Welcome to Loch of the Lowes Visitor Centre and Wildlife Reserve near Dunkeld. Our reserve covers 130 hectares including woodland, freshwater loch and the visitor centre and hides.
All year round the reserve is host to red squirrels, mallards, swans, great-crested grebes, fallow deer and great-spotted woodpeckers.
In autumn and winter, the reserve is home to Canada and greylag geese, as well as wigeon, tufted, golden eye and mallard ducks, grey heron and much more.
During the spring and summer months the ospreys return to their nest just 150m away from the hides. The loch also hosts breeding swallows and goosander, as well as garden birds in the woodland and three species of bat.
Our four-star visitor centre offers a great day out for all the family in Perthshire.
Tickets are available at the door.
There is no circular path around the loch and no access to the water.
Join today to get free access to all our visitor centres and help protect Scotland’s wildlife for the future.
Any questions? If you have a question about planning your visit, please scroll down or email lochofthelowes@scottishwildlifetrust.org.uk
Enjoy an exclusive opportunity to see wildlife at Loch of the Lowes. Bookings last for up to three hours (depending on sunset time) and are available for £30. Scottish Wildlife Trust members get free acccess but must book so please email lochofthelowes@scottishwildlifetrust.org.uk for further information.
Any questions? If you have a question about your hide hire or would like to enquire about hiring it on a different day, please email lochofthelowes@scottishwildlifetrust.org.uk
Why visit?
The Loch of the Lowes Visitor Centre offers spectacular views across the reserve from the hides. Telescopes and binoculars are available to visitors to experience wildlife up close, hot drinks and snacks can be purchased and our wildlife-themed gift shop has a variety of products for all ages.
With a range of children’s activities always available in the children’s hide and our large viewing window allowing you to get up close to garden birds, red squirrels and great-spotted woodpeckers, there’s something for everyone at Loch of the Lowes.
Best time to visit?
- Apr – Aug for ospreys
- Apr – Sept for beavers
- All year round for red squirrels, wildfowl, garden birds and deer
Visit for:
- birdwatching
- woodlands
- wildflowers
- scenery
- mammals
Other information
Events: Find out what events are taking place at Loch of the Lowes in the coming months by checking out our Events page.
You can find out more about Loch of the Lowes in episode one of our Words of the Wild podcast series.
After losing her long term breeding partner LM12, resident female osprey NC0 has taken the eye of several other male ospreys. A young, heavily marked osprey known to us in the hides as the ‘Dark Intruder’ appears to have been accepted by NC0 as her potential future mate. It is clear from his behaviour that ‘D.I.’ is young and inexperienced, and most likely a 2-3 year old who has never bred before. He is roughly doing the right things by…
Since the sad loss of our breeding male LM12 at the start of the month it has been a tumultuous time on the nest for female NC0. After valiantly incubating her eggs for 5 days, she eventually headed off to feed herself, finally catching a huge fish the next day. NC0 with a rainbow trout © Scottish Wildlife Trust webcam With no male to defend the nest, several other osprey started to take an interest in…
We last wrote updating what had been happening on the nest on Tuesday evening, when the ‘Pale Male’ intruder came in and crushed one egg, flicked the other out the nest and kicked the other onto the edge of the nest cup. Later that evening NC0 returned to find her nest in disarray, rolled the remaining egg into the nest cup and attempted to incubate it for a short period, before leaving the nest for the night. The ‘Pale Male’…
Following the desperately sad loss of LM12, it has been encouraging to observe NC0 spending more time off the nest caring for herself by bathing and heading off on several fishing trips. The eggs have not been viable for several days now, after an extended period of exposure at night in the rain. Given that NC0 would not have been able to incubate them to hatching and raise any chicks without her mate, this was to be expected. Since Thursday…
UPDATE Saturday 4 May, 9pm: It is with a very heavy heart that we announce that a dead osprey was found near Dunkeld yesterday (Friday 3 May), believed to be male Osprey LM12. This evening (Saturday 4 May), Police Scotland issued a statement appealing for any information that the local community might have that could help establish the circumstances of death. Given the ongoing police investigation, we are not able to provide any further information at this time but will…
From tomorrow 1st November to 29th February 2024 Lowes Visitor Centre will be operating on Winter Hours. We will only be open to the public 10.30am-4pm on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays. Our admission charges fall to £4.00 Adult, £3.00 Concession, Children and Members remain Free. Throughout these months of short hours of daylight, the Double Decker hide will remain open 24/7. So, even if the centre is closed (Mon-Thurs inc) you can still come up and enjoy the tranquillity of…
Here we are in Autumn with increasingly short hours of daylight between rosy dawns and glorious golden sunsets – when it’s not stormy, that is! We hope you are safe and well and have not been too badly affected by Storm Babet. When dusk falls and we retreat to our electrically lit homes, spare a thought for the wide range of wildlife just emerging to go about their lives in darkness. What are these creatures doing in the dark? How…
With the breeding season all but over and ospreys embarking once again on their epic migration south, it’s a good time to look a little bit deeper at some of the trends being observed in osprey wintering behaviour. It is thought that both climate change and a rapid changes in land use are impacting many aspects of an osprey’s life from birth and breeding, to migration and wintering. Hunting threats, over fishing, human disturbance and habitat degradation all impact the…