Starting with the Cairngorms National Park on the NE250
Ptarmigan
This was an inaugural (and not our last) tour of the ‘NE250’, a road trip of 250 miles around the North East of Scotland. The tour took in the counties of Aberdeenshire and Morayshire which, like the weather, was terrific. Our week started in historic Royal Deeside, where we visited fabulous places such as Balmoral, Braemar and Glenshee. We also visited the fabulously named Linn of Dee and Muir of Dinnet. This portion of the tour was most notable for the 50+ Black Grouse, Ptarmigan, Goshawk, Golden Eagle, Dipper and Red Squirrel.
Goshawk
Red Squirrel
North Coast of the NE250
Next, we left the Cairngorms and dropped down to the rugged north coast and a wonderful hotel overlooking the sea. Arguably ice cream at Portsoy was the major attraction! But, the fantastic seabird colony at Troup Head, the incredible Findlater Castle and bird feeders at Lossiemouth could also stake their claim!
Golden Eagle (Mary Braddock)
East Coast to Finish
The final part of the trip took us around the corner to the east coast. Here we enjoyed a hatful of new species from two of Scotland’s flagship Reserves, RSPB’s Loch of Strathbeg and the Ythan Estuary, with another superb hotel and Ospreys almost ensuite!
Osprey (James Stevens)
Join us next year
If you would like to join Julian and Kate in March next year on the NE250 please email us. You can have a look at the Tour Itinerary on our website. Register your interest by email or phone and we shall let you know as soon as more information is available.