Emm - The Cairngorm Reindeer Herd

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

1st May 202623rd February 2026

Volunteer Blog: Emm’s Visit – October 2025 (Part 1)

In this latest blog I would like to share some memories from my visit in October 2025. It was very exciting as the new reindeer exhibition was open to visitors with lots of interactive things, videos, information and photo displays. It is so brilliant. The visitors will learn lots of things about reindeer and the history of the herd.

Emm is back, and we’re so thrilled! Emm, Lotti, Amy, and Jig all posing for a team photo!

On my first morning, I walked the calves around Glenmore with EK and Cameron. The calves this year (born in spring 2025) are named after types of dances so I had a lot of fun learning all their names. We walked Ballet and Polka with 2 adult reindeer.

Emm and EK walking Ballet and Polka during calf training.

We were getting them used to everyday things like people, traffic, being led and being handled. Afterwards, Cameron showed me his shed he had built for the reindeer poo bags so they don’t get wet and it is named the poo shed, and it is really good.

There were some new things in the Paddocks. The Santa’s bothy was being built by Alex and Cameron, and they were hoping it would be ready for Christmas. There was also an extended area for the reindeer in their daytime paddock area in the trees.

Jimmy the bull, who had been over on Silvermount in the hill enclosure with his group of girls, had finished his job with them so one morning Lotti, Ben and Cameron led him off the hill as he was going to go back to Tilly’s farm. We were also taking Gazelle off the hill to go back to the farm that morning too.

Boogie relaxing with some of our older boys.

I led Gazelle off the hill to Brenda (the truck we transport reindeer in). Ruth and I went to find Vienna one of Iskrem’s girls as they had been moved into a different part of the hill enclosure and she had become separated from them. Iskrem is a very calm bull. We found Vienna and we had to herd her up the hill, as she didn’t want to be caught, to join Iskrem and his girls. Then we moved them as a group to a different part of the hill enclosure. We were very lucky that day as we saw 6 Black Grouse lekking.

Our hill enclsoure isn’t just home to reindeer.

The day after, I went with Kate, Ruth and Daisy back to Silvermount in the hill enclosure so we could move Jimmy’s girls to where they were meant to be next. Nuii and Fab were missing so Kate went to look for them. We let a few of them out to be with the main herd in the east enclosure in the hill enclosure and I helped Daisy and Ruth take 5 reindeer across the hill enclosure from Silvermount to a different part of the hill enclosure, as they were going to go out onto the free-range soon. I led Orinoco and Suebi. Meanwhile Kate had found Nuii and Fab and brought them back to join the group.

Emm leading Orinoco and Suebi across the hill enclosure.

One day, the free-ranging reindeer were put in a part of the hill enclosure for a few hours so Amy could take Alba off the free-range, who needed to come into the enclosure for a short while.

Meanwhile Kate had gone to find 4 missing reindeer in the hill enclosure as they hadn’t turned up for breakfast or for the 2 Hill Trips and had been missing for the day. They were Pinto and her calf Quickstep and Borlotti and her calf Morris. Morris is such lovely natured and laid-back calf and is pure white meaning he is leucistic. Like some leucistic animals, Morris is deaf.

I helped Amy put the free-range reindeer back out. We took them to the top ridge on the free range, Amy led and I was at the back. Then we went to help Kate who had found the 4 reindeer on Silvermount in the hill enclosure. Pinto had found a bag of handfeed and was eating out of the bag when Kate found them. We led Pinto and Borlotti on halters and their calves followed and I helped Amy herd at the back. We led them across the hill enclosure and took them to the shed to check them out and take their temperatures as reindeer being away from the herd might mean they are ill. Whilst out leading them we were lucky enough to see a mountain hare.

One morning, the reindeer were slow coming down for breakfast in the hill enclosure. Some of the herd were with us and the rest were on Silvermount. As I helped Ruth call them down, Andi went up and herded them down from the top. We were then able to get them in position for the later Hill Trip.

Busby leading the way along the board walk ready for the days Hill Trip.

Unfortunately on our way back down at the end of the day Brenda broke down near the Sugar Bowl car park. The next day, she was towed away to be fixed, a sad sight!

Stay tuned for part two of Emm’s visit in October!

Emm

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

5th September 20253rd September 2025

Volunteer Blog: Emm’s visit in September 2024

The September visit was very special. We were lucky enough to attend Fiona and Joe’s wedding and celebrations. They got married on top of Meall a’ Bhuachaille, the hill behind Reindeer House. It was a very wet and windy day but it was so special being on top with Fiona, Joe and everyone and the dogs and to see them get married. A person was playing the bagpipes too which was very magical. We all went to the Pine Marten Bar afterwards for some food, drink and dancing. Then there was a fantastic weekend of celebrations at Badaguish involving a second wedding ceremony and wedding photos and of course reindeer. The reindeer who attended were Busby, Magnum, Hemp and Dr Seuss. The weather was so lovely and there were lots of sunshine. The other celebrations included a ceilidh, Highland games, fun run, a loch swim in Loch Morlich, where I paddled this time, and lots of music, food and drink. It was so lovely seeing everyone and it was very being special being part of the really fantastic wedding celebrations.

Fiona and Joe on a very soggy but utterly beautiful wedding day.

Fiona and Joe with Busby, Hemp and Dr Seuss!

I was very lucky enough to be invited to attend the naming meeting of the calves. I sat around the table in the kitchen of Reindeer House with my herding friends and had tea and cake with them whilst they decided on the names of the new calves the theme this year being Teas and Coffees.

The calves had grown so much since I had last seen them in May. They had just come into the hill enclosure from the free range with their mums. They were much bigger and braver. Helsinki’s premature calf was doing so well. His name is Irish after Irish coffee.

So much had changed in the new Reindeer Centre building. Tilly with her grandchildren gave me a tour of the new Centre. The stairs had been put in and the walls plastered. Sinks, pipes and the boiler had been put in. It looked so amazing. It is slowly getting there and is so exciting. It will be brilliant. We went outside to see where the reindeer Paddocks will be.

One morning, Poirot and Mivvi were outside the hill enclosure entrance gate. They had got out of the enclosure somehow. They were put back in and Isla walked around the fence line of the whole hill enclosure to see where they had got out. The fence line is 8km and the hill enclosure is 1,200 acres. She found out that someone had left the gate open down in the woods near Utsi’s hut so she shut it.

I had a big surprise one morning on the Hill Trip, as I got out the reindeer van in the carpark and a lady came over to me and I realised it was a lovely lady from our local art shop where I am from. She was with her husband and they were on their honeymoon. They were so surprised to see me as they didn’t know I was up and thought I would be up later in the year. They were visiting because of me as I often go into their art shop back and show her and her colleagues my reindeer photos and tell them all about the reindeer and they got very interested. It was such a lovely surprise to see her and her husband and it was so brilliant taking them up to see the reindeer. That was such a special day.

I had time to chill and enjoy the reindeer which I really find special. One day after a morning Hill Trip, the reindeer were lying down in groups. They were chilling, dozing or asleep. One of the calves, Irish, was twitching in his sleep and his eyes were rolling. Hemp was asleep and snoring. I went around taking photos and selfies and Caterpillar was following me as I had the hand feed bag. She tended to follow me during Hill Trips because of the hand feed bag and because she is a shy reindeer we had been giving her hand feed out of the bag after the Hill Trips to get used to being handled. One day after another Hill Trip, Silk and Suebi from the free range turned up outside the hill enclosure fence. They followed Ruth and Lotti, who had a food bag, into the hill enclosure. They had been trying to get Silk into the hill enclosure for a wee while with little success as she is a very shy reindeer so everyone was really pleased she came into the hill enclosure.

Emm and a bunch of snoozy reindeer, including Morse with those whopping antlers behind.

I got to help again treat some poorly reindeer when Pumpkin’s calf, called Lapsang, had been lying flat out on the hill trip. We took her temperature and it was very high. I held onto Pumpkin, who was on a head collar, whilst Ruth and Isla were dealing with Lapsang as Pumpkin was a protective mum. Most reindeer are not protective but Pumpkin was but Ruth was able to give Lapsang an injection to bring down the temperature and Isla led them both to the shed in the hill enclosure where to keep an eye on them.

At the end of my stay my herder friends surprised me by bringing Scully my adopted reindeer down from the hill. I was so pleased to see her. They had gone out to get Florence and her calf Cuppa off the free range there and bring them back to the hill enclosure to start getting Cuppa used to people and being handled. They also brought four more reindeer back including Scully which was so special. This was at the end of the day on my last working day so the next morning I went up on the morning Hill Trip to see Scully which was so brilliant. I got to hand feed her and Ruth took lovely photos of me with her.

Scully and Emm on the last day of Emm’s stay.

So, I have shared with you some of the memorable highlights of 2024 being with the reindeer and my herder friends. It was such a special time as always. I am really looking forward to being with the reindeer in 2025 with my first visit in February. I am so excited and am counting down the days till my next visit.

Emm

11th April 202513th March 2025

Volunteer Blog: Emm’s visit in May 2024

My May Highlights

We returned in May and it was the calving season (Emm’s blog about her February visit can be found by clicking here). The calves are so cute and come in different colours which were silvery, dark brown, normal coloured, and ginger. They are so small and it was so lovely seeing the reindeer being mums to their calves. Some of the mums and younger calves were in the bottom corridor in the hill enclosure which we call the nursery. The mums and older calves were with the main reindeer herd in the main bit of the enclosure. It was so lovely seeing the calves suckling from their mums. Sometimes the mum would lick its tail or bum to encourage the calf to suckle. I saw calves nibbling on their mum ears. The calves would run often over to their mums grunting or the mums would run over to their calves grunting. Reindeer are normally quiet animals apart from calving time and rutting time and it was lovely to see them communicate. My first time handling a calf was when I held Feta’s calf whilst Hen took the calf’s temperature. Most of the reindeer are ok with you going near their calves but Brie was very protective of her calf so we had to be careful around her and her calf.

Emm holding Feta’s calf who we later named Earl Grey as has turned into one of the biggest calves of 2024.

Helsinki’s calf was premature and was so tiny so we kept them by the shed in the hill enclosure so we could keep an eye on them. We went to check them several times a day and were encouraging the calf to suckle. We bottle fed the calf with goat’s milk as Helsinki didn’t have much milk to begin with. Later on in the week, Helsinki and her calf joined the other mums and calves in the nursery as she was producing more milk and the calf was suckling on its own. The calf got much stronger and was doing so well.

Helsinki and her wee boy, who we later named Irish. Despite a rocky start to life Irish is doing well and has grown into a very tame and laid-back fella!

When reindeer are about to give birth, they tend to go away from the herd and find a high place as they are very private animals when giving birth. One day, Christie was missing from the main herd. Lisette went to find her and found Christie with her newborn calf. Later that day Cassie and Amy went to get Christie and her newborn calf and to take them to the nursery.

Lisette’s photo of Christie and new-born Espresso!

During our visit there was a fundraising scheme launched to raise money towards the new Centre. I decided to help support it by taking a swim in Loch Morlich. I am not an outdoor swimming person as I hate cold water. I am more a hot tub person! So, it was big challenge for me to swim in the loch. It was very cold as the water was still coming from snow patches from the Cairngorms. It was very special day as my herding friends, who love outdoor swimming, came and supported me and Tilly and her grandchildren joined in. Even the herder’s dogs joined in too and with everyone’s encouragement I raised £1000 for the new Reindeer Centre. We went for a drink and a meal afterwards at The Pine Marten Bar to warm up and celebrate.

Emm with the hat on and the herders in the loch. Go Emm!!

Following on from my visit in February I went again to Tilly’s farm with Amy. We helped take temperatures and the younger reindeer had an injection to help stop ticks. I was in charge of putting reindeer on head collars and holding them and was able to catch up with some of the reindeer. Winnie and Alba, two hand-reared reindeer who had just turned one year old, looked really well. Also, Elbe (Alba’s twin) who was looking really well too. We took seven reindeer back to the hill enclosure from the farm, Clouseau, Olmec, Aztec, Frost, Zoom, Zap and 99. Tilly tied Aztec and Clouseau the older boys to her quad bike whilst she drove slowly down with them following the quad bike very nicely. We led them down the hill to “Brenda” the reindeer truck. We went back and with help we took the seven reindeer up to the hill enclosure. I led Zoom and Olmec up to the hill enclosure.

One day Vanilla, who is leucistic (white), had a hoof trim. It was interesting to find out that leucistic reindeer hooves grow faster than a normal coloured reindeer. Leucistic reindeer are white, have blue eyes and sometimes are born deaf.

The building of the new Reindeer Centre was going well when I was there. At the beginning of the week, Tilly and Cameron gave me a tour of the new building which was just the walls going up. At the end of my stay Tilly gave me with Ann and Sheena another tour and the change in just a week was so amazing. The roof was on and the first floor in. It seemed to be going up very quickly.

One morning during the breakfast feed for the reindeer, we did a mock filming session. People who can’t get up the hill to see the reindeer will be able to experience a reindeer hill visit through a film at the new Reindeer Centre in the exhibition. We walked to the reindeer, fed the reindeer, counted them and chilled with them whilst being filmed for a practice run.

Emm

21st February 202523rd February 2025

Volunteer Blog: Emm’s visit in February 2024

I was lucky enough last year to visit and work with the reindeer three times in 2024, February, May and September. I had many different experiences and I thought I would tell you about my highlights with the reindeer and herders during the year.

You’ll be able to find May and September’s highlights in future blogs!

My February Highlights

Emm with one of her favourite reindeer, Scully!

Our first visit was in February so the weather was still very cold with snow on the mountains. At this time of year the reindeer are free-ranging so each morning there was a visit up the mountain to find them and bring them to a suitable spot for the later hill trip. The reindeer would often be very high up and we would struggle to get them down if they ignored our calls so we would have to go and fetch them. My first trip up the mountain was with Ruth and Cameron. We walked up a steep slope as we thought they were in the gully but we soon realised they were somewhere else on the other side of the ridge we were looking at! We continued calling for a bit hoping they would come but they didn’t so we turned round to return to the carpark and tried another path to find them. At this stage the weather had turned into a raging snowy blizzard, it was very cold and the wind was strong. As we were about to pick up our bags, we turned around and saw half of the reindeer herd running towards us through the snow. It was a magical feeling to see the reindeer run towards us in such snowy conditions and the other half of the herd joined us a few minutes later. It was so amazing how deep the snow had got with the very heavy snow.

On another occasion with Amy and Cameron again to find the reindeer on the free range for the Hill Trip. We went to the visit spot for that day and called them. Some walkers on the ridge were looking down at us wondering what we were doing! The reindeer didn’t appear, so we had to fetch them which meant a hike across a stream and up a very steep hill to a ridge, then up the ridge going very high. We finally found them all sitting chilling on a rocky hill and ignoring our calls! To get them to the visit spot Amy and I led at the front calling them with a bag of feed to encourage them, Okapi leading the herd. Cameron herded at the back of the herd. Okapi was brilliant at the front, it was so amazing seeing them jump easily over the stream we had to cross. At the visit spot I gave Okapi some food out of the hand feed bag for being such a brilliant leader.

Emm on a Hill Trip with Christie closest to the camera.

The highest I have ever been on the free range in the Cairngorms was on a trip with Andi. It was a lovely day and we had fantastic views. Andi was at the front with a bag of feed whilst I was herding them at the back. Popsicle was limping so when we got to the Hill Trip spot, I checked her temperature and Andi checked her leg but she was ok. The trips were a chance to check the reindeer. On one visit I helped Fiona take Scully and Yukon off the free range as Yukon was limping and was very lame. Yukon is Scully’s calf so we brought Scully off too. I led Yukon whilst Fiona led Scully. It was very snowy and misty. We put them in the Paddocks in Glenmore with access to the shed, next to the Reindeer Centre. Later on that week the vet saw Yukon and gave him a Xray. It showed it wasn’t broken and that he had probably torn a ligament. I did an afternoon Hill Trip with Andi on the top ridge in the hill enclosure and afterwards we took the hill enclosure reindeer onto the free range. Some visitors came with us. I led the reindeer out of the hill enclosure gate and shook the feed bag so they all came out. We were hoping to meet up with the reindeer group on the free range and had a very big surprise when they came running over to us and the two groups joined up as one big herd. It was so amazing seeing them coming running over and there was lots of clashing of antlers from the two groups to establish the pecking order. It was so brilliant seeing them all on the free range. Amur kept licking my hand.

Pinto and the herd on a high snowy ridge.

During this visit I was kindly invited to go curling with them something which was completely new to me. I learnt how to throw the stone and sweep and then played a few games. It was very exciting and so brilliant. My team were the yellow stones and we lost against the red stones team but it was such great fun. We went for a meal afterwards and Nan, one of the reindeer house’s dogs, was there and I got to give her a cuddle. Nan is one of Tuva’s puppies. Later in the week I got to see Sheena’s dog, Ginger, who had six puppies. They were only two weeks old and very cute. I helped Sheena weigh them to make sure they were growing well. I also helped out with another of the Reindeer House dogs, Dug, with walks at the back of the Reindeer Centre on the tracks and in the woods which was such great fun.

Emm, Sheena, Ginger and one of her gorgeous pups!

Some of the herd were over at Tilly’s farm so I went over one day with Andi and Amy . We went up on to our second winter grazing site to find the free ranging herd and to feed them and check their temperatures. We went in a buggy and it was a bumpy track, across little streams and going very high up with beautiful views. When the reindeer saw the buggy, they ran over and surrounded us as they associated it with food. We took their temperatures and checked them all. It was such an amazing view made more special by the reindeer. More reindeer appeared running down a hill while we were there including Frost. I was able to walk around the reindeer, chill with them and take photos before we went back to Tilly’s farm in the buggy.

Emm, Amy and Andi enjoying a bumpy ride in the buggy!

Some of the free rangers at our second site.

The building works for the new Centre had started and there was a big hole where the Paddocks used to be and it was now a building site with diggers. Despite the building work one day I saw a wildcat walk across the old reindeer shed area the top of the big hole in the Paddocks. It turned to look at me then carried on. It turns out it was one of the wildcats released locally and her name is Callie and she had a collar on.

Emm

22nd November 202414th November 2024

Thanks to this year’s volunteers!

I thought I’d write a wee blog to thank everyone who has come to volunteer for us this year. However, if you’ve volunteered in a previous year, please don’t be remotely offended if you’ve not found your name in a blog like this – it’s literally only because I have a few spare minutes and Ruth (blog master) is sitting next to me… so probably time I wrote a blog once again. Gotta keep her sweet…

Volunteering this year has had a slightly different feel to it, as the Paddocks normally take up a considerable amount of a volunteer’s time each day; poo-picking, sweeping, opening and closing them each day, chatting to visitors out there… But this year that aspect has vanished completely, so volunteers have been able to be a bit more ‘relaxed’ during their week, sometimes not starting until gone 10am. Unheard of in the past! Although sadly this luxury was not afforded to us full-time herders… Volunteers this year have therefore spent the majority of their time helping us on the Hill Trips, usually twice a day, with rather less time spent pottering about down at the Centre.

Caitlin joined us for a week in August. Here she is with Hemp and Limpopo in the hill enclosure.

Normally we take volunteers each year from May to October, but long-term regular volunteer Emm is afforded special status, often coming outwith these months. She managed three stints this year, and you’ll find many blogs over the years from her on our website, the most recent (at time of writing) being here. We love having Emm here to volunteer!

Emm with her adopted reindeer Mo, braving the weather at a very cold and wet local Christmas event a few years back.

Emm in September this year with Cowboy and Mivvi.

I’ve just peered at the wall calendar here in the office and counted 26 other volunteers who gave up a week of their time to come and help us this year – as ever from all walks of life and ranging in age from 18 to late 60s (I’m guessing – apologies if I’ve offended and congratulations if I’ve flattered!). We love this range of people from all walks of life – it’s much more interesting for us to have a stream of totally different people here every week than it would be to get people all of like mind.

Of those 26 people 12 were returnees, which I guess means we must be doing something right! There’s an element of apprehension for us on a Monday morning when a ‘new’ volunteer is due to arrive, not knowing what to expect of someone – the scant info we gather in the application form only goes so far to give us an idea of what someone will be like. This year everyone, new or returnee, has been absolutely wonderful though, so we never needed to worry.

Stephanie returned for a week in June of this year, the third year on the trot! Stephanie is pictured doing a very important volunteer job – offering the slightly leaner youngsters some extra food at the end of a Hill Trip. Yukon is delighted!

So huge thanks must go to all 26 lovely volunteers, in order only of when they visited: Victoria, Jayne (who wrote a lovely blog you can read here – thanks Jayne!), Anne, Kerry, Rachel C, Marcus, Stephanie, Anna, Wendy, Aleksandra, Becca, Rachel S, Jocelyn, Nora, Caitlin, Katie, Callum, Helen, Christine, Karen, Sharon, Colin, Sophie, Lisa, Emily and Brenda. You are all amazing! A special shout-out to Nora, who at 18 was our youngest volunteer but also the furthest travelled – having persuaded family to come on holiday to Scotland from Washington D.C. in the States, so she could spend a week of that time with us!

Rachel S joined us in July for a second time. This is herder Kate with Dr Seuss and Ärta (left) and Rachel with Ob and Iskrem (right) helping out with harness training.

One of the main responsibilities of a volunteer is helping out on Hill Trips, carrying food, helping dish out the hand feed, and talking to our visitors. This is Alex who helped out in July for a week doing a sterling job of not letting Jelly in to the white bag!

Another person to mention is 14 year old Maisie, who lives locally and is the daughter of family friends of the Smiths. This year Maisie has been joining us on some days in the school holidays and has been wonderful, super chatty and sociable for such a young lass, and always keen to get involved and help out. She’s also very fit, being into lots of outdoor sports, so puts me to shame anytime I’m on the hill with her!

Borlotti saying hello to the lovely Maisie!

And the final person to mention who’s a constant help throughout the year is Carol. Carol started out as an adopter, living relatively locally, and has progressed to being a regular volunteer, helping on the Hill Trips most weekends. She has finely honed her hand-feeding talk over the years and now has the groups listening with bated breath!

For anyone reading this that is thinking that a week’s reindeer herding sounds like a fit for them, why not come and join us?! We start booking in each season’s volunteers each January, so drop us an email then if you’re interested and we’ll send you an application form. We can’t provide accommodation unfortunately, but there is both a campsite and a youth hostel within a couple of hundred metres, not to mention a huge amount of other accommodation elsewhere in the area.

But finally, I will finish on a sad note. Our wonderful long term volunteer Paul, who visited for a fortnight twice a year for around 25 years, initially with wife Pat – sadly passed away in his mid-eighties this summer. Paul was a retired joiner and so built all sorts of things here over the years, mixed all the feed for the reindeer and generally made everything wobbly and creaky into something strong and stable. He could talk the hind legs off a donkey, keeping us constantly entertained with his stories, and did his best to get us all drunk in the evening at least once during each stay! We will miss him hugely.

Paul with Olympic, his adopted reindeer.

To you, good sir, we raise a dram.

Hen

27th September 202422nd September 2024

Photo Blog: September 2024

September is a beautiful time of year. The weather has been completely mixed this year – we’ve had the first snow on the plateau and then HOT summery temperatures! The reindeer also look fantastic with fully grown antlers and fresh winter coats growing through.

We’ve been doing lots of free range missions to bring in the cows and their calves which is always fun. The bulls and cows have been stripping the velvet and getting a wee bit more feisty and hormonal in preparation for the upcoming rut.

The calves have also been given a name but as always we don’t post any names online until our adopters have their newsletters. Maybe by next month’s photo blog!

I’m running away on holiday for the last week of September hence the photos stopping a wee bit early this month. I’ve selected a few more on other days to make up for it though! 😉

2nd of September: Cassie heading up to feed the free rangers, Dante looking back at the camera.

3rd of September: Out on a free range mission! Came across 6 cows all looking super! It wasn’t going to be possible to move them by myself so I called for back-up from Reindeer House. Whilst I was waiting for Lisette to get to me, Juniper and I had a little rest!

9th of September: Christie and her calf both looking great! Christie is a fairly phenomenal lass – she’s now had 4 big beautiful boys in a row and has enough extra energy to grow a super set of antlers.

9th of September: Found these three gorgeous free rangers on the road so took them up to a nice spot away so as not to cause a traffic jam! From L to R we have Borlotti, Shannon and Turtle.

11th of September: The first two faces I see on the hill – what a lovely way to start the day! Morse and Dr Seuss.

11th of September: Morven looking good after a couple of years off motherhood. She’s grown her usual lovely set of antlers and will hopefully run with a bull this autumn.

12th of September: Isla and Cassie feeding the calves out of the bags. We do this to give the calves an extra bit of food before the greedy adults eat it all, and also to get them nice and tame the quickest way possible!

12th of September: Flax starting to strip the velvet (see her pic from the day before!).

12th of September: Our regular volunteer Emm leading Cowboy and Mivvi back into the hill enclosure.

13th of September: Sika is 16 years old, one of the oldest in the herd. She’s never had an adopter in her life until very recently!! She’s actually very shy but in recent years has cottoned on to the contents of our white feed bags. This is her licking her lips at the very thought of it!

13th of September: Holy Moley decided to grace us with her presence. She was out free roaming but popped into the enclosure with a bunch of other cows looking for a free lunch!

13th of September: It was a busy day for me. After the morning Hill Trip I went out on a reindeer retrieval mission! This is the gorgeous Fern. She’s 17 and the current oldest member of our herd.

16th of September: Torch’s lovely calf chilling out in the sun!

16th of September: Volunteer Emm and some of lovely ‘single ladies’! Mississippi, Scully (who may be Emm’s favourite in the herd but don’t tell the others that), Zambezi, and Nuii.

17th of September: Athens looking very handsome!

17th of September: Calves feeding out of the bag at the start of a Hill Trip.

19th of September: A hot day when you’re in your winter coat! Adzuki cooling himself down by standing in a bog.

22nd of September: Christie leading the herd out of the mist. To her right is Feta’s calf and Beanie.

22nd of September: Feta’s calf is a chunky lad – he’s a lovely friendly lad.

Ruth

13th September 202419th August 2024

Volunteer Blog: Emm’s visit – October 2023

When I arrived in October the first thing I noticed was the place was very different without Sookie as she would always greet me barking excitedly whenever I arrived at Reindeer House.

I went straight out to look for free-rangers with Ruth to make sure they weren’t on the road then went to the hill enclosure to split off the reindeer and meet the new calves and give them some preferential feed from the bag. Holy Moley was being very stubborn and other calves kept trying to get back through the gate.

Emm with Mississippi and her mum Holy Moley.

October is the rutting season and this year it involved the males Jelly and Sherlock who had their own females in different parts of the hill enclosure. The males get very boisterous and while I was there it was decided that Jelly should be taken off the hill and taken to Tilly at the farm for the safety of the other reindeer and the herders. After Jelly had been walked off the hill, I helped move some of the female reindeer around to put in with Sherlock. Kernel then came over from the farm to replace Jelly and was much better behaved for the remainder of the rut.

I was able to meet Winnie and Alba the hand-reared calves who were bottle-fed three times a day and remained on the hill. I was lucky enough to feed them a few times. They were very excited and would run over when we got the bottles out. Popsicle was thought to be underweight so we gave her a special feed and I had to give that to her and keep off the others who wanted to get into the bag. Another day we checked over the reindeer that had been with Jelly and took their temperatures.

Alba and Winnie – both incredibly laid-back lassies!

Holy Moley kept following me around and Mekong kept licking my coat which was very funny. I had seen Cicero licking a tree as it was covered in lichen earlier. When Sheena brought the free-rangers down later we saw some who had not been seen for a few months. We were always moving the reindeer around and Druid, Danube and Mekong were taken from the Paddocks to the hill enclosure. Lotti, Isla, and I took them and I led Druid. Lotti was on dog watch at the front of the group. One really interesting fact I found out was that Danube was Brie’s calf from this year and she had calved on her own on the free-range as no-one knew she was pregnant and it was a big surprise when she turned up with Danube later in the summer. Luckily she was fine and it shows how tough the reindeer are in their natural environment.

Cicero enjoying the lichen on a Scots pine.

On one Hill Trip we went to the enclosure to find only 22 reindeer with 12 missing. We had to go round after the visitors had gone to see who was missing and found 10 of them but Lotti eventually found the rest of them and some had been “flirting” with Sherlock near his part of the enclosure. At times I was able to spend time enjoying chilling with the main group in the enclosure. It was lovely to see Winnie and Alba very relaxed with visitors lying down and falling asleep.

The free-rangers would often appear and on one occasion they all turned up at the enclosure gate so we had to move them away as it was not their time to be in the hill enclosure. Another day we spotted some of the free-rangers on the road so Ruth went up and we could see her leading them away with the bag of food to keep them safe.

Christmas sleigh training was well underway and we had Poirot, Druid, Haricot, Olympic and two calves, Danube and Mekong. It was only Haricot’s third time pulling the sleigh and he was as good as gold. The experienced reindeer like Poirot were showing the others what to do. They were warmed up by walking and jogging them up to Glenmore Visitor Centre and back, then harnessed up and walked with two pulling from the front and two at the back with two calves. We went to Glenmore Campsite and back and I got chance to ride in the sleigh. We switched the reindeer over and did it again.

Haricot and Olympic pulling the sleigh with Emm enjoying the ride.

Emm leading Hemp and Adzuki off the hill.

A few days later we moved some reindeer around bringing Adzuki and Hemp down for sleigh training. It was their first time and they joined Poirot and Aztec who were the experienced ones who showed the others what to do. We went on the road to the Pine Marten Bar and back and all the reindeer including the new ones were superstars. There were amazed looks on people driving past in their cars but the traffic such as a bus and a lorry didn’t seem to bother them. I had the chance to be guiding the sleigh from the back and we were watching out for dogs all the time. We had to make sure we poo picked the path and car park afterwards and this was my job. A few days later with Amy and Cameron we took reindeer Adzuki, Clouseau with calves Darling and Orinoco on a walk to the Pine Marten bar. This was important to get them used to walking with a head collar on. The two experienced reindeer were showing them how. Again many surprised people in cars slowed down to look and it was funny when a bus driver stopped the bus to meet the reindeer and have a photo. I was walking at the front to make sure the cars slowed down.

Emm with Hemp at the back of the sleigh. Emm’s role at the back of the sleigh is to help push it up hill (although the front reindeer should do this!) and most importantly be the brakes on a down hill!

I was able to catch up with the dogs again and since we were last there Tuva, Tilly’s dog, had had five puppies who were all at Reindeer House and I was able to play with them, cuddle up and they all fell asleep on me. I also had a lovely time with Tilly’s grandchildren Marley and Hamish in the Paddocks doing the elf hunt and making antlers. The puppies were on a hard feed mix which we fed them and they were still suckling from Tuva.

There were lots of other jobs with Brenda the van full of food ingredients from the farm to unload it and fill back up to return to the farm with food scraps for the pigs, new stock was in the shop with rulers, pencil cases, teddies and notepads so these had to be sorted out so I was kept busy.

It was very, very wet when we were there and there was some heavy rain so much so that on one occasion there was flooding in Aviemore with the main road closed over the bridge. We had to delay one of the Hill Trips that day to allow people to arrive. There were lots of lovely rainbows when the sun did come out.

Emm had a very rainy week but being the optimist she is was able to enjoy the rainbows!

I had a great time as usual this year and it was so special to catch up with my lovely friends all the herders, meet lots of different people on the trips, meet all the new dogs and of course catch up with all the reindeer most of all. I can’t wait till my next visit.

Emm

9th August 20249th August 2024

Bordeaux

For any of you that have visited us on our Hill Trips at the end of last year, you may have noticed a young female hanging around us herders, ever hopeful that she can mooch some extra feed. She is a 5-year-old female called Bordeaux, who is very non-descript colour wise and was born in 2019 – which was the year we decided to name our reindeer after European places. She was born on the free range after her mother, Sika decided to go AWOL the day before we were due to bring the pregnant cows into our hill enclosure for the calving season. Doing this allows us to check that both cow and calf are healthy before sending them out to free range for the summer. But Sika must have known that a short stint in the hill enclosure was pending and decided it wasn’t how she wanted to spend the next couple of weeks!

Bordeaux’s mother is a sweet reindeer that is relatively independent. At the ripe old age of 16 she is now enjoying a retired life free ranging in the cairngorms. Both Bordeaux and her mother look very much alike, which helps me confidently ID at least one of the retired females out on the free range. To learn more about Sika have a read of Hen’s blog here.

Sika (left) and Bordeaux (right) in January 2023. Both have exactly the same facial expression when stood near a herder with a white bag.

In 2022 it was time for Bordeaux to continue her family line and she gave birth to a male calf in our hill enclosure. However, once out on the free-range Bordeaux sadly lost her calf – it is not unusual for first time mothers to lose their calves out on the free range, as reindeer build up resistance to some illnesses that they may encounter as they age. We found Bordeaux hanging around the ski road in rather poor condition, so we decided to bring her into our hill enclosure so we could fatten her up before the winter set in again.

Bordeaux in October 2022. She grew very small antlers that summer and her winter coat was rather scruffy indicating she was in slightly poorer condition than we would like so it was time to spoil her!

Being a super quiet reindeer, Bordeaux always hung about on the sidelines, when food was being set out for the herd – suggesting she may have been quite low in the pecking order. This meant that us herders began to feel sorry for her and decided that we would give her extra feed on the Hill Trips too! It has been well over a year since we started feeding Bordeaux and it is very clear that she now expects extra food whenever she sees a herder. But in comparison to other reindeer, she is very polite about it (Editor’s note: Usually. She did kick Hen earlier this year when demanding food…). She has opted for the puppy dog eyes and patient wait tactic, which of course we can’t ignore because she is being so sweet about it!

Bordeaux in February 2022 – looking much better but we just can’t resist those eyes.

Tell tale signs – crumbs all over her face!

She must get it from her mum! Sika (left) licking her lips and Bordeaux (right) posing beautifully.

Another tactic I’ve noticed her doing is to stare at you from afar – there have been a few times now that I have noticed her keeping surveillance on the white bag and as soon as you go to feed another reindeer, she is straight in there too. I’ve also been told that she can be quite pushy and rude with Hen, which I find quite hard to believe – Sorry Hen! (Editor’s note: Hen insists this is absolutely true!). So even now that she is in better condition, we still slip her the odd mouthful of feed as she is a super sweet lass, and it is great to have her around.

Whilst the calves get to feed from the bags, Bordeaux tries to stare down Amy.

Bordeaux sticking her tongue out behind Emm.

So, there it is, a little history on a fairly popular little reindeer that has brought lots of you wonderful visitors a large amount of joy with the added pleasure of some lovely pictures!

Amy