Winter - The Cairngorm Reindeer Herd

15th May 202620th May 2026

Free – range season of 2026 comes to an end…

Since the first week of January, our wonderful herd of reindeer have been out free – ranging the mountains. Our females and smaller male calves from last Spring roamed the hills here in the Cairngorms, while our males, bigger male calves and their mums free roamed the hills not too far from our farm. Free – range season is a chance for all our reindeer to enjoy the good grazing and open plains of the sub-arctic tundra we find ourselves in here, and to grab a well earned rest after our busy Christmas season.

Free – ranging season provides the most stunning views of the reindeer with the backdrop of the beautiful Cairngorm mountains.

It’s also a fantastic time of year for us herders, getting to move the reindeer around the hills every morning, and take guests out to see them in their natural habitat with no fences. So, as free – range season draws to a close for 2026, it’s time to look back on our herders favorite moments.

Can you spot the herder amongst the herd?…

Lotti

Looking back over the last few months, one morning fetching the reindeer immediately sprung to mind as a highlight. To set the scene, the previous day, Andi and I had fetched the reindeer for the morning visit, and both agreed that the reindeer had been slower and more difficult to herd than either of us had EVER seen! Fast forward to the following day, I was feeling tired and whilst the morning walk out to find the reindeer is usually my favourite job, after the day before I was quite happy to do a hill trip instead. But alas, it was not meant to be. As it turned out Daisy was the only herder with enough beans to volunteer to walk out to find the reindeer. At this time of year it takes two of us, one at the front and one at the back, so reluctantly I joined her.

Poor Daisy had to cope with a distinct lack of enthusiasm from me on the walk out which finished with an uphill, off path trudge through the snow. When we reached the top of the hill though, we were greeted with the most wonderful sight, the herd on a snowy hillside with the beautiful mountains of the Cairngorm’s behind them. I have lived and worked here for a wee while, but a view like this still has the ability to take my breath away – I hope that never changes.

Of course, on that day the reindeer were good as gold, and we had the most wonderful time walking them in. I often find that the days when I’m feeling less joie de vivre than usual are the days that the reindeer and the mountains really show off and have the ability to completely change my mood. I couldn’t wipe the grin off my face for the rest of the day!

Orinoco leading the herd across the snowy hillside.

Amy

My favorite day from this winter free range was collecting the reindeer at the start of March. Myself and Hen had walked out to where the reindeer where and it was decided that I would be the person that would walk infront of the reindeer and lure them to the visit spot, whilst Hen would stay at the back of the herd and make sure that we didn’t leave any stragglers behind. At the front I could see that lovely Vienna was very determinedly trudging up the hill behind me, along with the sweetheart that is Ryvita, plus Christie and Cheer had taken a small group of reindeer on a questionable detour into a snowy crevice and Bordeaux was walking off very purposefully in the completely wrong direction. Given Bordeaux’s nature, it is very unusual for her to decide that she isn’t going to follow the herd, so I sat back for a brief second to see how things were going to play out and Bordeaux continued in the direction she was heading- away from myself.

Eventually, I rustled the white bag of hand-feed I was carrying to see if I could catch her attention and then it became evident that Bordeaux was confused about what direction I was going in. You could quite literally see in her face the moment she realised where I was and that I wasn’t in the direction she was expecting. I also loved the urgency she had when she walked off in the wrong direction, there was so much hope that just over the skyline she would be able to snack on some yummy handfood.

Whilst we were waiting for Bordeaux, Vienna is trying to persuade me to give up some hand feed.

Hen

My memory links directly to Amy’s, as I trailed along at the back of the herd keeping them moving in the right direction, like a sheepdog. Unfortunately my short stumpy legs cannot go uphill nearly as fast as a reindeer – or downhill, to be honest – so this role is often somewhat unneccessary when they are moving well as I’m struggling to keep up and can’t do much about stopping them going in the wrong direction anyway. On this particular day the herd had been quite hard work already, really preferring to stay put grazing, but once they were finally moving I clocked Bordeaux heading off in the wrong direction, leading multiple other reindeer with her. We were crossing a really rocky bit of ground and Amy was partway down the hill the other side already, and I remember yelling something rude at Bordeaux… Perhaps she realised at that point she was going the wrong way, or perhaps she’s well-versed in my swearing, but a minute or two later she appeared back in sight, now heading the right way…

I’m not sure this is necessarily my favourite memory, but it’s the one springing to mind right now, and the morning is one I actually have a photo from (although involving the random dog-leg of Bordeaux’s route).

Andi

My highlight of this year’s free-range season was fetching the herd from high on the mountain in a white-out, and having to use a compass bearing to navigate our way down out of the cloud – the first time in my 15 years of herding that I’ve had to rely on a compass whilst leading the herd! You will find out more about that experience in a few months time… keep following the blog!

The cows battling the high winds and snow gusts, protecting their calves in the harsh conditions.

Daisy

One of my most memorable moments from my first free-range season has to be the wild weather Saturday of moving reindeer in a blizzard! The day had started with hardly any clouds and blue skies when I first dropped Cam and Sheena off to move the reindeer that morning. But, by the time Andi, Emm and I set off for the Hill Trip, a white out blizzard had struck. I only managed to locate Cam and Sheena thanks to their bright waterproofs! As I waited for Andi, Emm and the Hill Trip guests enough snow had settled against my ski googles that I could hardly see past Juniper stood next to me. The snow was quite short lived though and the guests had the most amazing blue skies and calm breeze with a fresh layer of snow settled on the reindeer for their trip. The hills looked amazing!

After the guests had gone we had the task of moving the reindeer across flats, jump a burn, over the road, and up onto a new set of hills. We set off as the mornings blizzard returned and the winds picked up! It was my second go of leading the reindeer, and seemed quite daunting given the lack of visibility. But the combination of Andi’s hand signals from the back of the herd and Ryvita leading the charge and following my calls, meant we successfully crossed the burn and got them up onto the road. With a cluster of cars parked up in the middle of the road, everyone hanging out their windows to record the reindeer – the entire female herd of 73 steadily came into view as they ran across the road and up onto the bank of the next hill in a quick single file. I never get over how fantastic it is to see the reindeer rush over the road, and how excited all of the passing drivers are, but with the snow falling and having just herded them through a blizzard – it was pure magic. From there it was up onto the flat of the next hill and to give the reindeer some well deserved food, and then back to the centre for a hot cup of tea (and several custard creams)!

Chilling with Ryvita before the blizzard returned.

Maisy

My favourite moment in this winter free range was when Cam and I went out to fetch reindeer for the morning visit at the start of April. It was a stunner of a day with most of the snow gone which was meant to make it easy walking, however Cam decided to take us through deap heather and across a large river from the snow melt. Thank god I had my big wellies on! We headed along then up to where we thought the reindeer were. We arrived for where we last spied the herd, but they were nowhere to be seen. We had lost our 73 reindeer! I thought they had gone back the way we came, but Cam said that they probably carried on round the side of the hill. I suggested for us to split up to cover more area, so off we went in oposite directions with our walkie talkies turned on. All I could hear as I was walking back round the direction we came from was silence from Cams end. I was thinking about heading back and looking else where until I saw them! I was right. Cam was wrong… The reindeer had gone the way we wanted them to. Cam made us walk straight past them! Once Cam evantually caught me up with the reindeer (he took ages), I lead the herd up towards the visit spot (this was actually my first time leading reindeer on the free range!). Some were more enthusiastic than others to follow. We made it to the spot and awaited for Daisy’s arrival in the sun (which took longer than expected as she also got lost… what can you do?).

Can you spot Cam miles in the distance?…

Cameron

Erm… That’s not how I remember it!

Editor’s Note: This is all we could get out of Cam for his offical response.

Fiona

Being an old timer when it comes to reindeer herding I often end up leading the herd in for their morning feed rather than being the sheep dog at the back to keep them moving. This year we had a few newbies herders join our team and this was their first winter fetching reindeer so I took this on board and mostly lead the herd, even though everyone’s favourite job is at the back. At the back you just get to hang out, at a sensible pace and you don’t have to choose the route so when given the choice this is where most herders would want to be. Mid March I went out with Amy (another old timer) and this time I didn’t give her the choice, I opted for following along at the back. It was a glorious day, blue skies, sunshine and snow… Just perfect! I spent most of the time taking videos and photo’s and sending them to everyone I knew working an office job that day boasting about my morning. It’s days like this that make you forget about the wet, windy and claggy days that end up being a total mission and therefore restoring your faith in Scottish winters!

Kate

Free-range season is a real mix. The weather can be truly awful, and on days the reindeer are feeling stubborn, moving them can be a long and difficult slog. But sometimes, you get a bluebird day when the sun is out and the reindeer are hungry and cooperative, and these are some of my favourite mornings throughout the whole year. Me and ‘The Aisies’ (that’s Daisy and Maisy) headed out on a lovely blue-sky day in March to move the herd. We wouldn’t be returning by the same path, so Cam kindly dropped the morning feed at our destination (thanks, Cam!). We could see him from a distance, making his way to drop the bag. “He looks like a tick!” Daisy said. I then had to explain to her how perspective works and that things look smaller at a distance… Walking out without a heavy bag always nice. We found the herd at the crest of the hill, a few were up and picking through the snow to graze, but most were dozing in the sunshine. They were initially slow to get going, and split into two groups which can make things difficult, but having three herders is a luxury and made it much easier to keep the herd moving in the right direction. I led, the Aisies herded at the back, and we skirted around the slopes easily enough, until we hit some big snow patches and the reindeer started to pick up speed. Eventually, Emmental decided she knew exactly where we were going and passed us. The herd followed, and most of them rushed over the snow to gather ahead, where the feed was waiting. I waited for Daisy and Maisy to catch up and we enjoyed having the last few minutes of the walk to just enjoy the sunshine and chat.

A lot of our most memorable days on the free-range are the big adventures, when it’s difficult, and you feel exhausted but accomplished at the end of it, but I always love the calm mornings, when things are easy, the sun is out, and you have enough time to stop for a moment and appreciate the reindeer and the incredible place we live.

Emmental and her son, Oro, leading the herd, 7th March 2026

Sheena

I think we all love heading out to look for reindeer in the morning when they are free ranging on the high slopes of Cairngorm. My most memorable walk out this year was with Cameron, just at the end of winter start of spring. Our biggest challenge was what to wear. The weather was sunny one minute and then full on winter blizzard… So a full set of winter waterproofs, gloves, hats, hoods and last minute went back for ski goggles! We had a long walk and luckily we spotted them just before the weather changed into a white out snow storm. Goggles on time.

We had several challenging stream crossings, the first one had a big snow drift over it and was very dodgy spring soft snow, so we went for a crossing area up stream, with a good helping hand from Cameron when I jumped over, so no wet boots for me. After locating the reindeer Cameron lead the way as our plan was to move the reindeer to an area easier for our visitors on the hill trip, it took 30 mins in white out condition. Just as we got near our Hill Trip spot, we saw a hill walker on the hill path who unfortunately had a very noisey dog and, two barks later the reindeer turned on their hoofs and headed back up the hill! Luckily the sun came out, blue sky and we caught up with the herd not too much higher and changed our visit location as the weather was now sunny. It was now a safe option for our visitors. Cameron and I had a good work out and I wish I had a step counter that day – it would have been miles.

You may have caught the wonderful video of Sheena and our lovely Holy Moley post blizzard hike! If not you can watch it on our facebook page here.

Alicia

March has been my first taste of the free-range season, and thus has been host to many small ‘firsts’ for me! First time leading free-range Hill Trips, first time seeing the girls out in the mountains (leading them off the road in December doesn’t count!), first time out with radios trying to bring the girls to a nice spot for the Hill Trip in the mornings…

My favourite memory from this season was also my most trying morning. Fiona and I hiked out in the morning, braving blue skies but 30+ mph winds (which is quite a lot when you’re carrying a lot of reindeer feed on your back!). The cows and calves were happily resting in a little gully when we came upon them, and they were very much not in the mood for moving on! I was the ‘sheep-dog’ at the back of the herd trying to encourage some rather stubborn lassies on from the nice patches of lichen they had found, all the while unsuccessfully dodging boggy sections of ground. After finding a safe way to cross the river, I gave a quick celebratory ‘Yes!’, before promptly falling into a bog on my next step…

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Hope you enjoyed all our favourite moments from 2026, and here’s to free – range season 2027!

The Cairngorm Reindeer Herders

10th April 20267th April 2026

Reindeer Around the World: The Svalbard Reindeer

Rangifer tarandus platyrhynchus

A wonderful past blog written by herder Hen detailing how the species Rangifer tarandus (more commonly known as reindeer) is broken down into seven different subspecies, got me thinking that I didn’t know too much about these differences. What adaptations did each subspecies have to equip them for their differing environments? I decided to start my research with the Svalbard reindeer – the smallest of all the reindeer and only found within the islands of Svalbard.

It is estimated that Svalbard reindeer became isolated from other populations of reindeer around 10,000 years ago when the vast ice sheet covering the Barents Sea melted as the earth warmed after the last ice age. Svalbard then became cut off from mainland Europe, effectively trapping any land mammals.

So, what happened to them 10,000 years ago to equip them with living on an open, isolated, arctic tundra landscape? Unlike other subspecies of reindeer, the Svalbard population dropped its need to migrate, only needing to cover short distances on a regular basis, remaining on mountain ridges and plateaus – continuously exposed to the elements. They also lacked forests for cover and fed primarily on short-growing lichens and vegetation.

The home of the Svalbard reindeer – open plains and Arctic mountains.

Apart from the occasional polar bear… the Svalbard reindeer also doesn’t have the worries that other subspecies have regarding predators. Due to these changes in their food chain and environment, the Svalbard reindeer evolved to have far shorter legs than the other subspecies. They could still reach a maximum speed of 60 to 80km/h but didn’t require the longer legs of other reindeer – so to conserve body heat, their legs became shorter.

*Body heat is lost through a reindeer’s legs due to less fat and blood vessels near to the surface of the skin, so if you don’t need to migrate – grow shorter legs and stay warm!*

Svalbard reindeer running, perfectly displaying how disproportionate their bodies are to their small heads and legs. Perfectly adapted to an environment that doesn’t require movement, but encourages good fat reserves. (Photo credit: Bjørn Christian Tørrissen)

Another unique adaptation to the Svalbard reindeer is their difference in circadian rhythm to other subspecies of reindeer. Svalbard has an extremely reduced day length in winter months. There are between 100 to 150 days per year during which there is no light and the sun does not rise above the horizon. Research has concluded that the Svalbard reindeer has a mutation in a gene associated with maintaining circadian rhythm, allowing their bodies to cope with lack of sunlight (vitamin D etc.). Another change in the genetic make up of this subspecies in comparison to the others, is a change in the genes associated with eye/ optic nerve development – allowing their eyes to adapt to winter conditions.

Svalbard reindeer have dark eyes, that like other subspecies are able to see into the shorter end of the light spectrum. This allows them to use UV light during twilight periods of the year to see their general surroundings – identifying food sources, other forms of life, etc.

Their diet is very similar to other subspecies of reindeer, feeding on low growing vegetation found along ridges, plateaus and mountain slopes. Feeding to excess on healthy vegetation during summer and then relying on fat reserves and limited grazing during winter when vegetation is limited, but lichen can be found in abundance. The Svalbard population is more of a solitary subspecies than the typical social herd structure of other populations of reindeer. They are often only found in groups of three to five and so over grazing is not as much of a concern in a smaller region, such as Svalbard. However, despite this, starvation is the most common cause of death due to worn teeth grazing on sparse vegetation growing amongst rocky landscapes, or from food frozen into ice pastures.

*Svalbard reindeer grazing on vegetation with areas of ice pasture seen behind them.*

Pick out the areas of low quality grazing amongst the rocks.

Despite their challenges and differences, one thing is for sure… the Svalbard reindeer are one darn cute animal!

*Trying to think of something professional to say here, but all I can think is… STOP IT!*

Okay, no more cute photos! I’ll leave it there until next time when we look at the cool adaptions of another subspecies of the Rangifer tarandus.

Daisy

More reading:
https://polar-latitudes.com/discover/wildlife/svalbard-reindeer/
https://www.americanscientist.org/article/the-eurasian-arctic-during-the-last-ice-age
https://www.aurora-expeditions.com/eu/wildlife/arctic/mammals/svalbard-reindeer
https://academic.oup.com/gbe/article/17/9/evaf160/8233719
https://npolar.no/en/species/svalbard-reindeer/#3

3rd April 202616th February 2026

A Reindeer Christmas

A Christmas Eve tradition of my family is to go see the reindeer parade in Kingussie. When I was younger I often got to go on the sleigh, of course to my delight. Last year Fiona surprised me and I got the chance to pull the front of the sleigh with Akubra and Poirot. This year I had a feeling it would happen again and it did! However, Fiona did give me a warning in the lorry this time. She is known to surprise you…

Maisy with Poirot and Akubra at the 2024 Christmas Eve parade in Kingussie.

As a Christmas present to my family this year, I decided to take them up the hill to see the reindeer. The Centre is closed on Christmas Day but the reindeer in the enclosure still need to get their feed for the day. Fiona said if no one else said they’d do it; I could with my family. After a bit of persuading they agreed, and I took a couple from my family and a few friends up the hill. You can’t get a better Christmas than that! All photos here are taken by either myself, my dad or my brother.

When we got to the enclosure, we had all the reindeer on Cairngorm waiting for us. The girls who were on the free-range were asking for a wee bit of extra food too. We picked up the food for the reindeer in the enclosure and headed up the hill. It was a frosty morning and cold, but it was so beautiful. The sun even came out for a while which was lovely. We were all wrapped up but of course the reindeer were very well insulated with their winter coats. We usually feed the reindeer in the hill enclosure a couple of times a day depending on what time of the year but since we were only feeding them once we had a lot of food to take. Thankfully the team on Christmas Eve took it all up to the bins on the hill so we didn’t have to carry it all the way up.

My cousin Magnus leading the reindeer up the hill.

We wandered around the hill introducing the reindeer and answering questions all about how awesome they are. We also had our friends Lorriane and Massa too and they were just amazed. It’s so nice to show people that you know where you spend a lot of your time and where you just love to be. I’m sadly coming up to my exams so I will be cherishing my time with reindeer, Christmas definitely wrapped it up so nicely.

We then headed over to see the free ranging reindeer and I hadn’t seen any of those guys in such a long time, so it was so nice to see them. I was rusty at identifying them, so I had to get my trusty back up plan of a photo from the board in the office which keeps track of the whole herd.

The free ranging girls, left to right Nuii, Pumpkin, Brew, Alba, Camomile.

The girls on the free range haven’t had a chance of hand feeding for quite a while due to them being on the free range for the past year or so. Some exceptions for a couple of the breeding females. They can sometimes be quite wild and excited when they haven’t been around people for a wee while. I turned around to swap bags with my mum as I had an empty sack and she had a full bag of hand feed. As I turned, I saw my mum standing there whimpering. Ryvita, a 14-year-old female with no antlers, had her nose right up against her bag. I hadn’t laughed that hard in a long time. Sadly, no one was quick enough to get a photo or video of the moment of her being scared out of her mind.

Latte being a yearling is now getting to enjoy free ranging on the mountains.

For my Dad’s Christmas present, (which he didn’t know at the time as I’m a very last-minute person who left it too late,) was an adoption of Vanilla. You can find out what you get if you were to adopt a reindeer here. We’ve been in the hills together quite a few times and when we’ve come across a few reindeer, she’s usually always there. She’s such a beautiful girl and every time he always gets a good photo of her, so I thought they’d be a good match.

Vanilla posing on Christmas Day beautifully.

Sadly, not everyone was able to make it on the 25th so I promised to take them up another time. That just happened to be on the 3rd of January. I took my brother and his girlfriend up the hill on a very snowy day. It feels like magic when you’re with the reindeer in the snow, kicking the snow up to get the lichen and deer grass, or them walking in the snow easily while all the humans are falling in streams and falling down snowholes. Although in typical Maisy fashion, I faceplanted off the boardwalk in front of a whole group of visitors.

99 and Cowboy begging Maisy to give them more hand feed.

I sadly had not learnt my lesson and buried my hand feed bag underneath the snow because the reindeer kept pestering me when holding it. I’m not saying any names, but it wasn’t Dr Suess, Cowboy and Tub. I then had a hard time trying to get their big noses out of the bag within all the snow, if you know anything about trying to get a Christmas reindeer nose out of a white bag it’s hard considering their brain is controlled by their stomachs. Which is the same with me, I’ll be honest.

Holy Moley enjoying the winter which has finally arrived.

The reindeer look magnificent in the snow when it all just sits on their nose, and of course it doesn’t melt because they are so well insulated that they don’t let the heat out to melt the snow. However, all the humans do not look magnificent and are bumbling around in the snow trying not to fall in a snow-covered burn. Unfortunately, yes, three of us did fall in the same burn at the same time.

They couldn’t get rid of me that quickly. As the next day I came back up to Glenmore the to go up a Meall a’ Bhuachaille with Sanna and Echo the dogs. The best hill in Scotland and some of the best snow I have ever seen up there. So much fun although, so much more energy goes into walking in deep snow especially at some points I was sinking above my hips and the dogs kept vanishing under all the powder.

Sanna and Echo between her ears near the summit of Meall a’ Bhuachaille.

Maisy

27th February 202627th February 2026

Photo Blog: February 2026

February is the month that we ease ourselves back into Hill Trips again after being closed for a month. From mid-January to mid-February, we are trying to catch up with general maintenance and into February prepare for being open to the public again. The start of the month consisted of feeding reindeer, ensuring we are prepared for opening and we also spared some time to visit one of the Lynx reintroductions drop in’s that have been happening in the area.

The 7^th of February was our first day open to the public. It is always a bit of a daunting thought, and you’re left hoping that you remember how to talk about reindeer and that you have hopefully remembered everything that needs done first thing in the morning. But these anxious thoughts were soon squashed by our first Hill Trip of the season, the weather was good and how to be a public facing reindeer herder came flooding back!

The weather at this time of the year can be challenging and trying to take a picture that encompasses how brutal the weather is on a hill trip is hard. Daisy and I did a Hill Trip on the 11^th, and the conditions were rather wintery. The met office report for the day told us that the max wind gust at Base Station was to be 26 MPH, our Hill Trip that day was lower than Base Station and the wind was enough to knock you off balance, so I feel it may have been a little stronger than that! I do love the variation that we get in weather as it makes the good weather days feel special.

4th of February: Left to Right- Suebi, Orinocco, Bolero, Ceilidh and Glacée on a very blustery trip out to feed the herd before we begin Hill Trips again.

5th of February: Ruth and Lotti enjoying biscuits whilst completing their Lynx questionaires.

7th of February: Myself, Kate and Maisy with Ryvita after the first Hill Trip of the new season.

8th of February: Trilby leading the herd in for our morning Hill Trip with Disco on her left, Tango and then Pip.

11th of February: On the walk out to the reindeer myself and Cameron noticed some unusual prints in the snow… Possibly Badger prints?

11th of February: Cameron teaching his merry band of calves bad habits

11th of February: Above is Beautiful Solero. This was the first day of good weather we had seen in a while, so plenty of pictures were taken!

15th of February: Another mission to collect the reindeer before our 11 am Hill Trip. In the fore ground (left-right) we have Dante, Disco and Bolero.

18th of February: The first day of the season where we had to cancel the Hill Trip due to the weather. Sanna, Fraoch and myself agree that it was the best call!

19th of February: Daisy clinging on for her life on a very windy walk out to collect the reindeer in the morning.

22nd of February: Vienna, often found snooping around us herders looking for extra food.

25th of February: Polka leading the herd in before our Hill Trip.

Amy

20th February 202616th February 2026

Photo Blog: Reindeer in the snow

Breaking trail and the herd following in my footsteps. Holy Moley right behind me.

Breaking trail and the herd following in my footsteps.

Colder temperatures bringing them lower towards the tree line.

Counting reindeer as they walk towards me.

Feeding free rangers during the first snowfall.

Fuzzy noses keeping them warm while they snuffle into the snow for low growing vegetation and feed from us herders.

Winnie demonstrating how their thick coats allow the snow to settle, so well insulated it doesn’t melt.

Daisy

6th February 202615th January 2026

Hen’s Christmas wall of shame – 2025

I thought I might start an annual blog of photos I’ve taken over the winter season, of things that are supposed to be reindeer – and aren’t. Although it turns out that being as I didn’t really go anywhere this winter, I didn’t take that many photos. Will try harder next year…

First up, shortbread. The commonest offender at Christmas I reckon, every shop has Christmassy tins of red deer, blatantly assuming they are reindeer. Or maybe just assuming that ‘deer are deer’ and they’re all the same… (arggh).

Shame on you, Tesco.

Ah, wrapping paper. Also a common offender. I’m not even sure what this (below) is supposed to be. It ain’t no reindeer, that’s for sure…

Another image I saw online that I thought warranted a mention, despite not being my own photo, was a new Banksy on a wall in Birmingham. The ‘reindeer’ (prancing Christmas affairs) are pulling a sleigh represented by a bench that is often used by homeless people; in the Guardian’s words: A Christmas cracker with a bang of reality. I like Banksy’s artwork, but ya know, would have been better if the mural showed actual reindeer…

Whilst I mostly failed miserably at remembering to take photos of the Christmas monstrosities masquerading as reindeer (quite possibly because I usually take a wide berth around the Christmas aisles in most shops), my winner this year (below) came looking for me at the Reindeer Centre, arriving in a box of stationary I’d ordered from Viking.

Eventually, having stared for too long at the vaguely fallow deer-esque antlers, still in velvet, on a head that isn’t a fallow, I realised it’s an AI picture entirely (as opposed to some bubble wrap and a ribbon being photoshopped onto an actual photo). God help us. So I’m naming and shaming you, Viking Office Supplies!

I’ll be back in a year with the Christmas 2026 edition of this blog…

Hen

30th January 202630th January 2026

Photo Blog: January 2026

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.

1^st January: The herd and herders walking up the boardwalk for their feed.

3^rd January: The lovely Lupin with a wonderfully snowy nose!

3^rd January: A very alarmed Daisy at the state of the shop floor after a busy, snowy day.

4^th January: Daisy leading the herd for their breakfast.

4^th January: The reindeer in the trees at the end of the hill trip.

6^th January: Fiona walking some of the reindeer onto the free-range hills.

8^th January: A very snowy walk from the enclosure with the boys getting them ready to free-range.

8^th January: The boys heading up onto the hills.

8^th January: The most enormous Icicle at the farm (Kate for scale).

9th January: The very handsome Rowan was our office dog of the day!

12^th January: Sanna helping Fiona with her computer work!

12th January: Cameron coming up with creative wet-weather clothing solutions.

13^th 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.

13^th January: Foxtrot and Beanie saying hi!

16th January: Cameron delivering the all important tea run!

17th January: Cameron, Daisy and Hen feeding the herd on a rather dreich day.

17^th 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.

Lotti

26th December 202523rd December 2025

Photo Blog: December 2025

The last photo blog of the year! I’ve actually been rather rubbish at taking photos this month as it’s just been so busy (and rather dark with the shortest days of the year) but here’s a wee look at some of the pics I’ve taken on my phone over the past few weeks.

Christmas events went well with teams making us all very proud. Hill Trips have been mostly sold old for weeks (well done if you got tickets) and Christmas Fun was mostly sold out too – it’s been great to see so many people enjoying the brand-new Exhibition and folks getting to meet Santa! Meanwhile up on the hill the reindeer have all been well and unaware of the slight frazzled state of the herders down at the Centre.

Enjoy the photos and Merry Christmas! A big thank you to all who have read the blog over the last 12 months.

4th of December: Brie is having a wonderful end to 2025 free ranging in the hills.

4th of December: Another reindeer from the ‘Cheese’ year! Feta is also having a wonderful time out free ranging. She’s grown a cracking set of antlers this year.

5th of December: Ceilidh coming over to see if there is any spare food for her.

9th of December: Tub on a very soggy day.

10th of December: Moving the free ranging herd – easiest way to get them to where we wanted was just to walk up the road! Old girl Ryvita leading the way.

13th of December: The ‘Christmas Fun’ team for the day – Sherlock, Stenoa, Bond, Charleston and Quickstep.

14th of December: Leading a team of reindeer off the hill ready for their event at Landmark – Lupin and Magnum at the front.

15th of December: These boys have all been superstars on Christmas events this season – Jester, Busby and Dr Seuss.

16th of December: Disco and her beautiful mum Dante.

16th of December: Marple and her son Mosh. He’s such a cheeky wee thing!

19th of December: The herd coming in for their breakfast.

23rd of December: Salsa lying down after a Hill Trip.

Ruth

28th November 202527th November 2025

Photo Blog: November 2025

November has whizzed by. Even more so because I took a week off at the beginning of the month. Don’t worry though, this blog has just as many photos in as normal!

When I left at the end of October the rut was still underway for a couple of our breeding bulls. On my return the rut was well and truly over, and sleigh training had started! One reason I love this job is that every season is different with new things happening every few weeks.

Hopefully you’ll enjoy this snapshot of November. The snowy days were some of my favourites!

13th of November: Morven with her crazy curly antlers!

13th of November: I’ve only just noticed Beanie and Quickstep (Pinto’s calf) have matching coloured hooves!

13th of November: Sleigh training on a soggy afternoon in Glenmore. Kulfi and Jester at the back.

14th of November: Kulfi and Jester in the Paddocks. Kulfi drinking from the burn that flows through their night-time (off show) enclosure.

14th of November: Six-month-old Jig looking handsome! He’s Chickpea’s calf.

14th of November: Beautiful Beret on a cold morning.

14th of November: Salsa and her mum Sundae behind.

15th of November: My first Christmas event of the season in Buckie. The team were amazing.

17th of November: I helped out on a photoshoot trying to get the reindeer into position for two models. Kernel, Zoom and Dr Seuss were very obliging… if food was on the cards!

18th of November: Reindeer on the ski road! A regular sight at this time of year.

18th of November: Sanna and Tiree keeping me warm in the lorry.

18th of November: Sleigh training in the snow! Zoom pulling for the very first time alongside Mivvi.

20th of November: Snow has arrived!! Alba looking amazing.

20th of November: Florence leading the herd through the snow.

20th of November: More snowy reindeer – they’re all so stunning. This is Popsicle closest to camera and Cheer behind.

20th of November: Vanilla camouflaged for the first time since last winter!

21st of November: Haka suckling from his mum Christie.

21st of November: Another white reindeer in the snow! This time six-month-old Morris.

22nd of November: Patchy snow on the hill this morning after a warmer spell. This is Oro who potentially has the best tuft of all calves this year. He belongs to Emmental.

22nd of November: Sorbet and daughter Ballet sharing a pile of food.

27th of November: Cicero patiently waiting for breakfast.

27th of November: Some of this year’s gorgeous calves Bolero, Waltz, Lochi, and Foxtrot’s nose!

Ruth

17th October 202511th October 2025

Volunteer Blog: Emm’s visit in February 2025

It was very exciting as the new Reindeer Centre building and Paddocks were up and running. It was still ‘work in progress’ with still lots to do. The Exhibition was not ready for the visitors yet but four reindeer were in the Paddocks. Visitors were coming in to see them, the new shop and to go and see the reindeer up on the hill. The new Reindeer Centre building is so amazing and really nice. There is a staff room upstairs and an office downstairs and there is even a boot room for all our jackets, waterproofs and boots. The dogs aren’t allowed in normally so they stay behind in Reindeer House. I found my gold plaque on the outside of the building celebrating my Loch Swim which I was very excited about.

On my first morning, I did the Hill Trip with Ruth and Cameron but we missed all the excitement when, back at the Centre, Pip the reindeer jumped over a low rail in the Paddocks on to the board walk and escaped leaving her 9-month old calf Pukka behind! She ran out the visitor’s gate entrance, around Glenmore to Loch Morlich, through the campsite and back. Eventually Fiona and Amy caught her and brought her back and made the low rail bit higher to stop her escaping again. The next day with Fiona I took Pip and her calf Pukka from the Paddocks back to the herd on the Cairngorm free range. I led Pukka up the hill and Fiona led Pip. Ruth and Cameron had been to find the reindeer that morning and had just made it to the Hill Trip visit spot. We saw Pip and Morven have a fight with their antlers and were pushing each other to establish the pecking order. Fiona gave the reindeer their breakfast and then took Dante and Suebi off the free range for their turn in the Paddocks. It was a busy day on the mountain when we saw two ambulances going up the ski road, then an air ambulance helicopter was in the carpark. I later found out there were two Cairngorm Mountain Rescue call outs and rescues that day.

One of the days I got to go to Tilly’s farm and onto the second free range area. I went with Fiona and Lotti in Brenda the reindeer truck. On the way there, we were so lucky as we saw nine Black Grouse lekking by the side of the road. It was very exciting to see. We walked up and met Tilly who was on the quad bike and was calling down the free ranging reindeer who were there. The reindeer were surrounding the quad bike because of the bags of reindeer feed on it. We found Dr Seuss, LX, Clouseau and Morse and Fiona and Lotti walked them off the hill as we were taking them back to the Paddocks for another reindeer swap. I fed the reindeer with Tilly. Me and Tilly went further up on the hill on the quad bike to look for the other group of free ranging reindeer including Scully, my adopted reindeer. Tilly and I called and called but they didn’t come to our calls so Tilly said she would come up and find them to feed them later that day as me, Fiona and Lotti had to get back to the Reindeer Centre. Tilly drove the quad bike with me hanging on downhill back to the farm where we met Fiona, Lotti and the four reindeer. It was so exciting. We stopped off at Bothy Bakery and got ourselves some hot drinks and treats. When we got back to the Reindeer Centre, we put the four reindeer boys in the Paddocks and swapped them for Oatcake, Dante, Suebi and Mangetout who with Andi and Hen I took to the reindeer herd on the Cairngorm free range. I led Oatcake up. The reason for the swap was that the girls getting a bit feisty in the Paddocks and were fighting each other so we decided to get the boys into the Paddocks as they are more laid back.

Some of our lovely males enjoying themselves free ranging.

Whilst I was there this time, I had my windiest and rainiest Hill Trip ever. It was on the free range. People who had booked on to it had a choice not to go and get a refund or go in the Paddocks and children weren’t allowed on it because of the conditions on the hill. Eleven people turned up so Me, Hen and Cameron did the Hill Trip. Rain was pelting in my face and I was trying not to get blown over and got very wet. The reindeer were not bothered by it. They were all sitting down when we got to them. It was so wild that after the Hill Trip we left in one big group. Normally people can leave the reindeer in their own time. Also Hen and Cameron kept their talks short and Andi and Ben had brought the reindeer down closer to the car park than normal. We said we could go by the shelter building by the carpark after the Hill Trip if anyone had any more questions. We said to the visitors at the beginning if they set off with us and the weather got too much that they could go back down. Afterwards, in the Paddocks, I talked to people who couldn’t go up on the Hill Trip that day.

Pumpkin closest to camera, part of the free ranging herd.

A couple of days after that Hill Trip the weather got worse meaning one day when I was there that it was too dangerous to go and find the reindeer and do a Hill Trip so no one went out that day. We all did inside jobs that day.

On the Hill Trips, you get to meet lots of interesting people from all over the world and it is brilliant seeing their reactions when they get to meet the reindeer and when you answer their questions about the reindeer.

I did the hand feed talk most of the time, guiding the visitors on how to hand feed a reindeer correctly and make the most of it. One day after a Hill Trip, me, Lotti and Ruth chilled out with Winnie for a few minutes. I had a selfie with them. When we got back to the Reindeer Centre, a visitor gave us all a chocolate bar each to say thank you for taking them to see the reindeer. It was very kind and thoughtful of them. On a Hill Trip, I saw Torch licking her 9 month old calf called Cappuccino which was very cute.

There was one very exciting trip a few days later when I went to find the reindeer with Ruth to bring them down to the visit spot. We walked up a very steep bit which was 935m high (the highest I have ever been in the Cairngorm Mountains) and also a different part which I have never been too. We found the reindeer up very high chilling and sitting down. Meanwhile Lotti went to the visit spot that day to drop off the food bags for the reindeer’s breakfast and started to climb up a high ridge to meet us. Ruth started leading the herd with a hand feed bag whilst I was the sheep dog at the back. We went down a bit towards a gully that we would have crossed. When we got to the gully, Ruth stopped and said there were snow bridges across the gully which were too dangerous to cross. Ruth and Lotti radioed each other to say the best plan would take the reindeer to a different visit spot so Ruth and I took the reindeer back on ourselves and went down the mountain a different way. The reindeer were a bit confused as we had changed direction. Lotti could see Ruth and me moving the reindeer from the ridge she was on. Ruth was about 200m ahead of me whilst I was at the back being a sheep dog encouraging them to move and stay together as a herd. Winnie walked part of the way with me by my side and she also walked part of the way by Ruth’s side too. I saw a white mountain hare run very fast past me going up the mountain. There were some snow patches which we had to cross and it was so lovely seeing the reindeer on the snow patches and I could even hear them crunching the snow when they walked across them. We met Lotti at the new visit spot. The Hill Trip had set off so we waited till Andi and Hen had got up to us with the visitors. Whilst we waited for them, we chilled with the reindeer. I then stayed for the Hill Trip with Andi and Hen. Me and Hen gave them their breakfast whilst Andi talked to the visitors and we did the Hill Trip. This day felt like one of my biggest achievements and I was so proud of myself. Ruth recorded the walk on Strava. I got a very special reindeer herding badge for it too.

Ruth and Emm after a successful free ranging mission.

Walking behind the herd of free rangers.

On other days I did inside jobs in the Reindeer Centre. I swept and hoovered with Henry the hoover the office, hall, shop, staff room and boot room. I cleaned and wiped the shop shelves. I helped Andi set up shelves in the staff room and move boxes. I helped Lotti measure for a sofa bed in the staff room. A few days later, Amy went to get it and I helped push it into place in the staff room. I made up the adoption gift packs up too which was a pen, a magnet and a pencil case. I made up the 1^st adoption packs which includes certificates, leaflets, ID cards, letters etc., folded the Paddock information sheets which the visitors can have when they go into the Paddocks and cut out the Cairngorm Reindeer Flag stickers.

Other jobs included feed mixing in the cement mixer and made up the hand feed. I also tidied up the welly area, washed the wellies and swept the outside sheltered area. My mum always said I never do these jobs at home!

Some mornings, I let the Paddock reindeer through to the display area for their breakfast and made sure their water bowls were topped up. In the evenings, I let the Paddock reindeer through to the bigger nighttime enclosure in the woods for their tea. I also poo picked in the Paddocks. I talked to people in the Paddocks too about reindeer.

I said bye to Lisette as she was leaving but she is looking forward to coming back to visit.

I am really looking forward to my next trip in October 2025 and am counting down the days.

Emm