Echo - The Cairngorm Reindeer Herd

21st August 202631st July 2026

A Day In The Life Of A Volunteer

This May I returned to the Cairngorms as a volunteer for the second time, drawn by the potential for beautiful weather and the prospect of tiny hoof prints. Whilst there is so much I could tell you about my week, with every single day being amazing, I think there’s one day that might stay in my mind for a while.

The day began with a trip up the hill with Lotti, Daisy and Maisy (the herders have such beautiful names!). Lotti and Maisy went to check on the latest arrival, a sweet little boy calf whose identity is currently protected to allow for more formal announcements to expectant adopters.

Daisy and I went on to do a full inventory of the herd in the enclosure. This involved some facial recognition (no apps involved, just the catalogue held in Daisy’s head) and then some ear tag number checking and ticking off against the list held in the office.

Why is this done? Well, at this time of year any of the herd that has decided to go solo is likely to be a Mum-to-be and may either be ‘faffing’ (which when witnessed is just like it sounds… that day you spend getting nothing done because you just can’t settle) or might be with calf in a remote corner of the enclosure.

After identifying the location of all the herd, including a faffer in the distance, Daisy and I went into the area where Lotti and Maisy were with the newborn, as the decision had been made to move them into their own space for a little while. Now, this might sound simple but moving a worried mum and a very teeny wobbly thing with back legs that seem almost twice the length of its front legs is not an easy task. It took 4 of us… although I was mainly the emotional and photographic support.

There was a very steep hill to climb and little baby needed a little help, whilst mum was constantly checking, encouraging and teaching. There were multiple suckling stops, an occasional poop on baby’s head and lots of encouraging grunting. Daisy’s back must have hurt as she had to pick up baby on the steepest parts of the epic journey but keep the calf in sight of mother at all times, which meant adopting a stooped position and walking in the side eyeline of the adult reindeer.

Daisy with the calf. Keeping the calf only a few inches off the ground ensures the mum can always see her baby.

At one point the previous year’s calf came to chat with mum, a slightly heart wrenching moment as we all realised that the yearling must now become independent and was nuzzled out of the way to make room for the new baby.

When we got to the final destination, we all stood back to watch mother and baby and, after a quick lick of all crucial parts, baby was settled down for a rest with mum guarding him. She was such a good mum!

And so we returned to Reindeer House for a cuppa.

I then spent a little time helping mix feed, checking on the paddock, watering some newly laid turf which the 3 boys in the paddock were greedily eyeing, and sweeping the inside and outside of the centre. I checked Santa’s Bothy but he was still out….

After lunch I went with Kate and Maisy to help with the afternoon Hill Trip – a great bunch of people who told me of their road trip plans and experiences whilst I helped identify reindeer and shared the few facts I have picked up.

Whilst Kate was talking to the group, one of a nearby female reindeer’s antlers popped off in front of us all! And a few minutes later one of our visitors found another antler, but not from the same cow. This casting of antlers happens when the females are pregnant and no longer have to fight off the advances of the males. We put the antlers safely in the rucksack as sometimes adopters like to buy them.

We then laid out a little feed to supplement the natural feed for the new mums, which is done from a distance so as not to disturb them and their calves too much, though we did check that each little calf was standing or chose to stand while we observed.

On our way back to reindeer house we drove up towards the Cairngorm Mountain Railway car park to check on the free ranging reindeer. Lotti and I had moved them away from that area the day before, down the valley quite a distance. They had seemed happy to follow us and stay there at the time. But guess who we found crossing the road? It seems the new grass covered with salt on the verges is as tempting to a reindeer as a salty snack is to us!

Out of the van we jumped. The strategy formed was to move them upwards this time. Maisy (part mountain goat I suspect) was sent up the steep rock face to call from above, whilst Kate encouraged the herd to move out of the road.

I was sent to the bend in the road to slow down and explain what was happening to oncoming traffic. “Yes, we came to watch!” was one of the responses, with most people intrigued or happy to drive slowly past and take some good holiday snaps. The free rangers weren’t being entirely cooperative and soon Daisy and Sheena came to help, with a chain of herders up the hill calling and persuading.

When at last the final reindeer was moved safely onwards, Sheena took our photo in the middle of the clear road until we were surprised by a camper van rounding the corner, and scattered, giggling.

That evening, straight after work, Daisy took me for a walk with her dogs on the banks of Loch Morlich. It was a stunning evening and showed off the beautiful surroundings that Daisy is incredibly proud to live and work in.

Loch Morlich as the sun was slowly going down.

In fact Daisy had to use her fire prevention knowledge to help put out a fire that had been made illegally that afternoon and it was clear how much she cared that her local area was not put at risk. Seeing the beauty of the woodland, and experiencing the peace of the beach by the loch, I understood completely.

Editor’s Note: Sorry to hijack your blog Kathy… This wonderful blog was written back in May, before the horrific wildfire that hit Glenmore in July. It goes to show how important this bylaw is. It’s wonderful to share the reindeer’s home with so many people that love and respect the outdoors – so please help us protect it in future.

We met Maisy on our way back and stopped at the Pine Marten bar for some refreshments and much needed sustenance. While the others had soft drinks, I wanted to try a local ale which went well with a very good burger with fries (my salty snack of choice)! We chatted about the day of adventure and reminisced about road trips to lands of northern lights and reindeer.

Feeling thoroughly contented, I took a small detour on my way back to my lodgings, popping up to the top to look at the sunset over the loch. And who should I see on my way up? A small group of salty snackers at the side of a car park, watched by a lady from Germany who looked at me with tear filled eyes and said “It’s just magical!”

And I agree. What a day. What a week. I can’t wait till next year….

Kathy

24th July 202622nd July 2026

Experience of a Young Reindeer Herder

I am the youngest Scottish reindeer herder. Although many people think I’m older than I really am and it happens on a regular basis. I’m either on a hill trip or doing a paddock talk and there is always someone asking me, “how did you end up being a reindeer herder?” When I give people my answer I often hear a gasp. “What, you’re still in school?!.” Yes I am, and only 2 years left then I’ll be free (Im counting down the days practically). Another question always follows this: what are you doing after school? I dunno, I’ll figure it out but I know one thing I ain’t sitting at a desk for ten hours a day. The reindeer herders have learnt that I ain’t sitting still.

Maisy feeding the herd during a snowy start to 2026.

Although most people are surprised about my age of only being 16, and are really interested in how I have such an interest in reindeer and the hills, the majority of the people I meet are supportive. But you’re always going to have a couple of people who treat you differently when they find out I’m at school still. I get a bit disappointed when people treat me differently after I tell them because all of a sudden there is a switch, “oh you do something so cool, but I still know better than you”. I do sometimes find it can be a struggle being young in a professional environment – but I enjoy this. I get a chance to show poeple my knowledge and it helps me build confidence.

Maisy and Winnie both enjoying the sunshine!

At first hanging out with the reindeer I was just an extra pair of hands carrying feed onto the hill and maybe chatting to a couple of visitors on the hill trips. I was nervous, only 13 and had no experience of talking to big groups of people with no knowledge of reindeer. Now I can easily chat to 50+ people because I now have a love for reindeer. I want to get everyone else to know all their fun facts to know why the herders are here and how important reindeer are to the Cairngorms ecosystem. However, saying this I still will not do a presentation in school! Reindeer I can talk all day about, but in other areas I’m still working on my confidence.

Dante and Disco relaxing out in the hills during this years free range season, during one of Maisy’s many long hikes out to see them.

A strong memory I have of the first time I talked in front of 20 people was in horrible weather with Joe. Joe asked me to talk about handfeeding but I did it only because I wanted to get off the hill and back to the centre as soon as possible! I’m glad for it now – sometimes you just need a little push out your comfort zone to see what you can do.

Reindeer have grown my confidence from now being able to talk to lots of people, work in the shop, give paddock talks, and even answer the phone… The thing I really don’t like is answering the phone! Mainly because you never know what you’re going to be asked on the other side. If it’s anything to do with officey things or on the computers I have no answer. There is always me handing the phone across the room when it’s ringing. If someone is busy in the shop however and only me to answer I have the dreaded task of answering. Slowly getting there but I am still not a fan.

Maisy feeding Cheer and Chai in August 2025 during a hike – Maisy always makes sure her backpack has all the neccassary gear for finding reindeer!

It is obvious that reindeer herding has boosted my confidence massively and I’m slowly gaining more responsibility and trust with the herders. At first I was just an extra person on a hill trip but now I get to help with the talks and help run them.

Amazon looking her absolute best on a morning free range mission in April!

In school they know I hang out with reindeer. This year I had the delight of giving my English teacher a 15 minute talk about The Cairngorm Reindeer Herd. Fun fact, my English teacher even taught Fiona… For my national 5 geography assignment I looked at how reindeer affect the vegetation cover and the different species of vegetation where there is a change in population of riendeer. My results showed that reindeer are creating more diversity of plant species. (If you want the results email us and I can send them over.) By doing this project it also meant I spent a few hours roaming on the hills. However it was revolting weather with no visablity whatsoever but it was still fun!

Morris helping Maisy with her studies of the vegetation growing along the top ridge of the Hill Enclosure.

A favourite memory of mine… In the summer on a Friday afternoon off the school bus, I was tying my shoelaces about to go for a run up Meall a’ Bhuachaille with Froach when Hen answers the phone from Amy saying she’s found some reindeer in Glenfeshie. Hen looked at me, “Maisy, what are you up to this afternoon?” There I was forgetting about Fraoch and my run and off we went up Glenfeshie to go find some calves and Amy. Not a bad Friday afternoon!

Lochi resting on a sunny day out in the hills.

Maisy sitting with Winnie and Alba out in the hills after a free-range trip.

It took me a while to get used to being comfortable around the reindeer just because they are animals and I was still unsure of what their next steps were going to be. However now a few years down the line I’m comfortable with having reindeer brush up against me and try to calm a situation. From working with the reindeer my confidence has boosted and people in my life outside of reindeer can see that. This year was my first proper calving with working a lot more often during the weekend and my study leave. The calves are such sweeeties!

One of the first calves I met this year and my jaw dropped when I saw this guy. This is Texels calf and is just the sweetest little thing.

I think young people should get the chance to work outside with animals and in the outdoors more as so many young people are not getting opportunities to try many varied environments of work. I have found my own self confidence and knowing many young people struggle with this, it would benefit many. Working with reindeer has made me realize that I’m never going to want to get an inside office job mainly because I would probably explode if I were to sit still for 8 hours a day! I know there are lots of young people just like me that are meant for outdoor jobs and volunteering and working with animals gives you a chance to explore that. I’m also grateful for the resposibility and to find a group of people with interests just like mine. Sometimes you just find the right place where you belong!

Maisy

22nd May 20263rd May 2026

Becoming a Reindeer Dog

Up and moving from Kent to Glenmore to live amongst the reindeer hasn’t just been a big change for me, but also for my dog, Echo. He’s certainly used to the outdoor lifestyle, having spent most of his life on hiking holidays and the last three years living in a van. But this new chapter for him has meant daily hikes, new friends, and endless adventures!

I’ve made it to the home of the reindeer!

Parking up in our camper after my first day of work, it was time for Echo to meet his new neighbours. He spent a decent hour that evening watching the reindeer through the door, desperately trying to spy antlers through the trees.

*My first glimpse of my new neighbours.*

Echo was very excited to be introduced to the official team of Reindeer Dogs, and swiftly made good friends, and found some new adventure buddies.

*Many hikes up Meall a’Bhuachaille with Fraoch*, the world’s fastest dog and must be the record holder for Meall a’Bhuachaille summits!

*Including sunrises up there before the herders head off into the hills in search of reindeer.*

*Lots of walks spent with Ginger (I always have to look my best when Ginger’s here!).*

Shortly after we arrived in Glenmore, someone else was quick to join Reindeer House… Sanna the pup. Sanna instantly took to Echo, and it was lovely to see him playing with a puppy in his older years.

*Playing with my new pal and the newest reindeer dog.*

Echo quickly fell into the routine of his new life – spending time around the Centre while I was working, and hiking in the hills in our free time.

*Getting to work straight away*! My first day on the job helping wash the Hill Trip welly’s.

Helping herder Kate put up bat boxes in the reindeers woodland paddock.

*Helping eat – I mean make – the reindeer food.*

*Exploring more of the reindeers home range.*

Echo soon got to enjoy the benefits of his new life here in the Cairngorms, including lots of lovely antlers to chew, and lots of fuss and exercise with the herders.

Posing with my best pal on a hike with herder Maisy.

Loving life in the snow with Sheena and Zoë!

*Visiting the reindeer and making sure I was on my best behaviour.*

Echo even put in a shift on Christmas Eve, keeping us herders’ company all day and meeting all our lovely visitors while getting into the Christmas spirit with antlers of his own! He even made it onto Trip Advisor – 5 stars of course.

*Christmas Eve is hard work at the Reindeer Centre.*

*Christmas Eve Crew – I even got to meet Santa!!*

As the new year began, six months into our new lives here in the Cairngorms, the biggest change arrived. I had loved seeing how healthy and happy Echo was here – especially playing with his new pals and enjoying spending time with the lovely Sanna, that I made the decision to expand our mini family. Echo was no longer the newest addition to the Reindeer Dogs…

*Snoozing with my new sister on her first day home.*

Meet Asta! It didn’t take long for her to fall in love with our home and all her new pals (Echo being the best thing since sliced bread, and Sanna a close second!). Now Echo gets to show her the ropes around the Centre – including where all the best spots for finding reindeer food to hoover up are, and where all the antlers are kept!

I’m looking forward to seeing what she thinks of the reindeer when she finally spots them from afar, and all the adventures her and Echo will have with their pals over the coming summer and beyond. The Reindeer Dogs are a very lucky bunch, and it’s so lovely for Echo and Asta to get to be apart of the gang!

Asta’s first summit of Meall a’Bhuachaille (she cheated and got to be carried most of the way!). Posing for a summit photo with all my pals Asta, Tuva, Moskki, Tiree, Sanna and Fraoch (plus the humans).

Daisy (and Echo)

8th May 20263rd May 2026

Volunteer Blog: Emm’s Visit – October 2025 (Part 2)

Time for part two of Emm’s wonderful blog, picking up where we left off last time – a broken Brenda and reindeer to herd!…

The next day I helped Lotti and Ruth walk the calves Oro and Flamenco around Glennmore. Akubra and Kulfi were the adult reindeer who came with us. I walked in front to make sure there were no dogs coming as reindeer are scared of dogs. They think that they are wolves. I also picked up the reindeer poo too if they went to the toilet.

Daisy and I did a very wet, windy and cold Hill Trip. We took the visitors to the Hill Trip spot but the reindeer were high near the ridge and were not coming down. So Daisy went up to encourage them down while I did the hand feed talk to the visitors and talked to them about reindeer facts and told them their names and naming themes. We then were able to feed the reindeer when they had come down with Daisy. We were splitting Sundae off because she is in season. I stayed with Sundae for most of the Hill Trip to keep an eye on her.

After the Hill Trip, I met Ruth and Lotti by the Sugar Bowl carpark and helped take Akubra, Kulfi and 2 calves called Disco and Foxtrot up to the hill enclosure. We were doing a Paddock swap as Disco and Foxtrot had finished their calf training school.

Emm walking Akubra and Foxtrot back to the hill enclosure.

I got very wet and soggy and had water in my wellies. It was like a loch in my wellies. Lol.

A very soggy team of herders! Ruth, Emm, Daisy and Lotti, still smiling despite the miserable weather.

Another day up on the hill, Vienna was looking miserable and sad and she kept going away from the other reindeer. So we put her in the shed area and pen with a friend and kept an eye on her and checking her temperature. The vet came to check her and did some treatments to see if they helped her and to see if it made her feel better. Along with Ruth I joined Daisy and Kate near the end of the Hill Trip. We needed to take Ceilidh’s temperature. We couldn’t catch her so Kate led Glacée, Ceilidh’s mum, and with Ruth I herded Ceilidh from behind to a smaller bit of the enclosure called the temporary corral. Daisy managed to catch Ceilidh to find she did have a temperature so Daisy injected Ceilidh to bring it down. Me and Kate took Glacée and Ceilidh to the shed to keep an eye on Ceilidh. Kate led them and I herded behind.

Glacée and a much brighter Ceilidh after spending some time being cared for by the herders.

The inside jobs I did were sweeping and hoovering around the Reindeer Centre. I also mopped the floor downstairs. I washed the wellies and put them up to dry then away later. I put a sticky label with the reindeer herds news on the back of each newsletter photo. I also put the newsletter and the newsletter photo into envelopes. I put the 1^st year adopt packs together and I also did some shredding. I did feed mixing and hand feed mixing too, poo picking in the Paddocks and also let the reindeer through into their daytime Paddock area for their breakfast. In the evening I put them to bed and give them their tea in the night time Paddock area. I also got taught how to lock the Reindeer Centre’s carpark and swept the steps outside the Reindeer Centre, behind the lift and outside the front.

It is lovely meeting the visitors too on the Hill Trips. It is lovely seeing their reactions when they are amongst the reindeer and when they get to hand feed a reindeer. On most of the Hill Trips, I did the hand feed talk and on one of them I did the introduction talk. I also got to see my adopted reindeer Scully and Zoom while visiting which was fantastic. I met Scully’s calf called Rumba which I was very excited about.

Emm taking a selfie with the lovely Scully and Rumba.

Away from the visitors and Hill Trips and I was able to enjoy spending time with the herders. While I was there they went on a zipwire trek (run by local company G2 Outdoor) on one of the dark evenings and I was very lucky to be invited to join them. It was very exciting. When you went in, a pretend big spider suddenly came down on you and there was a ghost in the toilet. It had lights and Halloween things when you went around. You went over rivers and through trees. You had to do a torch flash saying the next person can go. I had a race with Andi at the end and I went so fast. I really enjoyed myself. It was such great fun. Thank you ever so much everyone for letting me come.

A night of zipping through the trees for the reindeer herders! All smiles from Andi, Emm, Sheena, Daisy, Lotti, Kate, Cameron, and Amy.

On another evening, my reindeer herding friends came around to our holiday cottage for a curry night which was great fun. My Dad and Mum had made lots of curry and we ate and chilled out and I gave them a tour of the holiday cottage. Sheena had brought around a great spider target game which we played. The spiders were sticky and they ended up hanging of the ceiling and one even dropped into Ruth’s curry. Lol.

A wonderful evening of delicious food, great company, and sticky spiders!

Another day I went on a lovely walk with Lotti by Pityoulish Loch and we had cups of tea and sat and chilled out on the pontoon and watched the wildlife. It was a lovely spot.

Lotti and Emm enjoying a lovely walk wildlife spotting.

I met Daisy who works at the Reindeer Centre and her lovely dog Echo who is very clever and we went on a lovely walk to Green Loch and then up through the trees at the back of the Reindeer Centre. I also met Fiona’s and Joe’s lovely puppy called Sanna who is very cute and I also met Alicia who works part time at the Reindeer Centre.

Echo teaching Sanna how to sneak up on the herders and steal the reindeer food!

It was so lovely to spend my spare time with such special friends doing things we all enjoyed. I can’t wait to go back in March 2026. I am counting down to the day. I am so excited.

Emm

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