Border Life: New deer park opens in the south of Scotland

• Bruce McKenzie goes on a deer safari and spots some spectacular beasts

One of Scotland's best known wild creatures can now be seen at close range in their natural habitat.

A husband and wife team have fulfilled their lifelong dream of establishing a new deer park near Dalbeattie, in Dumfries and Galloway.

Bainloch Deer Park - on the Colvend coast - opened its new visitor centre to the public in December 2021 after 20 years of work by the couple to regenerate old forestry ground.

There are around 500 deer living there, with the Roe, Sika and Red species among them.

There is no doubting the favourite among tourists - Red Deer may be most closely associated with the Highlands, but owner Richard Bond says the south can rightly claim them as a resident too - the landscape here can be an ideal habitat for the “monarch of the Glen” if properly managed.

While you can see plenty from the comfort of the site’s cafe, you can only enter the park in Mr Bond’s vehicle, which can take up to six guests.

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