Wild Spring Festival
Dumfries and Galloway’s 10th annual Wild Spring Festival is our biggest and best yet, with over 100 wildlife events, many free and most hosted by local wildlife guides and experts. Click here for more information on this years’ fantastic programme.
Set amidst beautiful unspoilt countryside, our festival is perfect for families and wildlife fans alike to discover this most surprising and naturally inspiring part of Scotland.
From frogs and fishtails to badgers and buzzards, and from red deer and reptiles to bats, moths and the charismatic red squirrel, Dumfries and Galloway is teeming with wildlife. To find out more about our Spring wildlife click here.
Kids go wild
We know how much kids are fascinated by wildlife and this years’ Wild Spring Festival has more child-friendly events than before…. From building bug hotels to Easter scavenger hunts, and from Fintastic tales of the salmon to ‘Stars and Stripes’ badger watching at night; great fun and educational for kids and for grown-ups too!
Our downloadable brochure highlights all the events happening during the Easter school holidays.
A ‘Naturally Inspiring’ break
Dumfries & Galloway offers a range of welcoming hotel, B&B and self-catering accommodation that is second to none. Whether you plan an overnight stay, a long weekend break or an extended holiday, our local accommodation providers have great value deals and packages to coincide with the 2013 Wild Spring Festival. We will shortly list deals on this website and you can also search and book accommodation in Dumfries & Galloway right now at www.visitsouthwestscotland.com
Lots to do in Dumfries and Galloway
If you’re visiting Dumfries and Galloway for our Wild Spring Festival, you’ll be surprised at the variety of things to do locally. There’s foodie heaven at Castle Douglas, an official food town with over 50 businesses making and selling local produce, the world renowned 7-Stanes mountain bike trail and castles galore, including the triangular and moated Caerlaverock Castle and the majestic Drumlanrig Castle.
And there’s golf – 27 courses of tremendous variety, including the ‘little gems trail’ - plus spectacular gardens such as Broughton House with its Japanese garden and the Logan Botanic Garden, famed for its exotic southern hemisphere species. Find out more about the variety of things to do at www.visitdumfriesandgalloway.co.uk/see-do/.
Galloway and South Ayrshire Biosphere
At the heart of the 2013 Wild Spring Festival is the Galloway and Southern Ayrshire Biosphere. Put simply, our UNESCO Biosphere is an area of fantastic landscapes and wildlife covering over 5000 square km of the beautiful, unspoilt Galloway and Southern Ayrshire countryside.
From remote hill tops to sandy beaches, along footpaths and cycle trails, from local nature reserves to the Dark Skies Park and mountain bike trails like the acclaimed 7Stanes, there are abundant opportunities for everyone to enjoy and explore the biosphere. It's teeming with the best of Scotland's wildlife and it's the perfect location for a great many exciting Wildlife events taking place during the 2013 Wild Spring Festival.
In fact, the biosphere is hosting more than 30 family-friendly wildlife events during the festival from red deer watching to star gazing and from red kite secrets to fish up close.
You can find more about the Galloway and Southern Ayrshire Biosphere at; www.gallowayandsouthernayrshirebiosphere.org.uk/.
