in Scotland
- your specific interests – desired locations, target species, photography focus
- any other factors to consider – accessibility requirements, age of children