Cairngorms

Cairngorm Reindeer Centre

Britain's only free-ranging reindeer, on the Cairngorm slopes above Glenmore, brought back in 1952, with guided Hill Trips most days.

Welcome

Britain's only free-ranging herd of reindeer lives on the Cairngorm mountains, and the Reindeer Centre at Glenmore is where you meet them.

There are around 150 in the herd, most of them roaming the high slopes above Glenmore and the rest on the Glenlivet Estate some thirty miles away. Reindeer were native here once, hunted alongside red deer by the Earls of Orkney, but they died out about eight hundred years ago, and there were none until Mikel Utsi, a Sámi reindeer herder, brought them back in 1952.

The way to see them is the Hill Trip, led by a herder most days of the year. You drive a short way along the road, then walk twenty to forty minutes up the hillside to find the herd, and stand right among them, within a metre, as they come in to eat from your hand. Wellies or boots and a waterproof are essential. For anyone who cannot manage the walk, a few reindeer take turns in the paddock by the centre from Easter to the end of the Christmas holidays, with a new exhibition beside them.

Before you go

Hill Trips run most days from the February half term to the end of the Christmas holidays and take an hour and a half to two hours; book up to 30 days ahead.

Adults £29.40, children £22.05. The paddocks and exhibition open 10am to 5pm (4pm in November and December) from Easter to the end of the Christmas holidays; adults £6.83. The centre is closed from January to early February.

Hill Trip: Most days, February half term to the end of the Christmas holidays; about 1.5 to 2 hours; adults £29.40, children £22.05.
Paddocks: Easter to the end of the Christmas holidays, 10:00 to 17:00 (16:00 Nov and Dec); adults £6.83.
Where: Reindeer House, Glenmore, PH22 1QU.

Opening hours

Monday: 10am–5pm
Tuesday: 10am–5pm
Wednesday: 10am–5pm
Thursday: 10am–5pm
Friday: 10am–5pm
Saturday: 10am–5pm
Sunday: 10am–5pm

Did you know

A reindeer calf with small velvet antlers stands close to the camera, moorland and hills spreading behind.

Did you know

They came back in 1952.

Mikel Utsi and his wife, Dr Ethel Lindgren, brought reindeer back to the Cairngorms on 12 April 1952, after spotting the lichen-rich hills from the railway bridge at Aviemore in 1947.

Did you know

The first came by ship.

The first two bulls and five cows sailed from Sweden on the SS Sarek and spent 28 days in quarantine at Edinburgh Zoo.

Did you know

Hunted by the Earls of Orkney.

Reindeer are native to Scotland: an old saga tells of the Earls of Orkney hunting them in Caithness about eight hundred years ago.

Two reindeer walk along a wooden boardwalk through open moorland, a guide following behind and hills stretching to the horizon.

Did you know

The eleven o'clock trip.

By the late 1960s the eleven o'clock Hill Trip had become part of the herders' day, and it still is.

A reindeer with wide antlers leads its herd along a wooden boardwalk, hills rising in the distance beyond a wire fence.

Did you know

Hands off, please.

You get within a metre of the reindeer and they will eat from your hand, but they do not like being petted.

A reindeer calf rests on the grass, its antlers small and velvet-covered, more of the herd grazing softly out of focus behind.

Did you know

Two herds, thirty miles apart.

Most of the herd ranges on the Cairngorm mountains; the rest live on the Glenlivet Estate, some thirty miles away.

Hidden Scotland

From our guide to Cairngorms

Reindeer died out in Scotland around eight hundred years ago, and there were none until a Sámi herder, Mikel Utsi, brought a small group over from Sweden in 1952. Their descendants are Britain's only free-ranging herd, about 150 strong, grazing the high slopes above Glenmore. The way to meet them is the Hill Trip, led by a herder. A short drive and a walk of twenty to forty minutes up the hillside bring you right in among them, and they will eat from your hand. Bring boots and a waterproof.