Update 19.07.21: Please note that you still require face coverings to enter the visitor centre.
Please allow extra time for travelling as A9 traffic is causing significant delays during the summer months.
Please read this page carefully and book online before travelling! We are most likely to be fully booked in the morning but afternoons are quieter. Tickets on the door cannot be guaranteed.
Visitor centre and reserve are closed to the public Tuesday and Wednesday.
Please respect centre staff and be kind. Thank you for your patience!
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.
Click on a heading below to find out more about visiting Loch of the Lowes.
Our visitor centre currently has a timeslot booking system in place. Each time slot is 1 hour 15 minutes in duration. Please arrive at the start of the time slot; 10:30, 12:00, 14:15 and 15:45 to get the most from your entry. The woodland trail leaves from the car park and does not require an admission ticket.
Information we collect from visitors to the Trust, via our booking systems, will also be used to support the NHS Scotland’s Test and Protect service and we will disclose relevant personal information to the service if requested up to 21 days following your visit. For more details, please click here.
Any questions? If you have a question about your ticket or would like information on moving timeslots/refunds, please email lochofthelowes@scottishwildlifetrust.org.uk
Information we collect from visitors to the Trust, via our booking systems, will also be used to support the NHS Scotland’s Test and Protect service and we will disclose relevant personal information to the service if requested up to 21 days following your visit. For more details, please click here.
Any questions? If you have a question about your ticket or would like information on moving timeslots/refunds, please email lochofthelowes@scottishwildlifetrust.org.uk
- 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 underwater theme
- Quizzes, trails, colouring in
- 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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Hot and cold drinks and individually wrapped light refreshments available. Nearest café in Dunkeld
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You are welcome to bring your own picnic to eat at our outdoor picnic area. Please dispose of your rubbish responsibly in the bins provided. Barbecues and gas stoves are not permitted
Please check ahead to make sure the centre is open. It may be subject to temporary closure due to a local lockdown or bad weather. If this occurs and you have pre-booked you will be notified and refunded. Please note that we are open Thursday – Monday, closed Tuesday and Wednesday.
We’re Good to Go
“We’re Good To Go” is the official UK mark to signal that a tourism and hospitality business has worked hard to follow Government and industry Covid-19 guidelines and has a process in place to maintain cleanliness and aid social distancing.
A range of new measures have been put in place in line with Scottish Government guidelines to keep you and our staff and volunteers safe. This includes pre-booked entry of limited duration, enhanced cleaning, sneeze screens and hand sanitising stations. Please do not visit if you or anyone in your household has any symptoms of Coronavirus.
Whether you live in Scotland or you’re just visiting please download the ‘Check in Scotland’ app from Google play or Apple app store before you visit. This will speed up our Test and Protect procedure.
We want you to have a safe and enjoyable visit.
During your visit, we ask you to please:
- Keep your distance from others (at least 2m)
- Wear a face covering in hides and the visitor centre
- Use the hand sanitising stations provided
- Wash your hands often
- Pay by contactless wherever possible
Why visit?
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 the Lowes.
Events
Find out what events are taking place at Loch of the Lowes in the coming months by checking out our Events page
As many of you will have noticed we’re back to occasionally having an empty nest again! Yes it’s that time of year. Both of the osprey chicks have fledged the nest and are taking their time to explore the reserve and the local area. LR1 fledged Friday 9th 17:01 and LR2 wasn’t far behind fledging on Monday 12th at 17:40. They are still being fed by LM12, so they will always come back to the nest for fish. They are…
It has been an exciting time here at Loch of the Lowes, watching our two Osprey chicks hatch and grow over the last couple of months. From watching them start to flap their wings, learn to feed themselves in the nest and yesterday, 9th July, our first chick, female LR1 took her maiden flight for the first time! After a morning of intense flapping by both young osplets, and showing off her ‘helicoptering skills’ to NC0, LR1 took the…
Tuesday dawned bright and sunny, with little to no wind – the perfect day to ring our two rapidly growing chicks. Ospey chicks LR1 and LR2 © Keith Brockie Keith Brockie, a local licensed and highly experienced raptor ringer once again did the honours, scaling the tree and successfully ringing the two chicks in situ, in order to minimise the time the chicks were without their parents on the nest. Keith knows the site well, having…
When will the chicks start to grow their feather? Our two little chicks began their journey covered in a fine coat of downy feathers. The cute, fluffy stage however doesn’t last long. At around 10-12 days they enter what is referred to as the ‘reptilian stage,’ where the start to grow in their second down which can be much darker and scaly, reminiscent of tiny velociraptors! At around two weeks the first pin feathers will be visible on their…
You don’t gain the nickname ‘flying fisherman’ without being up for the job. Ospreys have a number of features which help them succeed as an apex predator. Here are some of the adaptations they have which allow them to fish with the great success. Ospreys long muscular legs assist during hunting, by enabling them to stretch below the water’s surface to grab the fish spotted from some 30 metres above. The strength in their leg muscles is also used to…
Despite making an impressive entrance on Saturday, our third osprey chick unfortunately died in the nest early this morning. The season’s youngest bird had a difficult time of it. It wasn’t able to get much fish at feeding times and was struggling to hold its own against rapidly growing older siblings. While it received some food from NC0 on Monday we were increasingly worried about its prospects. We don’t know for sure why this chick was not being fed, as…
The third and final chick joins life in the nest cup! Though not so far behind its siblings, it’s still long enough to already be seeing a huge difference in the size between this newcomer and the first two chicks. It’s no surprise after seeing what a mere few days growth looks like, to know that ospreys put on 70% of their adult body weight in the first month of their life! Unlike the other hatches, there have been none…
Many animals cannot control when their young are born. But birds are able to influence when they want their eggs to hatch. There are two ways they can do this. Firstly, the females can control the timing of the development of her eggs before they are laid, and secondly, the adult birds can decide when to begin incubation, as egg development does not begin until the adult warms the eggs. Osprey eggs © Hayley Hodgson In…