Tours / Wild Highland Autumn Red Deer Rut

Autumn Red Deer Rut

The autumn deer rut is one of the most dramatic and captivating spectacles in the British wildlife calendar. Many photographers already flock to England’s renowned parks to capture this event, but doing so in the Scottish Highlands has traditionally been more challenging. I’m delighted to say that I have now secured access to a superb Highland location—one that offers outstanding opportunities to photograph the red deer rut in a truly magnificent setting.

This trip includes three dedicated outings to our red deer site. Across these sessions, you’ll have the chance to capture a wide range of images:

· Classic roaring stags, both close-up and set within the wider landscape

· Stags rounding up their hinds

· Dominant males posturing and displaying

· Atmospheric silhouettes at dawn or dusk

· And, with a bit of luck, battling stags—although not guaranteed, it’s always a possibility

These scenes are just a flavour of what you may encounter. All banner images shown above were taken during the 2025 trips.

Outside of the main rut sessions, we will also aim for a visit to a reliable ptarmigan location, conditions permitting (a clear, calm day is essential). Otters will be another target species to help fill the time between deer outings, and we enjoyed excellent encounters in 2025—the otter images in the banner also comes from that trip.

When the schedule allows, we’ll stop at some of the Highlands’ excellent tearooms and cake shops—an important part of any good trip!

Accommodation

We’ll stay in an extremely comfortable hotel in the picturesque village of Lochcarron. Each guest will have their own private room and bathroom. It is a small hotel, and I have all 4 rooms booked so we have the whole hotel to ourselves.

Getting There

Lochcarron is easily reached and lies around 4.5–5 hours by car from Edinburgh or Glasgow.
For those travelling by public transport:

• Fly or take the train to Inverness
• Then continue by train to Strathcarron (request stop)
• I will be happy to collect you from the station.