A message from the Managing Director…
We are committed to ensuring that WalkDeeside Ltd looks after all our guests to the highest possible standards. I understand how vital caring about the needs and expectations of clients is and you can be assured of our dedication to you as our clients.
I am proud of WalkDeeside’s strong environmental credentials and its commitment to green and sustainable tourism. I look forward to demonstrating all this to you.

Regards - and welcome!

Alan Melrose
Managing Director

Cairngorms National Park :

The Cairngorms National Park is committed to promoting quality
and environmental standards.
Individual businesses displaying this logo meet these standards.

Wild Scotland - Environmental Policy:      

WalkDeeside is dedicated to providing the very best wildlife experiences in Scotland. Quality, Responsibility and Enjoyment are reflected in our approach to wildlife watching. WalkDeeside is a member of Wild Scotland, an association of wildlife tourism operators.
For further details: www.wild-scotland.co.uk

In seeking the best experiences, increased opportunity for wildlife sightings and limited disturbance to the environment, and to ensure personal attention, we work only with small groups – maximum 8. WalkDeeside complies with relevant best practice Codes of Conduct to ensure responsible use of the countryside. These include Birdwatching, the Scottish Outdoor Access Code, the Country Code and the Geological Code of Conduct.

In 2007 Visit Scotland awarded WalkDeeside 3 stars for our Wildlife Experiences.

Green Tourism Business Scheme:     

WalkDeeside follows a personal and business commitment to reduce and recycle waste, save energy and natural resources, travel sensibly, look after my local environment and make productive use of my garden. These commitments mean that WalkDeeside are Silver Award holders of the Green Tourism Business Scheme.

John Muir Award:      

The John Muir Award is an environmental award scheme focused on wild places. It encourages discovery and conservation in the spirit of fun, adventure and exploration.

• WalkDeeside is delighted to be a John Muir Award provider and itself has a Certificate of Achievement from the John Muir Trust.

The John Muir Award is an educational initiative of the John Muir Trust.

The Adventurous Activities Licensing Scheme.

Introduced in 1996 under the Adventurous Activities Licensing Regulations, this is a Government sponsored scheme, through the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), which aims to ensure that adventurous activity providers (in particular relation to young people under 18) have their safety management procedures inspected regularly.

Licensable activities include; Rock climbing, gorge walking, canoeing, white water rafting, sailing, hillwalking, orienteering, off-track cycling and caving amongst others. The activities that WalkDeeside are licensed to provide are; Trekking including Mountaineering, Nordic Walking, Orienteering and Off Road Cycling.

Please find below the mission statement of the Adventurous Activities Licensing Scheme and please telephone 029 2075 5715 or click on the logo for more information:

“Mission Statement

The aim of the Adventure Activities Licensing Scheme is to provide assurances to the public about the safety of those activity providers who have been granted a licence. In this way it is expected that young people will be able to continue to enjoy exciting and stimulating activities outdoors without being exposed to avoidable risks of death or disabling injury.

A licence indicates that the provider has been inspected by the Adventure Activities Licensing Service, with particular attention being paid to their safety management systems with young people, and has been able to demonstrate compliance with nationally accepted standards of good practice in the delivery of adventure activities to young people, with due regard to the benefits and risks of the activity.”

Green Action:

Both Moira and I are volunteers on our local Muir of Dinnet NNR - here we can be seen putting a bit back into the conservation of our local natural heritage.

"Downloading the information from the weather station on Castle Island on Loch Kinord."

"The early morning geese count."