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.
Members receive free entry and fast-track access. Non-members can buy tickets on the door or pre-book by clicking the button below.
Buy tickets
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
Exclusive hide hire
Please click the drop down below for tickets and more information about booking exclusive access to the double hide.
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.
LM12 and NC0’s two chicks were ringed yesterday evening by a trained and licensed expert to allow people to follow their lives after they leave the nest. Young ospreys LP8 & LR0 © Keith BrockieThe oldest of the pair has been given the blue Darvic ring LP8 and the younger chick is ringed LR0. These rings are on their lower left legs, which will help identify them in future as ospreys which have come from a nest in Scotland. Sometimes…
The two chicks are quickly approaching adult size We’ve recently passed the longest day of the year, during which the ospreys were able to rely on a remarkable 20 hours of daylight here at Lowes. Long summer days and an abundance of lochs which are full of fish are among the reasons that Perthshire has become such a stronghold for ospreys. Life on the nest is going well and despite the sad recent loss of the…
Sadly the youngest chick at Loch of the Lowes died this morning after being attacked by its older sibling. The youngest chick hatched on 23 May A sudden drop in the number of fish coming to the nest during the recent period of strong winds seems to have triggered an aggressive response in the second chick. While it might seem brutal this is a natural response to food scarcity, which helps the strongest chicks survive to…
Ospreys are a species of raptor that you may have heard being referred to by nicknames such as ‘sea hawks’ or ‘river hawks’, and this is not without reason. They differ from other species of raptor, as instead of preying on rodents, small species of birds, reptiles, or scavenging carrion. Ospreys are piscivorous – meaning that their diet is almost entirely comprised of fish! LM12 delivers the first meal of the season (a salmon) to the…
Our young brood of osprey chicks have been enjoying the perfect weather for the serious business of eating, sleeping, growing and of course practicing their well aimed ‘over the edge of the nest’ pooping! We really couldn’t have asked for a better weather window to get them off to a great start – it just goes to show how much poor weather played a part in the survival rate of last year’s young. NC0 really is showing her worth as…
This June, Loch of the Lowes celebrates 50 years of welcoming public through the doors of our Visitor Centre. When the Scottish Wildlife Trust purchased the loch in 1969, it was our first fully owned wildlife reserve. Already rich with red squirrels, pine martens, great crested grebes and woodland flora and fauna, within weeks, a pair of ospreys appeared on the scene. Undisturbed and rich with fish to eat, Lowes was an ideal location for these magnificent and extremely rare…
Another eventful week has gone by here at Loch of the Lowes! Our third chick successfully hatched on Monday 23rd May and resident female NC0 has been especially attentive, providing plenty of food to the youngest chick which is getting stronger every day! We were a bit worried for NC0’s partner LM12 this week, as on Monday (23rd) he appeared on the nest unable to open his right eye, an injury potentially been caused by diving into water…
Yesterday morning (25th May), we had a very special ringed intruder land on the nest. Blue/White AE, also named ‘Rothiemurchus’, is a celebrity in the osprey world. He hatched at a nest site on the Rothiemurchus Estate near Aviemore in 2009. That summer he was ringed and fitted with a satellite tag by world-renowned osprey conservationist Roy Dennis, to provide insight into osprey migration patterns. His satellite tag tracked his migrations for 5 years, from 2009 to 2014, providing data…