Event: United Kingdom

Cairngorm Reindeer Centre

When:	2 Feb 2008 - 1 Jan 2009 (annual)
Where:	Cairngorm Reindeer Centre
Costs:	Herd visits: £8; concessions & 6-16 yrs £4; under 6s free; family ticket (2 adults, 3 children) £20 Paddock visits: £2.50; concessions & 6-16 yrs £1.50; under 6s free; family ticket (2 adults, 3 children) £6
Opening Hours:	10am-5pm; hill visits 11am (weather permitting)

The Cairngorm Reindeer Centre is the proud guardian of Britain's only reindeer herds, some 130-strong, which range over the Cairngorms and on the Glenlivet estate about 30 miles away.

Open for 11 months each year (only closed to visitors from mid-January to the February half-term holiday), there is at least one visit every day to see the herd in the wild, weather permitting. However, as they are wild, they can roam a long way so there's a chance that on some days you won't be able to find them!

Swede Mikel Utsi originally introduced the herd to the area in 1952, and it prospered under his care until his death in 1979. His wife Dr Ethel Lundgren continued the work until her own death in 1988. It is now managed by long-term keeper Alan Smith and his wife, Tilly. The centre itself acts as a base for visits, an information point and reindeer shop.

Daily visits to the animals involve a five-minute drive and a short walk from the centre. Visitors can meet, stroke and feed the reindeer, and even take pictures, while trained guides provide information on the animals and their habits. This being Scotland, stout boots and warm clothing are essential, but guides will recommend that you not take your mobile phones. Seemingly reindeer are particularly sensitive, if not indignant about such gadgets and if one should ring in their earshot, then beware some potentially unwelcome attention from the herd!

For those who don't have time to do the trek to the herd, a visit to the paddock, which always has some reindeer to view, is an easy option.