Coronavirus update: Our Loch of the Lowes Visitor Centre remains closed and all events are still suspended until further notice. Please note that the car park, hides and woodland walk also remain closed during this time. However, our visitor centre team is now working their way through the government re-opening guidance to implement increased hygiene, social distancing and new admission measures.
We look forward to welcoming our visitors back when we are ready to reopen and hope you will join us on our reopening journey by following us on Facebook and Twitter.
Please check back on this page for further updates.
Loch of the Lowes Visitor Centre and Wildlife Reserve covers 130 hectares near Dunkeld. From early April to late August, the star attraction is a pair of breeding ospreys, which nest just 150 metres from our observation hide.
Address: Loch of the Lowes, Dunkeld PH8 0HH
lochofthelowes@scottishwildlifetrust.org.uk
Why visit?
Highlights include:
- Learning from knowledgeable and enthusiastic staff and volunteers
- Getting closer to the ospreys with binoculars, telescopes and live video footage
- Spotting red squirrels, woodpeckers and other woodland birds from viewing windows
- Joining a ranger-led beaver watch to spot these elusive mammals
- Children’s hide – games, books and bird viewing window. NEW 2020 climate crisis theme
- Quizzes, crafts, colouring in, nature table and microscope display
- Live and visual interpretation helps bring the story of 50 years of Lowes to life
- Education activities and school visits
- Regular family events throughout the year
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Gift shop stocking a range of wildlife-themed gifts, souvenirs and birdcare products
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Self service hot and cold drinks and light refreshments available. Nearest café in Dunkeld
Best time to visit?
- Apr – Aug for ospreys
- Apr – Sept for beavers
- All year round for red squirrels
- All year round for wildfowl
- All year round for bird feeders & deer
Visit for:
- birdwatching
- woodlands
- wildflowers
- scenery
- mammals
Other information
The Fungarth path leads from the historic town of Dunkeld to Loch of Lowes.
Events
Find out what events are taking place at Loch of the Lowes in the coming months by viewing our events leaflet.
You can book on to these events by clicking the button below.
PT0 lands at Poole Harbour © Birds of Poole Harbour We’ve had some exciting news from our colleagues at the Birds of Poole Harbour Osprey Project about a very special visitor to one of their artificial nests. Yesterday it was reported that a Loch of the Lowes fledgling from 2018, ringed PT0 arrived at 17:21 and stayed for around 40 minutes. Arriving to the same nest as CJ7 has been sitting on since April. She was…
Create a new scrubby to clean your dishes from your worn out socks! ©Amy Bastow During this time of isolation, I’ve heard many people refer to the war-time like spirit of reuse and upcycle. People are now actively looking to mend and repurpose rather than buy new. This is something that as conservationists we’ve been trying to encourage for years. Reduce, reuse, recycle has been a long established mantra and it’s good to know that…
Great Crested Grebe © Johnny Rolt Breeding plumage With its striking appearance and fascinating behaviours, the Great Crested Grebe is in strong competition to be considered as one of the most interesting and beautiful of all European waterfowl. Here at Loch of the Lowes we are lucky to have at least 3 breeding pairs, with one pair choosing their territory right in front of the main hides, making observation of their intriguing daily lives easier than…
It is great to read how many people are enjoying watching our webcam during this period of staying home. I know many of us, myself included, are enjoying listening to the bird call in the background – it almost feels like we are sat in the woodland at Loch of the Lowes, perhaps a bit warmer and more comfortable though! I have really enjoyed trying to identify some of the bird song in sound clips that have been sent in…
During these uncertain times we are all spending a lot more time at home and many people may have noticed that they have seen an increase in their household rubbish. Around 7 million tonnes of food is thrown away by households in the UK every year, and most of it could have been eaten. With extra time on our hands this is a perfect opportunity to look into how we can be more sustainable within our own homes, reduce…
This week our ospreys have been conspicuously absent from the nest. We’ve had some understandably concerned viewers write in to us with their questions, so we thought we’d answer some of these here. 1. Have the ospreys abandoned the nest? It looks increasingly likely. Visits to the nest by the resident pair are still happening but these incidents are becoming less frequent. 2. Do we think the birds have been scared off? We can’t be certain but…
Mute swans are regularly seen on water bodies within the urban environment. This makes them a regular sighting whilst going out for our daily exercise local to home. They are the largest and heaviest water bird in the British Isles and the only permanent resident swan which does not migrate (though they may move around the country in winter to better feeding grounds). What does a mute swan look like? Adults are completely white, but the head can be stained…
Well it’s been an interesting week watching our newly matched pair of ospreys on the nest. Continuing to bond LM12 and NC0 have continued on their journey to becoming more comfortable in their new found relationship this week with NC0 aiding LM12 in rebuilding the nest after it was wind blown last week. We’re used to seeing LF15 getting hit on the head with an incoming stick from LM12. So it’s refreshing to see NC0 has been bringing in the…