Just back home to York after a wonderful ten days in Scotland, a week of which was dedicated to our fifth School of Birding, based at the Grant Arms Hotel, Grantown-on-Spey, Highland.
As regular readers of these pages will know, our Schools have been running since November '23, and happily they're booked up well in advance - our only limitation is time, and we're fitting in as many as we possibly can (watch this space for new dates and links to our new website, up and running very soon); you'll also know that Simon and I genuinely love delivering them, no more the case than for our wonderful Class Five.
A perfect storm of almost entirely sunny, calm, crisp conditions, high quality birding, and the best team you could possibly wish for conspired to make it a memorable one, in all the right ways.
It's a pretty full-on experience, and it requires dedication to get the most out of it - but the idea is, as soon as you arrive (we run free pick ups and drop-offs from the railway / bus stations and the airport), you don't have to worry about anything else: everything (lectures, guiding, transport, full board, etc) is included and planned out, allowing for an immersive learning experience and a stress-free week for our team.
And what a team we had. An essential element of our Schools is the collective - the camaraderie, the mutual support and pulling together, helping each other become better birders, enjoying a lot of great birding (and laughs) along the way. Lasting friendships and firm ties are often made, a very satisfying after-effect and a great way to continue the learning process after the week itself.
Of the highlights this time around? Where to start? Let's just say, we got everything we hoped for, and more.....
Back up in April for Class Six - if you're on it, I'll see you there!
Thanks to the team members for some of the photos!
