Cairngorm Reindeer – a Hill Trip to the Herd and Lunch
A few hours.
The route
Reindeer have roamed the Cairngorms since 1952, and on the Cairngorm Reindeer Centre's Hill Trip you walk up the mountainside with a herder and stand right in among them.
It's an outing in boots and waterproofs, with a short hand-feed at the end, and it finishes in Glenmore village with a warm lunch at the Pine Marten Bar.
Before you go
Book accommodation nearby
If you are staying over: here are ours nearest where the day starts and ends.
Book Cairngorm Reindeer Centre
Book the 11am Hill Trip on the Cairngorm Reindeer Centre's website, where tickets go on sale 30 days ahead to the exact hour and are often all taken at weekends and in the holidays: adults £29.40, students and over-65s £26.25, children of 3 to 16 £22.05, at the time of writing.
The day
Glenmore
A walk up the hill above Glenmore with a herder to the reindeer. Lunch is a few minutes' walk from the Centre once you're back down.
About three and a half hoursAbout 2 miles on foot
Cairngorm Reindeer Centre
An attraction
The Cairngorm Reindeer Centre is in Glenmore, on the ski road past Loch Morlich; the Centre says many satnavs go wrong, so stay on that road. Park in its small car park opposite, where there's a charge. Collect your tickets at least 15 minutes before the 11am Hill Trip; the shop opens at 10am. You then drive your own car about 1.6 miles up the ski road to the meeting point, which has a small parking charge too. In hard winter weather the trip can be for adults only, and it always depends on finding the herd. From the meeting point a herder leads the walk, 20 to 40 minutes over rough, wet ground, to the herd on the hill. You stand right in among the reindeer and help with a short hand-feed, though they don't like being patted. The trip takes an hour and a half to two hours. Wellies or walking boots with a good tread and a waterproof jacket are essential, with hats and gloves in winter: anyone without them is turned away, with no refund. No dogs at all, assistance dogs included. There are no toilets at the Centre or on the hill; the public ones are by the bus stop in Glenmore, about 200 metres away. The paddocks and exhibition are on the same ticket, open until 4pm in November and December.
5 min on foot
The Pine Marten Bar
Lunch
Back at the Centre, leave the car and walk 5 minutes west along the road to the Pine Marten Bar in Glenmore village, a bar and kitchen serving breakfast, lunch and dinner every day from 9am. Children and dogs are welcome, and it is said to be step-free; ring ahead to check. If it's full, the Allt Mor Café in the Glenmore Visitor Centre, back by the Reindeer Centre, is open every day from 9am to 4pm. Over Christmas and New Year, check before going.
If it rains
The Hill Trip goes out in the rain, so dress for it and let lunch at the Pine Marten Bar run long. Extreme wind or snow can cancel a trip in winter: the Centre then refunds or moves the booking.
Allt Mor Café, a café in Glenmore.