Scottish Lowland

We have some fantastic subjects to photograph in the UK, but it can be extremely challenging in getting close to certain subjects. Some of our British mammals can be very difficult as they are mainly nocturnal and very elusive. On this special nocturnal trip, we will be getting you closer to some very special animals in the form of badgers, pine martens, otters, red fox, and tawny owl. All subjects that are found at night and so we set you up to be able to photograph these with the use of flash. All the flash guns are provided so you don’t need bring your own.

We’ll be based throughout the trip near to the town of Kirkcudbright in Dumfries and Galloway where we will have exclusive access to several hides situated in various locations. These specialist hides have been designed to allow great images of elusive nocturnal species like badger, pine marten, and tawny owl and whilst these will be our focus with 2 nights working on each of these species, during the trip we will also be able to photograph daytime species too like sparrowhawk, red squirrel, kingfisher, and common buzzards.

Each day you will be in a different hide and a different location as well so you can get a very varied portfolio from this short trip. This really is a jam-packed week for some great photography of some of the UK’s most elusive species, in one of the great secret locations of Scotland.

Day 1: We are planning for you to arrive at the town of Kirkcudbright in Dumfries and Galloway between 12.00pm and 1.00pm where we will check in, have lunch, and discuss the plans of the trip. Afterwards we will then transfer to our different locations for our evening sessions in the hides. Please note that on some days you would be driving your own vehicle as it helps with the logistics of the trip.

Day 2: It is a very leisurely start in the mornings after our first long night. So, after a late breakfast we can head to some hides to spend some daytime sessions with sparrowhawks and kingfishers. We will have an early dinner in the afternoon so we can then get ready for our night-time sessions. We have a few hides for our exclusive use so it will be small numbers in each hide, and we will have the chance to move between settings to cover several species and options over the course of the five days we have here. This really promises to be a full-on trip with lots of opportunities along the way. Our main targets are the pine martens, badgers, otters, and tawny owls during the night, but we will also go into hides to photograph other species like kingfisher, sparrowhawk and buzzard. All these species can be weather dependent and might change nearer the time, but we could find ourselves having even more species to work with because our host is constantly working on new subjects all the time. The one thing we can promise is a jam packed few days of photography in this beautiful part of southern Scotland.

Days 3 – 6: A similar pattern will occur over the next few days, and we will plan the day’s events for each person, so they maximise the potential from this trip. All the hides during the night-time sessions will be for our exclusive use and so we will be as flexible as possible to look to meet everyone’s requirements.

Day 7: Precisely when you choose to head home on the last day is entirely up to you – we will need to vacate the accommodation in the morning after breakfast, but if you feel up to it, we will be visiting the various hides for the kingfisher or sparrowhawk on our final day. If you have a long journey ahead, you can head off at any point during the day and make the call on the day itself to see what you have managed during the trip.