Highland Safaris: Red Deer, Big Views and An Expert Called Colin

About a hundred years ago (okay, fifteen) my friend Sally Murray had a farm shop at Highland Safaris.  I visited a couple of times before she sold it on to the owners of the wildlife business and for some reason, have never returned.  It is at this point in a story I feel a bit ashamed.  I know this is an award-winning business that is renowned Scotland over for its five star tourist attraction.  I know they must have been here for twenty years plus (turns out its 25 next year) and yet even though we sit on Sunday mornings saying ‘What do you want to do?’ we have never got in the car and drove the 45 minutes to this wild and wonderful place.

The truth is, I always thought it was for families with small children – which it is – but it also offers us grown-ups a unique opportunity to explore the vast nature and wildlife right here in Perthshire.   I left myself in the capable hands of Donald Riddell, owner and hands on director of the business and at his recommendation we were booked into a The Red Deer Experience and a Forest Safari with Colin, one of the guides who has been with Highland Safaris for over eleven years.

And it shows, seated side by side with children, grannies and tourists, we listened intently as Colin took us a journey of the Red Deer in Scotland.  From shedding of antlers in spring to the rutting season we could hear going on behind the viewing hut, he painted a picture of a majestic animal which had evolved to live at one with the harsh Scottish climate.   

After his talk, we were invited to take the food pellets out to the fence and were amazed to see these beautiful creatures up close, grazing from our hands.  Colin was mindful of season, explaining that the dominant stag may very well appear to chase his hinds back down the hill and into the safer environment of his clearly marked out territory.  

Back into the barn for a lesson in Barn Owls, with Ossian the beautiful creamy, white male spreading his wings and gliding down the row of mesmerised visitors.

I am always amazed at an expert; I love anyone who is passionate about their subject and found myself enthralled at the vast knowledge Colin offered up during our 45 minutes in the Deer Centre.  There wasn’t a question left unanswered and his love and respect for the animals under his watch was obvious to all. 

We had an hour between the Red Deer Experience and The Forest Safari, and, still full from our homebaking at the Watermill, we decided to stroll round one of the centre’s many paths.  The day was crisp, autumn hanging in the air and a blue sky stretching for miles.  The walk was full of wee surprises, obviously aimed at teaching children and families about the Highland Perthshire environment (although we were embarrassingly happy at guessing the tracks correctly in one game!). An hour passed in no time, the views better than anything you might have watched on a screen or a social media sight!

We were joined by a couple from Wishaw for the Forest Safari, into the Landrover and out the centre gate.  Colin talked about the environment, going back millennia to the ice age and pointing out signs of glaciers and how they would have moved through the land, slowly carving out the valleys and hillsides of what would become Highland Perthshire.

The Discovery climbed up into Forestry Commission land, Colin explaining the complex forest management system and the efforts taken over the past thirty years to thin the trees making a more natural habitat for the wildlife in the area.  We stopped at the view point – we were being followed that day by Visit Scotland who, sensibly, are keen to show tourists what they can expect from a trip to Perthshire – and almost 1100 feet up, the views from the top of our earlier walk paled into perspective as we gazed for miles out into the patchwork fields and hillsides before us.

Back in, and deeper into the Caledonian Pine Forest we went, Colin showing us all the signs of the animals who live here.  Tales of early morning encounters with territorial pine martins, weddings in the hill tops and tracking the many red deer who live in hills kept us enthralled as we climbed to almost 2000 feet. 

Views From The Hillside from Nicola Martin on Vimeo.

A short walk out at the top brought views unlike any you could imagine.  Photographs can show you what’s there but it is only the experience of gazing out across treetops into the wilderness of Scotland that will truly allow you to appreciate the vast and rugged beauty of this gift on our doorstep.  It is awe-inspiring, with a calmness and serenity that you can almost reach out and touch. 

Being at one with nature sounds corny; I know this.  I have thousands of words at my disposal but this is truly what I experienced. From the beauty of the deer and Ossian the owl to the wild and carefree walk 2000 feet above Perthshire, there really is no other way to describe our few hours at Highland Safari.

Of course, all that fresh air meant we were starving and we finished our day tucking into their home-cooking in the centre’s café.  Macaroni Cheese and a roast veg baked tattie filled us right up before we headed home feeling grateful for all we had just an hour away.

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Find out more about how Donald fills his days at Highland Safari's by reading his Workdays & Weekends! >>>

For more Information on Highland Safaris check out their Directory Listing >>>

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We were offered our experience free of charge in return for a review, or if we didn't enjoy it, a mystery shop report. (We obvs enjoyed it!)