Evening Wildlife Watching Hide

Our hide is located in the Cairngorms within the Caledonian Pine Forest near Aviemore. Badger are regular visitors all year round and Pine Marten can also be seen. A variety of other Scottish wildlife may visit our hide whilst it is still light, including Tawny Owls, Red Squirrels and Roe Deer. Each evening wildlife watching experience lasts approximately two and a half to three hours.

Print Version

Tour DetailsItineraryKey SpeciesFeedbackVideoGallery

Book Now

Costs	£30.00 per adult (2026), £32.00 per adult (2027) if booked online (£35.00 if booked manually via our office) £15.00 per child 8-14yrs (2026), £16.00 per child 8-14yrs (2027) if booked online (£20.00 if booked manually via our office) Not suitable for children under 8yrs
Exclusive use	£275.00 per evening (2026), £290.00 per evening (2027) if booked online (£325.00 if booked manually via our office).
Group	Maximum 12 people in the hide. Your booking confirmation will give extra handy hints about the evening so that you can maximise the enjoyment from your visit.
Times	Nightly from Easter to October. From November to Easter we open on a reduced number of evenings per week. Pre-booking is essential. Start times vary with the seasons, in summer we meet between 8:00pm and 8:30pm (confirmed at time of booking) and in winter around 6:00pm .
Location	A meeting point map and timing of the visit is provided on confirmation of booking. Please be aware that there are no toilet facilities whilst in the hide so apologies, no comfort breaks during the watch.
Public Transport	The hide is a short journey from Aviemore and although it is not on the local bus route, our local taxi company is aware of the location and guests can book directly with Aviemore Taxis 01479 811111. Your meeting point map provided on confirmation of your booking will give them the precise location. Please note, mobile phone signal can be poor at the hide location, so please arrange collection with your taxi driver when being dropped off.
Access	Our meeting point car park is a tarmacked area. There is a road crossing leading to a short 100m walk taking less than 5 minutes along a wide, but slightly rough track to the hide. Car access can be arranged in advance for those with limited mobility. The 86cm wide hide entrance is via a ramp, followed by a final 147cm wide archway. Part of the viewing area is lowered and the windows are 80cm from the floor, the other windows are 104cm from the floor, but 72cm high stools are provided for guests for these windows. You can view a video of the hide access here. We have worked with AccessAble so you can find out about our facilities before you visit. AccessAble’s surveyors assessed our venue to create a Detailed Access Guide which can be viewed here. Please remember to bring your torches, as the walk back to your car may be in the dark. Please note peanuts are stored in a closed container inside the hide.
Clothing	Our hide is enclosed and has heating but we would advise to wear warm layers and non-rustling, subdued outdoor clothing and walking boots or shoes are preferable. Advice on the "how to do it" of wildlife watching is provided on confirmation of booking
Photos	The viewing windows do not open, so there are only some incidental photographic opportunities. Please note that flash photography is not permitted at any time and please turn any camera functions to mute so that electronic noises do not disturb the animals. Although binoculars aren’t necessary for viewing the mammals etc that come up to the hide, if you have them do bring them, as they may be useful if animals appear on the marshes below and can be seen through the trees.
Insects	Biting midges can occur during the summer months.

Come and enjoy our hide in the Cairngorms Caledonian Pine Forest, for Badger, Pine Marten and more.

	* Comfortable hide in the Cairngorms National Park, with easy access
	* We regularly see Badgers at close quarters
	* Pine Marten also visit
	* The animals come right up to the windows
	* You’ll be accompanied throughout by our friendly, expert guide
	* Hire exclusively and have the hide to yourselves

For a memorable wildlife encounter, spend an evening with our knowledgeable guide and watch the nocturnal creatures that visit our warm and comfortable, baited hide in the heart of the Cairngorms National Park. Your guide will meet you just before dusk, at our location just outside Aviemore and walk with you down the wide track to the hide.

Once there, they’ll explain the habits and life cycles of the Badgers and Pine Martens that are the most frequently anticipated night-time visitors, while you relax and await their appearance. Whilst the animals are free and untamed and appear when they wish, understanding their nocturnal habits every night has ensured reliable sightings. Every evening provides a new experience and exciting close encounters with our precious native mammal species. Roe Deer and Red Deer may be seen whilst it’s still light, but the visits by Badgers and Pine Martens will usually only occur at dusk.

To book just click the ‘book now’ button and you’ll be taken to a calendar that shows you which dates are open and how many places are available. Choose the evening that suits you and you’ll be taken through the booking process. On confirmation of your booking, you’ll be sent a meeting point map and meeting time and a list of handy hints to make your evening more enjoyable.

The hide in enclosed and has been designed to give the maximum viewing area possible for all guests, without fear of disturbance to the nocturnal visitors and we have outside spotlights, allowing the animals to be seen clearly from the large picture windows without interference on the darker evenings. There is a lower section of windows for wheelchair users and those needing to be seated lower down rather than on the bar stools. Our infra-red cameras give advance notice of whatever animals are moving about in the forest around us and our microphone will pick up their sounds as they feed. The animals will come to the viewing area at different times in an evening, but we expect that to occur within the 2-3 hours you will be in the hide.

The large viewing windows do not open, so there are only some incidental photographic opportunities. Please note that flash photography is not permitted at any time and please turn any camera functions to mute so that electronic noises do not disturb the animals. The main wildlife viewing hide can also be booked on an exclusive basis if you wish to bring your own group for the evening.

Just some of what we hope to see..

Badger	Roe Deer	Woodcock
Pine Marten	Wood Mouse	Buzzard
Red Deer	Tawny Owl

"We were lucky and managed to see so many Badgers as well as mice and Pine Marten, had a great time! Also appreciate having a table and proper seating available in the shed"
Nicole

"We were lucky enough to see 6 Badgers and one Pine Marten. Jack's dreams were made"
Hannah Dinsley

"The whole experience was fantastic, but being able to see the animals was great - especially as they aren't always guaranteed"
Samantha

"Of course, if the animals show up, it’s going to be a better night than if they didn’t, and we saw a Pine Marten, Badgers and mice. My 9 year old loved it"
James Appleyard

"We saw a Wildcat, been wanting to see one for over 20 years! My 11 year old son, absolutely loved it and wants to come back soon! Hopefully see you in May"
Richard Rushton

"Seeing 6 Badgers close up!"
Richard Bellamy

"Seeing the animals so close. We loved the Pine Martens"
Jane Fraser

"The Wildcat and Pine Marten with Badgers and Woodmouse a close second"
Julie August

"Four female Badgers were at the hide for most of the visit. We had been hoping to see a Pine Marten but the Badgers feeding and interacting with each other more than made up for this"
Penny D'Souza

"Badgers! My only motivator for visiting Europe for quite some time - they did not disappoint"
Kelly Rayner

"We saw Wildcat, 3 Badgers and … at 5 past midnight - the Pine Marten appeared! Brilliant 🤩"
Lorna McKenzie

"Wild Cat and Pine Marten! The Badgers were lovely too. The set-up was great and made viewing and photography easy"
Anon

"Holy trinity! Plus my young friends 1st sighting of Badger, Pine Marten and Wild Cat"
Lesley & Alexander

"When the Pine Marten turned up within 30 minutes of the start of the evening watching"
Beverley Watson

"Seeing Pine Martens for sure. Seeing a Wildcat would have been an added bonus but sadly was not to be. The garden was also a unexpected delight!"
Sharon Long

"Seeing Pine Marten in their own habitat for the first time ever was incredible. Both female & male arrived which was great. And 15 minutes away on the way home we were blessed with a Wildcat! A night we won’t forget. Thanks!"
Ryan Lee

"Seeing the Badgers and Pine Martens so clearly/close up. The whole experience was wonderful"
Sarah Winfield-Davies

"The Badger and Pine Marten - the latter being a first for all 3 of us"
Lizanne Robey

"Seeing the local Badgers. I had never seen them before. The long session was good to witness as much as was about"
Lindsey Gilbert

"The highlights were multiple views of a Wildcat - something I’d told the rest of our party was a pipe dream, Harris pointing out a Snipe displaying through the mic, and the martens getting right up close"
Sam

"As I had previously only seen dead Badgers by the side of road, seeing a living Badger behaving naturally was a tick on my bucket list. Excellent lighting and sound all added to the experience"
Mrs McHaffie

"2 different Pine Martens and 5 simultaneous Badgers"
James Leyland

"Seeing several Badgers from the same family in such a beautiful setting!"
Katherine

"Seeing 3 or more living Badgers scurrying about beneath me and devouring the hidden peanut butter snacks - a first! Pity that neither Pine Martens nor a Wild Cat made an appearance whilst we were watching but the Wood mice were charming. Night sky was magnificent as there was no light pollution"
Colin Smith

"Seeing the Badgers so close up, was of course amazing"
Michelle Roberts

"The appearance of a Pine Marten capped a brilliant evening. Two of our party had not seen Badgers before (at least live ones!) and were thrilled to see about four up so closely. I particularly enjoyed hearing the drumming Snipe, picked up on the microphone"
Mark Roberts

"Seeing Badgers and a Pine Marten very close up"
Collette Newman

"Seeing the Pine Marten"
Sally McKendrick

"Seeing the beautiful Pine Martens. Also that the female Pine Marten and one of the Badgers were there at the same time as each other"
Pamela Nicholson

"Seeing the Pine Martens - a mammal I have never seen before and I was surprised how long they stayed"
Rebecca Steele

"We all wanted to see a Pine Marten and we weren’t disappointed. The Badger was a bonus. To be honest it was -6 and I wasn’t expecting to see anything. The outside chance of a Wild Cat passing through added to the suspense but we will have to come back for that one!"
Daniel Bloomfield

"Seeing the female Pine Marten. We didn’t see any Pine Martens on our previous visit, which is one of the main reasons we decided to try again. It was a privilege to see one this time as they’re beautiful animals"
Kathryn Lillistone