Gairloch Marine Wildlife Centre & Cruises

13/07/2026

This is a great opportunity to learn how to spot Cetaceans from the shoreline… and can also be put to use on our wildlife cruises! 😘🦭🐋🐬🫍

Interested in learning about the whales and dolphins of the west coast? Come along to the WDCShorewatch session at Gairloch Museum tomorrow, 14th July and 15th July!

12/07/2026

An absolutely stunning day out on the water… blue skies and sunshine with a cool, brisk northerly breeze once we left the loch.
We had Common Dolphins feeding along with Terns but sadly, as I forgot my charged camera battery AND left my phone in the Visitor Centre, I have nothing to show for it 🤦‍♀️😖

So here is a video from Friday’s Dolphins instead! As we pulled away after watching them feeding they took off at speed and began to race along side us before finally cutting across our path and heading north 🐬🐬🐬

10/07/2026

Heat wave? What heat wave? 🤷‍♀️
Honestly?
We really don’t mind that it’s only 13°C, grey and raining because it’s finally not windy!! 🎉
And of course; the weather doesn’t matter when you are seeing dolphins!! 🐬🐬🐬🐬

01/07/2026

Lovely Dolphin interaction with the boat this afternoon, one individual with very distinct rake marks. Rake marks are cause by the teeth of other dolphins during play, fighting and mating.

30/06/2026

It’s a wee bit dreich today but we have Common Dolphins and Terns feeding in the Loch

25/06/2026

There’s still time to sign up to train to become a Marine Mammal Medic at our Ullapool course on Saturday 11th July… click the link for more information 👇

https://bdmlr.org.uk/course/ullapool-mmm-course-saturday-11-july-2026-wet-course-s

25/06/2026

A wee reminder that it is now Common (Harbour) seal pupping time and that if you seal a line pup on the beach to … Give it space, DO NOT put it back in the water and PHONE BDMLR on 01825 765546 if you are concerned for its welfare… They will then dispatch trained Marine Mammal Medics to assess, monitor and take the the seal to a rehab centre if required.

This pup was attended by Donna’s Wester Ross team and is now safely with Caithness Seal Rehab & Release.

25/06/2026

Are you sick of the Midgies yet?
Like Scotland 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 Midgies are small but mighty 💪🦟 and like the Tartan Army ⚽️🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 arrive in huge numbers 🦟🦟🦟🦟 … but they are far less friendly …. However they don’t fly at sea… so why not join one of our wildlife cruises to get a little relief? 😁

19/06/2026

16/06/2026

I filmed our entrance into Badachro again today… You will notice the difference compared to yesterday… no hauled out seals 🦭 🤷‍♀️

There were a number of seals in the water and we entered just as two kayakers exited The Narrows tightly hugging the shoreline.

Sea kayaking can be a great way to explore our coast but please give seals space and take corners wide just in case they are hauled out where you can’t yet see them. If they are watching you; you are too close and if they get twitchy… definitely back away!

Seals need to spend time on land to rest and digest and now is Common (Harbour) pupping time… the recommended distance to maintain from hauled out seals is 100m but we know that this is impossible when passing through The Narrows into Badachro.

The seals that haul out there are used to boats coming in and out and rarely show disturbance behaviour… the noise of the engine alerts them we are coming long before they see us… this is not the case with SUPs and Kayaks… the silent approach can startle resting seals and cause them to quickly enter the water… this not only wastes energy but is particularly dangerous if they are high up as they can break bones or if pregnant cause them to miscarry.

If you enjoy kayaking why not go out with someone like Conor from Ewe Canoe who is The WiSe Scheme accredited and can show you how to view our coastal wildlife from the water responsibly?

Information on how to watch seals responsibly can be found here:
https://britishcanoeingawarding.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/Seal-Alliance-LEAFLET.pdf

More information about the ‘Give Seals Space’ campaign can be found here:
https://bdmlr.org.uk/give-seals-space-why-legal-protection-matters