As months go, January generally has a pretty bad reputation for being dark, cold, and really a bit depressing. Unless you are a reindeer herder, in which case January is likely to be one of your favourite months. Every year, from the end of the Christmas holidays to the start of the February holidays we close to the public. As much as I love taking hill trips and watching so many people spending time with the herd, after such a busy few weeks over Christmas, we all heave a sigh of relief once we can turn our signed to ‘closed’ for the month.
Despite being closed, January is still a really busy month. We spent the first few days getting all of our reindeer to the correct places to spend the winter free ranging. This year that coincided with a very snowy week, so we had lots of snowy walks and drives between Glenmore and our farm, to get everyone in the right places. We have been kept busy doing all the jobs that we just can’t do whilst we are open. Painting, cleaning, building, washing, repairing – you name it. Oh, and of course, we are still heading to the hills to feed the reindeer when we need to, we don’t feed the reindeer everyday so you will be treated to some extra dog photos this month – what’s not to love!
1st January 2026: Herders Lotti, Joe and Zoë with the lovely Winnie for the new years day feed. 1st January: The herd and herders walking up the boardwalk for their feed.3rd January: The lovely Lupin with a wonderfully snowy nose!3rd January: A very alarmed Daisy at the state of the shop floor after a busy, snowy day.4th January: Daisy leading the herd for their breakfast.4th January: The reindeer in the trees at the end of the hill trip.6th January: Fiona walking some of the reindeer onto the free-range hills.8th January: A very snowy walk from the enclosure with the boys getting them ready to free-range.8th January: The boys heading up onto the hills.8th January: The most enormous Icicle at the farm (Kate for scale).9th January: The very handsome Rowan was our office dog of the day!12th January: Sanna helping Fiona with her computer work!12th January: Cameron coming up with creative wet-weather clothing solutions.13th January: Suebi leading the herd over. With the deep snow and high winds we’d not seen the reindeer for 5 days. They were delighted to see us.13th January: Foxtrot and Beanie saying hi!13th January: Shannon on a snow patch.16th January: Cameron delivering the all important tea run!17th January: Cameron, Daisy and Hen feeding the herd on a rather dreich day.17th January: Helsinki and River being very lovely and Latte photobombing absolutely covered in feed! 😂19th January: Fiona and Lotti sporting rather fetching sunhats to keep the low, afternoon sunlight out of their eyes.19th January: As we arrived on the hill that afternoon the reindeer were looking very majestic on the skyline.20th January :Feeding the herd on a rather dreich day.25th January: Andi surrounded by a sea of calves!29th January Some very impressive snow drifts on the drive up the hill.29th January: Glacee, Pip, Suebi and Jig crossing a snowy patch.
Now we’re in the middle of winter, it’s hard to imagine the hills in summer time. But I found these photos on my phone from a day off in August and thought I would share them in a blog.
I was off for a walk with a friend around Cairn Gorm. During our walk we saw three groups of free-rangers, in different places on the hill which was really wonderful. The first group consisted of Orinoco, Nuii, Vanilla and Solero. The second group was Helsinki, her calf River and Brew. The final group was Sundae, her calf Salsa and Mississippi. My friend Hannah was visiting for the weekend and she had come on a Hill Trip to see the reindeer the day before so it was a real treat for her to see some of the girls out free-ranging. We also had my friend’s dog with us, Foss, so we had to take it in turns going over to see the reindeer whilst one of us waited with Foss at a good distance. We all had a wonderful walk and seeing the groups of free-range reindeer certainly made my day.
Orinoco, Nuii, Vanilla and Solero hanging out in the ski area.Vanilla and Solero looking wonderful!Foss at the top of Cairn Gorm.Brew walking over to say hi.Helsinki with her calf behind her (River) and Brew to the right.River, Helsinki’s calf. Our final group – Sundae and Mississippi.Sundae and Mississippi with Sundae’s calf (Salsa) close behind.Finally we stopped for a swim in Coire an Lochain on our way down.
Once again we had an excellent volunteer season in 2025, with a lot of familiar faces returning to spend another week with the reindeer, and also plenty of fresh new ones!
We take on volunteers for a week at a time, starting on a Monday, from roughly the start of May (start of April from 2026 onwards) when we move up to two daily guided Hill Trips, through to the end of the October holidays. In 2025 we had the Paddocks up and running once again so everything has had a more ‘normal’ feel to it, with volunteers learning the daily routine down at the Centre as we open to the public each day – lots of poo-picking and sweeping and general smartening up of the place each day! But most time is spent up on the mountainside with the main part of the reindeer herd, helping with the guided tours and chatting to all the visitors. Taking a volunteer along on one, often two, tours a day is the best way we can provide heaps of time right in amongst the reindeer – time that is something I suspect us herders can take for granted rather easily.
So, in no particular order, huge thanks to our ‘new’ volunteers in 2025 – Stephan, Victoria, Dylan, Marsaili, Ruth, Jo, Jane, Sarah, Kathy, Jamie K, Anna, Sue and Jamie C. There was also Daisy and Alicia, but it seems a bit odd now to list their names as volunteers as they’ve both come back to work for us – this time in return for money! Alicia, who lives locally, has been doing a couple of days a week, whilst Daisy (and her lovely collie dog Echo) loaded up her camper van and made the long journey north from Kent and is working full time for us. Volunteering is our favourite way of recruiting future staff, so hint, hint if you want to get your foot in the door here… Here’s a link to the excellent blog Kathy wrote for us after her visit, if you want an idea of what volunteers get up to. And here’s another blog written by Anna who amongst her volunteer duties enjoyed taking photos of the reindeer.
Kate and volunteer Alicia, who is now working with us a couple of days a week. Daisy on the left, who after a volunteering for a week in June is working here full time.Kathy and Busby.Marsaili (in the distance!) doing an expert job herding the reindeer on a very hot July day.
For the returnees, we had Kathleen, Jayne, Sophie, Lisa, Helen, Rachel, Katie, Stephanie, Anne, Becca and Emm. Long-term followers of ours will probably know of Emm, who’s helped us out over the years multiple times, and always writes us wonderful blogs about her time here! You’ll find her most recent blog from her visit in February here – no doubt there will be another from her October visit published in the next few months.
Hen, Fiona and returning volunteer Rachel doing some harness training with the male reindeer.Lisa has volunteered with us several times now – here she is hand feeding Magnum!Emm and Holy Moley in February 2025.
In 2025, 15 year old Maisy has turned from a volunteer to a paid member of staff, working some weekends and in the school holidays. She apparently can’t get enough reindeer time though, as she still turns up to volunteer too at times, sometimes arriving off the school bus unexpectedly! She wrote a blog with lots of lovely photos here, back in the summer. And Carol, our local volunteer from Moray, has been in on some weekends too.
All in all, another excellent year! If YOU are interested in volunteering, we start booking people in from the start of January each season, so drop us an email. Volunteer weeks start on Mondays from April to October inclusive, and are 5-7 days a time. We can only take on one person at a time though, so it’s first come, first served…
I volunteered with the Cairngorm Reindeer Centre in September from the 22nd to the 26th after being accepted which I was so happy about as I have been a fan of the Centre since moving from England up to the Highlands five years ago. I fell in love with Aviemore and the Cairngorms quite early on and experienced a Hill Trip after my husband surprised me with a reindeer adoption (Dr Seuss) for my birthday and since that I have been on three further Hill Trips in varying weather but particularly enjoyed it in snow.
I love reindeer, I find them fascinating, beautiful, calm, serene and endlessly photogenic plus I have acquired a passion for wildlife in the Highlands from seals, dolphins, whales, deer and to my favourite animal which is the reindeer. I am a very keen hiker and am getting to know more of the Cairngorm hills and mountains as time has gone by and my experience grows, so the combination of being amongst my favourite Highland scenery in addition to helping out with this physically demanding and rewarding role was an absolute must for me.
I am also a photographer who specialises in landscapes, locations, scenery and mountains but not much experience of wildlife so I really wanted to explore how to capture these majestic and friendly animals.
On my first day at the Centre I was struck by the amazing images that have been taken by herders already and that are produced into postcards, calendars and prints in the beautifully presented and stocked shop which only opened earlier this year. I noticed that landscape was the preferred format for a postcard and was inspired to try and produce my own stunning image when I first went out into the Paddocks and then onto one of my many Hill Trips that week. I was blessed with great weather luckily, some lovely blue skies combined with dramatic cloud over the Cairngorm range and plenty of sun too.
Anna’s inspiration to take the perfect photo.
My first attempt was to capture the reindeer in the Paddocks first thing in the morning when the cold breath was visible from their nostrils and the trees surrounding them made the early sunlight more interesting.
Adzuki in the woods.
My second attempt was when I was up at the top area of the hill enclosure with the other herders tending to a couple of poorly reindeer and while I had a few moments I managed to snap the other reindeer through the fence and a gate, plus an open door of the shed. There was I thinking I was clever and that I’d nailed it I went and showed Fiona back at the Centre, who has taken her own amazing photos over time that have made it on postcards. She told me very nicely that anything interrupting the view of the reindeer does not appeal to the public as they prefer to see the animals in their natural, free habitat without fences etc, great advice which I straight away took on board, even if a little crest fallen…
Tetley and Ryvita shot through the gate into the hill enclosure.Another angle of Ryvita and Tetley.Alba waiting at the entrance to the shed.
On my other Hill Trips once we had done our jobs feeding the reindeer and engaging with the public, answering their questions or taking photos of them with the reindeer near them, I was able to walk around a bit and try to get my own images from that day, depending on which reindeer was still enough or what would strike me as an interesting shot.
Busby walking up the boardwalk.Jester with Haka between his antlers.
I did manage to get a couple of photos through the antlers with a reindeer herder in the background which was a treatand I was very lucky one lovely day when I spotted the most amazing reindeer under the big photogenic tree with Meall a’ Bhuachaille (the hill) behind it and I took a few different pics while it was reaching up to the branches of the tree as if it was a giraffe on the African plains feeding from the high up leaves and then the same reindeer around the base of the tree with beautiful sunlight on it.
Herder Kate and reindeer Peanut taken through Caterpillar’s antlers.Popsicle under a pine tree with Meall a’ Bhuachaille in the background.Popsicle under the tree.Popsicle again with beautiful sunlight.
On my very last day I was blessed at the end of the second Hill Trip with a quick dash up to the ridge with Maisie to call and feed the roaming reindeer. on the top of that ridge (which I have hiked many times before) you get the most incredible view of the Cairngorm plateau so I was very happy to be in one of my favourite places. Maisie did a brilliant job of calling the small herd who swiftly ran down into the valley below and headed up into the wild heather just below us to have some food. I was amazed by the stunning scenery around me and the very beautiful reindeer with pristine antlers that came and stood right in front of me, so I promptly fell back into the soft heather behind me and started to photograph this unique scene.
Falling back into the heather to take in the moment.A lovely close up of Alba. Beautiful Alba again.
I believe I was very fortunate that afternoon to have the blue sky, mountains with the dramatic cloud and the joy of the prettiest reindeer around. Maisie did also take a photo of me with Cairngorms behind me which I very much appreciated.
Soaking in the views and the reindeer – Latte and Cheer (white face) closest to the camera. Anna and the reindeer, Zambezi is at the front stripping the velvet from her antlers.
Of course I did not want to leave at the end of the week as I was so loving being in this familiar environment with the animals that I had admired for ages and the herders that I had wanted to be like and learn from too, who all turned out to be amazing, helpful and friendly. What I learnt in those five days will stay with me for ever and the gratitude I have for the most amazing experience is as real as the reindeer and I remain hopeful that maybe one day a photo of mine will make it into the shop…
At the end of the summer, we begin to collect our female reindeer off the free range which allows us to give them a check over and start preparing for the rutting (breeding) season in October. How soon the reindeer make their way back to our hill enclosure usually varies per year and this year we were heading into October with two cows and their calves still somewhere out on the free range with very limited sightings of them.
We were close to mid-October when we received a very exciting call about some reindeer being spotted on the free range. Due to it being the rutting season, it meant that us reindeer herders were busy checking on reindeer in our hill enclosure and on Hill Trips meaning there wasn’t really anyone to spare to head out on to the free range. Since we had those two pairs of cows and calves still to be accounted for, we were keen to get out to the group as soon as we can.
The next day, I headed out to where the group was last seen and enjoyed a wonderful search on a quiet area of the mountainside with gorgeous weather. Lucky for me, the group of reindeer that had been seen weren’t that far from where they had last been reported. So, I headed down to them to identify who was there. Initially, I spotted girls that we had seen often through the summer period; Spy is easy to ID from afar as she is aloof and has a stunning set of antlers, Oatcake is another reindeer we had seen recently and is easy to ID on the free range as, as soon as she realizes you have food there is no getting away from her!
Spy has epic antlers and is always fairly suspicious of us!Oatcake is one of our older girls at 16 and loves the sight of a white bag whilst she’s out free ranging.
I moved closer to the group and noticed a few other younger reindeer like Fab and Mocha, who were both looking great and catching up with the group was made even more special once I had noticed we had a cow and a calf present (a calf who was huge and in great condition). Tap and her calf (now named Charleston) hadn’t been seen for a wee while, which meant that it was great to catch up with them. Tap was also uncharacteristically sociable and was keen to eat the hand feed that I had to offer, she is usually like her sister Spy in nature- very independent!
Yearling Mocha. Three year old Fab.Tap and her big calf, Charleston.
Now that we knew who was in the herd, I grabbed a few photos and then fed the group in a spot where it would be easy for my fellow herders to find them the following day. Once Tap and Charleston were moved into our enclosure, this just left one cow and calf on the hill side which we hadn’t seen since the start of the summer.
The next day a team of herders went out to catch Tap and her huge son Charleston and brought them back to the hill enclosure.
Fast forward a week, and we were in our hill enclosure walking out to one of our breeding groups who we were due to feed. At this time our free-range reindeer were keeping close to our hill enclosure in hopes of extra food and were right outside the fence line. I personally hadn’t thought much about it as I was focused on how Jimmy (the breeding bull) would react to our arrival and it wasn’t until Fiona took account of the group that we realized our last cow and calf had made their way back to the hill enclosure on their own accord; we weren’t expecting to catch up with Pinto and her calf Quickstep that morning, which was the most welcome of surprises.
Pinto on a halter and her calf Quickstep following just behind. Quickstep with his lovely white nose walking into the hill enclosure.
I have enjoyed heading out onto the free range a few times over the summer, getting to experience different areas that the reindeer frequent and I am constantly in awe at how much our girls move around during the summer and would love to get an inside view on their knowledge of the hill side, as it is quite common that we do not catch up with reindeer for a few months until they arrive on the door step of our hill enclosure.
