FAQ - National Nature Reserves

National Nature Reserves (NNRs) are the best places for people to see and hear the finest of Scotland’s amazing nature. 

All NNRs are nationally or internationally important, and must be well managed for nature.  But we also manage these really special places for people to enjoy.  We provide waymarked trails, information signs and leaflets, as well as visitor centres, and hides on some, so you can visit, enjoy and explore without disturbing habitats or wildlife.

We want you and everyone else to have a great experience at the places NatureScot manages. Scotland’s world-leading access rights allow everyone to enjoy the outdoors as long as they do so responsibly, but some recreational activities may affect other visitors enjoyment and/or disturb or damage the nature which people come to see or hear. It’s therefore important to follow the Scottish Outdoor Access Code:  

In keeping with the Code, some places have agreed local access arrangements –please follow these.  We will usually provide temporary signs on-site to explain these arrangements, such as to protect nesting birds or pupping seals from frequent and repeated disturbance. If you’re unsure why they are needed, please ask the site manager or email [email protected].

Scotland has 43 NNRs include Celtic rainforests and ancient oak woodlands, remote islands with huge colonies of breeding seabirds, purple-flowering  moorlands and windswept and wild mountain tops, shifting sand dunes and lost villages, estuaries with basking seals, and mudflats and lowland lochs that are vitally important staging posts for migrating birds.

There is an A-Z list of NatureScot’s sites in our Enjoying the Outdoors pages or you can find information on visiting all of Scotland’s NNRs on the Scotland's National Nature Reserves website.

With only a few exceptions, our places are open every day, all day and for free.  We do not currently charge for facilities and amenities, such as car parking, entry to visitor centres, hides, shelters or toilets, or for leaflets, and almost all our events are free to join. Some facilities and events at our reserves are provided by others who may charge.

If you enjoy your visit, please tell us and, if you can, help protect nature and make our reserves great places to visit by following the arrangements advertised at the reserve or by giving at Support National Nature Reserves on the MyParkScotland website.

All of your donation will be used to support the natural heritage and visitor facilities on reserves.

You can take as many pictures as you like, for personal purposes. Remember to share them with us on social media! 

Instagram #scotnature   Facebook @NatureScot  Twitter @nature_scot

If you wish to take photographs or film on a commercial basis, please contact the site manager by emailing [email protected]. If you’ll need to use vehicles, put down equipment, or if you plan to stay for a few days, you may need our permission and we may charge you a fee. Income from filming supports management of our reserves.

Disturbance by drones can seriously disturb wildlife and other visitors quiet enjoyment of the countryside.

If you are flying a drone, you must comply with the Civil Aviation Authority’s guidance including the Drone Code. You must also take extra care to avoid disturbing wildlife, which may be an offence. If in doubt, ask the site manager or email [email protected] before visiting.

When going onto land to launch, land or fly your drone, follow the general guidance on responsible access in the Scottish Outdoor Access Code, comply with any local advice and avoid disturbing people, wildlife or livestock.

For commercial filming with a drone, see “Can I take pictures?” above.

Dogs are part of the family and we know many people like to bring them on a day out – but out-of-control dogs can seriously disturb, harm and kill wildlife and livestock and affect the enjoyment of these wonderful places by other visitors.  

Please be aware that whilst you might visit a place only occasionally and feel that you cause no harm, the reserve manager and the wildlife of the reserve might have to cope with the cumulative effects of many people and their dogs.

Please check with staff if you’re unsure and follow any local site and seasonal advice, for example to follow specific routes, keep your dog on a short lead or avoid particular areas.  At all times, please keep your dog under proper control and clean up after them – bag and bin your dog waste responsibly.

Note that the Isle of May and Noss ferry services do not carry dogs (including assistance dogs).  If you would otherwise be able to visit, please email [email protected] and we will be happy to discuss how we might be able to make your visit possible.

You may encounter cattle, sheep and ponies on our reserves – they help us manage open habitats and provide transport over hill ground.  Near livestock, you must keep your dogs on a short lead or close at heel. For more information please visit the Scottish Outdoor Access Code website.

Working with a dog behaviourist and the Tayport community at Tentsmuir NNR we have developed a package of dog training videos.  These and other resources will give you some great tips, information and skills to have fun and safe walks in Scotland’s outdoors as well as understand your rights and responsibilities under the Scottish Outdoor Access Code.

Everyone is welcome. We know that the outdoors can present difficulties for people with accessibility requirements. We’re constantly looking for opportunities to improve our facilities to ensure all of our visitors can enjoy their visits. We recommend contacting the site manager in advance for detailed access arrangements, or email [email protected]. 

We are looking at options to provide greater information online about accessibility and will update this advice in due course. In the meantime we’d love you to visit the Euan’s Guide website to tell us (and others) what’s good and where we need to do better.

We welcome all assistance dogs – except on the Isle of May and Noss as noted above.

Visit our Nature Reserves page, select the reserve you plan to visit and then its ‘Getting involved’ page.  There you will find directions to the reserve, transport options, details of any visitor centre, toilets, trails and picnic areas. 

If you’re concerned you may need the toilet on a reserve where there are no facilities please follow the simple advice in the Scottish Outdoor Access Code.

With some exceptions, yes – and where this is possible in a responsible and thoughtful manner.  Riding on established trails is usually fine but please remember that they are shared with people of all abilities seeking to enjoy the nature for which the reserve is managed.  

Most NatureScot lands are also protected places for nature with widespread sensitive habitats and species – please avoid riding-on and damaging wet or soft ground and the risk of committing an offence.

Check out ‘Do the Ride Thing’ developed by mountain biking interests.  Give other users advance warning of your presence and give way to them on narrow paths.  And if you are part of a large group, be aware that you may have more of an impact on the trails and other path users – your route choice should reflect this.

Building informal mountain bike trails is not included in Scottish access rights and is usually incompatible with the purposes of nature reserves. Please refer to the National Access Forum’s guidance and contact the relevant site manager or email [email protected].

If you’re planning an active outdoor event on, or passing through NatureScot land, please read the National Access Forum Guidance for event organisers and contact the relevant site manager or email [email protected] as soon as possible.

If you’re interested in having another type of event, including a wedding, please contact the site manager early in your planning process, or email [email protected], to discuss details and ensure things run smoothly. Please note it will not be possible to guarantee your exclusive use but we will be happy to discuss your requirements for your special day.

Please contact us in good time to allow for discussion and, if necessary, for us to grant permission. Depending on the event, there may be a charge.  Income from events supports management of our reserves.

Most NatureScot lands are protected places for nature with widespread sensitive habitats and species, and some are also of historic importance. Follow the Scottish Outdoor Access Code and any local advice, bearing in mind that anything more than very minor and limited digging, without uprooting plants, may be an offence.

You may not use a metal detector at all if the place is of historic importance as this would be an offence. Historic Environment Scotland provides further advice in its booklet on metal detecting, cultural sites and the law.

We are not able to accept or maintain personalised memorials such as plaques, commemorative benches, cairns or trees. We can accept contributions to support the ongoing management and maintenance of our National Nature Reserves. On occasion there may be individual projects that need funding such as path work, boardwalks or bird viewing screens. Please contact us and we can see what may be available at that time, although again, we regret no personalised memorials or plaque is allowed. Please email us at [email protected].

Some of our NNRs already host geocaches or have features listed as EarthCaches.

Geocaches do not normally cause problems as long as they’re discreetly concealed and are not buried. Please contact the site manager, or email [email protected] , before installing a geocache to ensure that it doesn’t result in disturbance or damage to nature.  If this does occur, we will try to contact the responsible person and ask them to remove the cache, or we will remove it. 

Similarly, before placing a real or virtual location for an online game please contact the site manager for advice on avoiding sensitive areas.

We welcome responsible wild camping in line with the Scottish Outdoor Access Code and the practice of leaving no trace.  But do not light a fire on any land during any prolonged dry period or at any time in any forest, woodland, scrub or meadow or on peaty ground.  Please note and follow local Scottish Outdoor Access Code advice on fires.

Most NatureScot lands are protected places for nature with widespread sensitive habitats and species and our nature reserves are protected and managed as highly valuable places for people to enjoy nature, which could be permanently destroyed by fire.

It is important you avoid damaging these special features and committing an offence.  Do not build shelters or fire sites.

If in doubt, contact the site manager for advice, or email [email protected].

The availability and suitability of our car parks for overnight parking varies greatly.  Please follow the instructions given at individual sites, respect other visitors and take care of these special places.  Some toilet facilities are open 24 hours/ 7 days. We do not currently provide chemical waste disposal or electricity hook-ups at any location – as with wild camping, please leave no trace and dispose of your waste responsibly at dedicated waste disposal locations. 

We do not currently charge for overnight parking but encourage you to donate £10 per night to support the upkeep of services and the nature reserve.

We’d love you to get more involved and there are various ways you could do this.

Volunteering - Check out each of our NNR pages on our website for opportunities to learn about and help manage a nature reserve as a volunteer.  Our volunteers come for a few days to a few months and from a single event to every week.  They help us with all aspects of reserve management – including working in visitor centres, guiding groups, managing trails and monitoring wildlife.

If you’re interested, please fill in a Volunteer Expression of Interest Form, noting which reserve you’d like to work on and email the form to [email protected].

Educational visits and research – You are welcome to bring your class or study group to our reserves.  Please contact the site manager in advance for up-to-date advice on facilities and current management activity - as well as to check if other groups are visiting that day.

Management planning –  We periodically review our plans for the development and management of each of our NNRs and consult widely with communities, special interests and others on our proposals.  We advertise these consultations on our website and through local contacts and social media.  We are always pleased to receive feedback and suggestions from visitors at any time – just email us at [email protected].

Community engagement – We support the Scottish Government’s target of achieving 1 million acres of and in community ownership by 2020.  If your community would be interested in developing its role in managing an area of NatureScot-owned land, with a view to potentially taking on its management or ownership, please get in touch at [email protected]  and we can discuss how we could make this happen.

If you enjoy your visit, please support us by following the arrangements advertised at the reserve or by giving at the MyParkScotland website. 

All of your donation will be used to protect nature and make our reserves great places to visit.

You can support NatureScot nature reserves by donating through the MyParkScotland website or using the QR code below.  You can choose to support any one or all of our reserves.

Contact details for the site managers of each NatureScot National Nature Reserve are at our Visit our Nature Reserves page, selecting the reserve you are interested in. For any other NatureScot place, or if you have a general enquiry or request, please email [email protected].

The Scottish Outdoor Access Code is available at Scottish Outdoor Access Code website.