Exploring Laikenbuie Ecology Trust: Nature walks and wildlife near Nairn
ACTIVE OUTDOORS: Lauren Cameron explores a haven for wildlife where a series of emerging walking trails are being developed to welcome visitors
I often find that the places nearest to home are the ones I visit last. This weekend, I decided it was time to change that – and make the three-mile trip to Laikenbuie, a place I’d passed countless times but never properly explored.
Just a short drive from Nairn, Laikenbuie is a 143-acre patchwork of woodlands, wetlands, ponds and open fields – a haven for wildlife and a peaceful escape for anyone who loves the outdoors.
For 40 years, Peter and Thérèse Muskus farmed and cared for the land, before gifting it to the newly formed Laikenbuie Ecology Trust in 2022 to ensure its long-term protection. The trust protects native woodland that might otherwise have been lost to commercial forestry, with a mission to rewild the land, boost biodiversity and help people connect with nature.
I was met by Peter, who still helps with the work and knows every inch of the place. He handed me a map of the walking routes, introduced me to Isla the collie, and pointed out the trails that loop through the glen and around the lochans.
Boots on, I set off along Village Walk, following a shaded path into the trees. Isla trotted ahead as members of the Laikenbuie team worked nearby, trimming back branches and keeping the trails clear.
I looped around the lake following part of the Inner Loop, passing the Iron Age pigs – a recent addition and an unexpected highlight of the day. Sturdy but surprisingly endearing, they help to manage vegetation naturally by rooting and grazing, and Peter showed me where to collect fallen acorns to feed them.
The Central Circle route led me through a patch of wetlands edged with bullrushes before joining Woodcock Wander, which wound between stands of Scots pine, silver birch and ash. Eventually the trees gave way to open grassy fields and big skies – a sudden sense of space after the quiet of the woods.
Mushrooms poked through moss and fern along the tracks, while flocks of birds soared overhead – not surprising given that more than 100 bird species have been recorded here, 32 of them of conservation concern.
The path network is still developing, and during my visit, members of the Laikenbuie team were busy laying gravel and improving sections of the trail. Their work is part of a wider project to create an off-road, wheelchair-accessible route, making the site more welcoming and inclusive for future visitors.
Every corner of Laikenbuie teems with life. Red squirrels, roe deer, foxes, badgers and pine martens all make their homes here, along with a rich diversity of plants. Even if you don’t see them, you can sense their presence in every rustle, call and flutter – the quiet hum of a healthy ecosystem.
Beneath your boots, the land tells its own story. The glen was shaped by glaciers thousands of years ago, leaving behind ridges of sand and gravel called eskers – traces of ancient meltwater streams that carved the rolling landscape we see today.
Laikenbuie isn’t just for walkers. The trust runs volunteer days, wildlife monitoring projects, and occasional courses in foraging and countryside skills. It’s a living classroom where anyone can get involved – from path-building to pond restoration, or simply learning to identify the calls of local birds.
By the end of my visit, I felt that sense of relaxation that only time in nature brings – and I was reminded of how much life and beauty can be found close to home, if we only take the time to look.