Future secured for Highland visitor attraction with more than 150 reindeer

A family-owned reindeer visitor attraction with more than 150 of Santa’s furry helpers has secured its future, despite a Christmas shutdown.

Tilly Smith, director of Cairngorm Reindeer Herd, with one of the many animals in the visitor attraction's care. Picture: John Paul Photography

The Cairngorm Reindeer Herd looks after scores of reindeer that live and roam across the Cairngorm mountains and on the nearby Glenlivet Estate.

The herd was introduced to the mountains in 1952 by co-founders and husband and wife duo Mikel Utsi and Dr Ethel Lindgren before being taken over by Tilly Smith and her husband Alan in 1989.

Since then, a visitor centre, shop and paddock have all been added to create a popular attraction.

Restrictions to try to control the coronavirus pandemic have led the venture to rethink its business model.

Thanks to a bounce back loan secured with Bank of Scotland, Cairngorm Reindeer decided to focus on its “adopt a reindeer” programme so that fans of the animals could still support the business.

Income from the adoption programme, plus the funding, has enabled the business to continue paying for the feed and care of the herd that would normally be funded through the guided tours and festive activity.

Tilly Smith, director of Cairngorm Reindeer Herd, said: “In a normal December, our reindeer would be busy pulling sleighs across the UK and making Christmas magical for local communities. But because we’ve had to put a stop to these visits, a huge part of our income has been lost.

“We’ve managed to keep going and our number one priority will always be to look after our herd. Thanks to the support from Bank of Scotland, we now have the safety net of additional income to help with overheads as we continue to promote our adoption programme which is now in its 30th year.

“The support so far from the public has been overwhelming and we hope people continue to help us by adopting a reindeer while we work towards welcoming everyone back in the future.”

Scott Robertson, relationship manager at Bank of Scotland, added: “Cairngorm Reindeer Herd are a perfect example of the more unusual and seasonal businesses that will be directly impacted by the pandemic. It’s encouraging to see the firm using other revenue streams to diversify and continue trading until normal operations recommence.”

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