A fabulous tour collecting you up from the airport, station or
hotel and taking you into the last of the great Scottish Caledonian Forest. Walk
beside rapids, waterfalls, among magnificent Scots pines and through
heather to
incredible Highland viewpoints.
Many visitors to Scotland imagine that all the bare hills and glens are natural ... they are not. Eight thousand years ago more than 95% of Scotland was covered in the most stunning Caledonian Forest, 94% of which no longer exists as it was cut down primarily for the production of charcoal for the smelting industries right up until the industrial revolution.
There are just a handful of areas of this forest remaining and none of them as spectacularly situated as Glen Affric.
Our
luxury vehicles give you a raised perspective on this glen which is difficult
to experience when driving yourself in a low car. Even car owners should
consider abandoning their car and taking this tour. We'll even show you where
and how to get the Chaffinches to feed from your hand as in this passenger's
photograph.
A typical itinerary begins in Inverness and takes the main road along the side of Loch Ness. We can even stop for a photo if you wish.
Then we head up the attractively wooded Glenurquhart, over the watershed from the Great Glen into Strath Glass and then through the village of Cannich.
Now we head up Glen Affric itself through stunning natural woodland scenery, seeing Scots pines which are hundreds of years old.
There are opportunities for a short walk alongside the River Affric and also through heather and along forest trails. These are easy walks. There is also a footpath leading up to a superb viewpoint for those feeling more energetic and you can always extend the tour (in advance) if you would like to build in longer hikes.
In
Glen Affric we regularly see both red deer and
roe deer, red squirrels and
buzzards. More rarely we see osprey, golden eagle,
falcons, pine marten and
exceptionally, otters. This red deer photograph was obtained in
Glen Affric by a
passenger while on one of the short easy walks. It has not been cropped.
Eventually we head back to civilisation along Strath Glass, seeing the Glass gorge, the River Beauly, Beauly Firth and the Moray Firth.
All of this with an amazing explanation of the vital importance of this particular nature reserve and a mass of history and heritage.
Price: £32 per person - FOUR places remaining. - to book this tour email us [see contact page] for instructions.
