October 2 - 10 Sat - Sun
Group Size: 9
Starting Point: Carlisle
Based: Castle Douglas - 4 nights . . . Ballymena - 4 nights
Walking: Easy

Description :

The Solway Coast is renowned for its internationally significant gatherings of wildfowl. Barnacle, Pink-footed and White-fronted Geese, Whooper Swan, Shelduck, Pintail, Wigeon, Teal, Shoveler, Scaup and Goosander head the list, with Snow and Red-breasted Geese recorded some years - also divers and grebes. Golden Plover, Whimbrel, Bar-tailed and Black-tailed Godwits are among waders. Raptors are well represented: Red Kite, Hen Harrier, Goshawk, Peregrine and Merlin.

Wooded habitats host Great Spotted and Green Woodpeckers, Tawny Owl, Common Crossbill and Willow Tit. Barn and Short-eared Owls may be seen hunting farmlands. Landscapes are patterned by mosaics of arable fields, green upland pastures and mixed woodlands. Caerlaverock, Mersehead, Wigtown Bay,

This is an area of immense scenic charm, best known for its associations with Robert Burns.

A sea crossing of just under two hours from Cairnryan brings us to Larne on the Antrim coast of Northern Ireland. Based for three nights at Ballymena we visit Lough Neagh where rafts of ducks may include Smew and American rarities, also Whooper and Bewick's Swans. Gull roosts are checked for Ringed-billed and Little Gulls, and we may spot a Kingfisher or Dipper by the outflows of streams.

We visit the remarkable Giant's Causeway, from where Great Northern Divers and fishing Gannets appear offshore, and travel through the famed glens and bleak but inspiring moors of the inland plateau where Red Grouse and Irish Hares are looked for.

Itinerary :

Day 1 - 4 Sat - Tue: Mid morning rendezvous in Carlisle followed by four days exploration of Solway and Galloway.

Days 5 - 8 Wed - Sat: From Cairnryan we take the ferry to Larne ( 2 hour crossing) in Northern Ireland.

Excursions take us to Lough Neagh, the Giants Causeway and Glens of Antrim

Day 9 Sun: Return by ferry to Cairnryan followed by transfer to Carlisle where the tour terminates at the railway station.

Cost: £1190...includes: Accommodation; all meals plus packed lunches; all travel.

Deposit: £100

Single Room Supplement: £160