Please note that Loch of the Lowes Visitor Centre will be closed on Sunday 24th December 2023 (Christmas Eve).
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.
This winter, embark on a journey of thoughtful gift-giving with our curated selection that celebrates the wonders of wildlife here in Scotland. From the exquisite Connell’s Wild Scotland Gin to heart-warming animal adoptions, there’s a perfect present for every loved one. Dive into our festive gift guide and let the joy of giving begin! For the roaming deer – the perfect gift guide for those who love spending time outdoors in nature! Gift Memberships: Share the gift of…
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…
It has without doubt been a strange season with many twists and turns, from the very early arrival of our breeding pair female NC0 and male LM12 on the 17th March, a very cold spring and the subsequent injury of LM12 during the hatching of the first chick (PF4), to extremely low river levels for much of the summer, fluctuating hunting success, aggression on the nest and the early dispersal of NC0 and second chick PF5, (who have not been…
It’s been another busy but exciting few weeks as we continue our work with the Scottish Wildlife Trust. We have been preparing for the upcoming moth night in August and brushing up on our ID skills with the many different species of moths that live on the reserve by setting a moth trap outside the bothy and leaving it overnight. By early morning we had many different moths including burnished brass, common carpet, green carpet, antler moth and one confused…
The season kicked into full gear a few weeks ago and we have been out and about exploring all the different reserves and braving the rain; our waterproofs have definitely got their money’s worth! We recently took to a trip to one of our reserves at the Tummel Shingle Islands – Tomdachoille Meadow, to meet with Anthony McCluskey (and his beautiful collie who we all adored) from Butterfly Conservation. We were surveying for northern brown argus butterfly eggs on the…
The last few weeks continue to be a challenging and testing time for the osprey family at Loch of the Lowes. When we last wrote NC0 (the resident breeding female) had not been seen since 15th July. Sadly there still have been no sightings of her. Our working theory continues to be that the combination of a lack of hunting success in the area and the youngsters being fiesty enough to grab and defend a fish when delivered, (a key…