How to use this guide
Loch Lomond & the Trossachs National Park attracts millions of visitors each year with the primary goal of immersing themselves in the landscape. It’s relatively simple for businesses to advise their customers on how to get the best views, where the best walks are and how to get out on our many lochs and hills. But what happens when a visitor asks you how to see pine martens, red squirrels or a native bird of prey? Where should they go? When? How confident do you feel when giving advice about spotting the aurora borealis?
An authentic wildlife experience can create a close connection to a destination and a lasting memory that compels a visitor not only to return, but to advocate to friends and family for years to come. This guide has been written specifically for businesses in and around the National Park to help you and your staff confidently inspire and advise your customers to have these experiences. You will be familiar with the locations but might be surprised by the wealth of opportunities in the National Park.
What’s on your doorstep?
You can familiarise yourself with the richness and variety of wildlife in the Loch Lomond & The Trossachs National Park by watching this breathtaking 45-minutes documentary from Channel 5’s “A Year in the Wild” series:
Watch the remaining three episodes of “Loch Lomond: A Year in the Wild”.
Structure of the guide
Nature and wildlife experiences change throughout the seasons and across the different geographies of the Park. In addition, no wildlife experience is guaranteed and while this can add to the value of an encounter, when it does happen it’s best to set expectations clearly. To that end we’ve included a difficulty rating that’s intended to give an indication of how challenging or straightforward it is to see a particular species or natural wonder.
For a number of species we have not detailed specific locations either to help protect sensitive information like nesting sites of endangered birds, or because the species can be found roaming or hunting in a wider area. We have created this advice with a commitment to conserving and protecting our environment and the wildlife found here and any key conservation messages are also included in the guide so you can feel confident that the advice you are giving will not cause harm.
We have divided the animals and natural wonders that you can discover together with your visitors in five categories:
You can also find out some useful resources and more information to enrich your future outings.
Contact us
We hope the content we’ve created here has all you need to start creating exciting wild adventures for your customers, but if you would like any further advice or support, please get in touch at tourism@lochlomond-trossachs.org.