Take a walk on the wild-again side: welcome to the Scottish Highlands! Join us across the rewilded Cairngorms mountain range, where wildlife flourishes and people thrive. Rewilding is all about hope, restoring nature’s web of life, including habitats, natural processes, and missing species, and this is your chance to see it all in action. We’ll picnic alongside local rivers and seek out unforgettable encounters with wild animals and like-minded people. Along the way, we’ll learn about pioneering rewilding projects that are fighting back for nature, and meet some of the inspiring people involved.
What you get on this adventure:
What’s not included:
This hiking tour is beginner-friendly, but some level of fitness does help. If you can walk at a leisurely pace for four to six hours (or up to 5 miles) a day with little elevation gain, you are good to go! Keep in mind, you’ll also be carrying a daypack filled with water and other things you might need throughout the day. However, with some preparation and willpower, you should be able to handle this tour no matter your age or skill level.
If you’re a more advanced hiker looking for a challenge, check out this hiking tour in the Cuilin Hills or these hiking tours in the Isle of Skye.
Here’s a list of the equipment you need to bring:
Dress comfortably and for the weather in clothes you can move in. We suggest bringing clothing appropriate for the season. Layers are best and don’t wear jeans.
Rewilding is a process of nature recovery that leads to restored ecosystem health, function and completeness. The goal is to maintain and expand areas of wildlife in a manner that has a positive impact on the climate and encourages biodiversity. Rewilding Britain is an organization founded in 2015 that promotes the rewilding of Great Britain. It is a registered charity in England, Wales, and Scotland. See more here.
Group sizes and pricing
Hiking in Cairngorms can be arranged for larger groups up to 12 people. Contact us to make arrangements.
Min. age requirements
If your group has hikers under the age of 18, contact us prior to booking to make arrangements.
To get to Ballintean Mountain Lodge in Kingussie, the starting point of the tour, most people fly into Inverness Airport (1 hour away by car and 2 hours away by train) or Aberdeen International Airport (2.5 hours away by car or 4 hours away by train). Once you reach Kingussie, your guides will transfer you to your accommodation.
Your guides can pick you up at Inverness Airport at 4pm on arrival day for a flat fee of £50 per person. They can also drop you off on the last day at 10.30am for the same fee. Your guide will suggest the best place to meet.
You will stay in Ballintean Mountain Lodge, a beautifully converted farm steading located in Glenfeshie, near the village of Kincraig in the Cairngorms National Park. The lodge has a rustic, contemporary feel, and the rooms have private facilities, with the Wi-Fi throughout. Mobile phone reception is generally good.
You will enjoy breakfast and evening meals in the Lodge, prepared by the local catering team. Expect home-cooked, wholesome food prepared with fresh, local ingredients. In the field, you’ll have picnic lunches and home-bakes, with an occasional coffee-and-cake stop along the way.
Your guides can cater to a range of dietary requirements, taking into consideration allergies and health conditions, as well as ethics, faiths and cultures. Please indicate your requirements during booking and your guides will do their best to accommodate your needs.
Weather in the Scottish Highlands is very changeable and at any time of year, you should expect anything from warm, calm conditions to wintry squalls. Temperatures are likely to range from 0 to 10°C (32 to 50°F) in autumn and 10 to 22°C (50 to 72°F) in the spring/summer.
Yes. After covering the necessary costs associated with the trip itself, such as accommodation, food and transport, the hosts are left with a small surplus which gets reinvested into rewilding work. The visit allows the hosts to train and employ local staff and to purchase supplies and services from local businesses. In doing so, they demonstrate that rewilding is an economically viable land use in Scotland.
We highly recommend that you cover all your bases with both emergency medical and travel insurance.
With medical insurance, if you have an accident or medical emergency on or off the mountain, you’ll avoid paying out of pocket for costly expenses. This covers everything from hospital treatments to emergency air transportation and more. Travel insurance covers canceled flights, natural disasters and other scenarios that may interrupt your travel plans.
We also expect you to respect local regulations and take measures to protect yourselves, your guides, and the communities you’re traveling to. For more information on travel recommendations and restrictions in Cairngorms, Scotland please refer to the Cairngorms National Park COVID-19 guidelines and the official COVID-19 guidelines for travel into the United Kingdom.
If you need assistance selecting the right insurance for your group, let us know and we will be happy to help!
Reserve your spot with a 30% deposit. The remaining 70% of the amount is paid the latest 3 months (90 days) prior to departure. If your guides do not receive all payments due in full and on time, they are entitled to assume that you wish to cancel your booking. In that case, they will be entitled to keep all deposits paid or due at that date.
All cancellations must be received in writing. In the event of a cancellation by you after the balance is paid, the following terms apply:
If you prefer not to cancel your booking entirely, you can make a written request at least 21 days prior to the start of the trip to:
1. Transfer your booking to a later date. In this instance, a transfer fee of £175 ($225) will apply.
2. Transfer your booking to a friend or family member. The replacement guest will be required to complete their own booking form and, in this instance, an administration fee of £40 ($55) will apply.
Your guides cannot accept date changes or guest transfers within 21 days of the start of the trip.
