Birding the NORTH COAST 500

SAT 13 MAY – SAT 20 MAY 2023

SAT 18 MAY – SAT 25 MAY 2024

PRICES: from £1845pp

Single supplement: £225. Deposit £300pp Max 7 clients. Leader Chris Rodger

Wonderful wildlife amid some of Scotland’s finest scenery is firmly on the agenda on this spectacular journey around some of the country’s most northerly coastal points, feted by holidaymakers and travel writers alike as one of the best road trips in the world.

Our tour takes you to the best places for wildlife. There will be many highlights, such as Handa Island, Dunnet Head and Duncansby Head for their seabirds. The Flow Country of Caithness and Sutherland is a fantastic and unique, often deemed to be as important a habitat as the Amazonian Rainforest! At RSPB Broubster Leans, breeding waders and passerines are on territory and passage Whimbrel, Short-eared Owl, Merlin and Hen Harrier may be seen. Many other excellent sites on northern coasts are visited on this holiday. Icelandic bound waders in summer plumage may be found on any number of pristine golden beaches, the Applecross peninsula may yield both eagles and Ptarmigan, and Otters or perhaps cetaceans may be encountered off more rugged coasts. This holiday really does offer a huge range of the best wildlife northern Scotland offers in spring!

Above all, this is an exciting birding adventure in under watched places of the country. Visits to seabird colonies featuring Puffin, Guillemot and Razorbill densely packed and huddled together on cliff ledges, many will be about to lay eggs. Kittiwake, Fulmar, Shag and ‘Rock Dove’ can be expected too, the sound and smell of these northern colonies complete the experience. Good numbers of nesting waders and waterfowl, including scarce northern species such as Red-throated Diver, Black-throated Diver, Hen Harrier, Great Skua, Arctic Skua, Golden and White-tailed Eagle, Black Guillemot, Twite and much more will keep us entertained as we travel.

Our tour begins either here in Nethy Bridge or in Inverness, convenient for flights and rail connections. We don’t follow the exact route of the ‘North Coast 500’, preferring deviations to cater for wildlife and birding considerations.

Number of centres 3. Please note this departures does not stay at the Mountview Hotel.