RSPB Loch Garten

Loch Garten is a wildlife-rich Caledonian pineforest where huge, gnarled Scots pines stand among blaeberry, juniper and heather. The forest is home to red squirrels, crested tits, great spotted woodpeckers and common lizards; in spring and summer you can spot breeding ospreys. The loch itself attracts wild greylag and pink-footed geese in autumn and winter, and warm days bring dragonflies including white-faced darter and four-spotted chaser. The Nature Centre offers views over the loch, and the compacted hard-surface track to it is 250m with slight inclines. Dogs must be kept on a lead between April and August to protect ground-nesting birds.