Established in 1991, Speyside Wildlife has been running wildlife experiences throughout the Cairngorms, Scotland and around the world for over 30 years. Our holidays and Guided Days Out are just that - holidays. We pride ourselves on our high level of personal attention, but we won’t race around in pursuit of big lists. Our guides’ enthusiasm is infectious and whether you are a beginner or more experienced, young or old, we are happy to take time so you can enjoy the wildlife on a Speyside Wildlife experience to the full.
In 2021, we celebrated our 30th anniversary - what a milestone! Speyside Wildlife has always been focused on our guests and where they want to visit and explore. Our ethos has always been; small friendly groups of like-minded people, where everyone is treated as an individual and not one of a crowd. If guests are one side of the Speyside Wildlife coin, then our staff are the equal and opposite other. They are what makes us what we are and their loyalty goes hand in hand with that of our guests.
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Our Responsible Travel Policy - Doing our best for the environment and local communities
We're all becoming increasingly aware of our impact on the environment. Consequently, we set out to do our bit to reduce our footprint. Not only are we adhering to the "reduce, re-use, recycle" ethos, but we're also making a contribution back into the environment.
Speyside Wildlife linked up with RSPB Abernethy, which has a long term vision to extend the Caledonian Pine Forest within the Reserve. For the travel and transport included in the price of our holidays, we contribute to the RSPB to help fund the Abernethy Tree Nursery, so helping to offset the effects of climate change. Each hour of air travel is offset by ¼ of a tree and each 1,000 kms of car travel is offset by ½ a tree.
Click here to read our Responsible Travel Policy.
Tourism Declares Declaration
We declare our shared commitment to unite all stakeholders in transforming tourism to deliver effective climate action.
We support the global commitment to halve emissions by 2030 and reach Net Zero as soon as possible before 2050.
We will consistently align our actions with the latest scientific recommendations, so as to ensure our approach remains consistent with a rise of no more than 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels by 2100.
As a signatory, we commit to:
1. Deliver a climate action plan within 12 months of signing.
2. Report publicly both progress against interim and long-term targets, as well as the actions being taken, at least annually.
3. Align our plan with five shared pathways (measure, decarbonise, regenerate, collaborate, finance) to ensure climate action is consistent across all of tourism.
4. Share information on activities connected to Tourism Declares and/or the Glasgow Declaration among contacts and networks.
5. Work in a collaborative and constructive spirit with other members of Tourism Declares and/or signatories of the Glasgow Declaration.
Green Tourism Business Scheme
We have been assessed by Green Tourism for the environmental credentials operating throughout our business and are delighted to have achieved a Gold Green Tourism Award in 2016 and continue to maintain this. The assessment looks at all aspects of the business, awarding credit for different areas, from our recycling policies, through our virtual office set-up, to our increasing use of social media and our newly designed App, eliminating excess paper usage. Consequently, we scored an ‘excellent’ for the purchasing, travel & transport and nature & culture sections and an ‘outstanding’ for innovation!
Cairngorms National Park Brand
Increasing quality whilst reducing impact - Speyside Wildlife have been granted use of this Brand by the Cairngorms National Park Authority. This is only given to those businesses who have agreed to a set of quality standards in respect of their visitor experience, together with a commitment to reducing their impact on the natural environment.
Visit Scotland - Quality Assurance Scheme (Wildlife Experience)
Speyside Wildlife was one of 40 wildlife businesses to be assessed under VisitScotland's pilot scheme for Wildlife Experiences achieving four-star status for our day tours and we have continued to maintain this. Watch out for the designation throughout Scotland. We were delighted to receive our letter of confirmation from VisitScotland so thought we’d share some of it with you here. “Thank you for participating in the pilot of the new Wildlife Experience Designator within our Quality Assurance Scheme for visitor attractions. Your feedback and contribution to the introduction of this new development has been invaluable and we would like to welcome you as a new member of the Quality Assurance Grading Scheme.”