Biosphere Experiences for Travel Trade

Our guided Biosphere Experiences are a unique offer, designed to introduce visiting groups to the magic of our UNESCO Biosphere. We want everyone to leave feeling inspired through learning, doing, and connecting with nature.

Our aim is to create sustainable tourism experiences: profits are re-invested into supporting the GSA Biosphere Partnership’s ongoing work in communities, conservation, education, and climate action.

All Biosphere Experiences are led by our trained team of Biosphere Officers who between them have decades of experience in public engagement, events, and adventures! We are all local people who are passionate about Biosphere life, and who want to share our knowledge of local culture, nature and heritage.

Biosphere Experiences allow guests to discover southwest Scotland’s world class locations, create unforgettable memories, and return home feeling happy and enriched. Get in touch with your requirements and let our team help you plan an immersive curated tour.

Key details:

Perfect for small tour groups (up to 12 people).
We focus on eco-experiences that embody the principles of slow tourism
All tours are led by a Biosphere Officer with other sites, organisations or activity providers involved where relevant; all guides are drawn from our communities, adept in telling local stories and bringing history alive.
The experiences are predominately available for the shoulder seasons (September – April) and limited throughout the year.
Click on an image below for a short overview and description, proposed duration and points of interest for each Biosphere Experience.
Please check for multi-generational provision, or disability access.

Not included:

Transport: we do not provide transport to or from the start location, and expect operators/visitors to undertake these arrangements themselves.

For prices and a Rate Card, more detailed information on any Biosphere Experience, or to discuss special requirements, please email us.

How to book:

Please use the contact form below, or email us at info@gsabiosphere.org.uk.
Tell us which experience(s) you are interested in and any specific requirements.

Payments, Terms & Conditions

All prices are net, inclusive of UK VAT
No deposit required
Full payment of agreed rates is expected at the latest 90 days before the arranged date of the experience

Payment can be made by bank transfer. Details for this will be provided with the booking form.

Link to full Terms and Conditions can be downloaded here: Travel Trade Archives – Galloway and Southern Ayrshire Biosphere (gsabiosphere.org.uk)

Experience 1 - Spirits of the Dark Skies Kirkcudbright - Duration: 3 Hours

OVERVIEW: Galloway Dark Sky Park – The first region in Europe to be awarded Gold-Tier International Dark Sky Park status (2009). This tour is inspired by true darkness and clear skies, and illuminates Biosphere businesses and  what they create.
Based in an historic former school building, the Dark Space Planetarium in Kirkcudbright is a Tardis that will transport guests into another world. The guide will unveil the mystery of the heavens in the Planetarium’s museum and 360 degree auditorium. On the same site, your clients will sample the award-winning Dark Art gin and enjoy a tour around ‘Peggy’, the copper still. During the tour, they will hear all about the ingredients that go into Dark Art gin, and how the recipe was inspired by our big skies and the Galloway Dark Sky Park.
As an Add-On, a special meal exclusively designed for the Dark Sky theme can be arranged.
We also collaborate with Dark Sky Rangers who offer outdoor night-time experiences that connect visitors with the real thing. Not to be missed.
 
LOCATION: Kirkcudbright (3 miles from the A75)
Min/Max people: min 8/max 40
DURATION: 3 hours / Start time to be discussed.
SCHEDULE: 
<ol>
<li>Arrival: at Dark Art Distillery: Exclusive guided tour and gin-tasting (1.5 hours)</li>
<li>Then change-over to the Dark Space Planetarium</li>
<li>Exclusive guided planetarium tour (1 hour)</li>
</ol>
Scheduling Add-Ons to be discussed – various options available.
Highlights/Points of interest: Kirkcudbright has an array of option for visitors including a wide range of independent shops, cafés, art galleries, and gardens.
NOTES: 
<ul>
<li>Multi-generational, wheelchair accessibility throughout (but please check accessibility for Add-Ons)</li>
<li>No further driving involved for the main schedule</li>
<li>Toilets: Kirkcudbright town centre and Dark Space Planetarium</li>
</ul>
ADD-ONs:
<ul>
<li>Food: A Scottish twist on a Dark Sky themed meal (exclusive to this tour)
<ul>
<li>Selkirk Arms Hotel – for groups up to 15,  a two-course meal + teas/coffees</li>
<li>Feast – Vegan food – for groups up to 8,  a two-course meal + teas/coffees</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>A Guided Tour by a Dark Sky Ranger, Duration approx.: 2 hours</li>
</ul>
Visitors will be welcomed by the Ranger then take a short walk into the woodland above Kirkcudbright. The Ranger will bring the Dark Sky alive with stories and science. Blankets, a firepit, and warming refreshments such as hot chocolate with marshmallows can be provided. This is an activity that should be experienced in the evening.

Experience 2 - Foraging and Pizza in the Machars The Machars - Duration: 4 hours

OVERVIEW: The Machars is an ancient region of Galloway where St Ninian, Scotland’s first saint, built his church in Whithorn; these were the earliest days of Christianity in Scotland, 160 years before St Columba of Iona. The Machars is also where the Clan Hannay built their castle, Sorbie Tower, and where the 5th Earl of Galloway, Lord Alexander Garlies, built his enormous residence, Galloway House. More recently it is where the Mulberry Harbour prototypes, used in World War II for the Normandy landings on D-Day, were tested on the coast at Garlieston.
Our guide Christy Miles will meet guests at a car park near Galloway House from where the foraging walk around Rigg Bay will begin. After the walk (about 1.5 hours), you will go with your bus/vehicle 2.5 miles to Sorbie Tower from where Christy has exclusive access to a woodland. At her camp, clients will be making pizzas with the foraged ingredients.
Guests will enjoy a guided foraging walk gathering ingredients for a wild food picnic and pizza al fresco, sitting comfortably around a campfire.
 
LOCATION: Woodland near Sorbie Tower (14 miles from Newton Stewart)
Min/Max people: min 8/max 10
DURATION: 4 hours / Start time to be discussed.
SCHEDULE includes:
<ul>
<li>Guided Walk</li>
<li>Foraging</li>
<li>Al fresco pizza-making</li>
<li>Campfire</li>
</ul>
HIGHLIGHTS/Points of interest: Exclusive access to Sorbie Tower and surrounding woodland
NOTES:
<ul>
<li>Multi-generational (please ask for details)</li>
<li>10 min walk following deer tracks to the camp across uneven ground.</li>
<li>clients should have appropriate footwear</li>
<li>Toilets located at Sorbie tower</li>
</ul>
ADD ON: Food at Garlieston Hive
Afternoon tea/ light lunch/ or a 3-course meal at Garlieston Hive: guests can have coffee and homemade cake or soup. The Hive team can also prepare a more substantial meal if requested.
Garlieston is a small seaside village that played a very important role for the allied forces in WWII as the testing site of three Mulberry Harbour prototypes, which were used for the Normandy landings on D-Day in 1944.
Garlieston Hive is located 2 miles from Sorbie Tower.
<ul>
<li>Afternoon Tea at the Garlieston Hive</li>
<li>3-course meal at the Garlieston Hive</li>
</ul>
You can also combine this with a tour at Sorbie Tower. See our Sorbie Tower offer.

Experience 3 - The Earth Beneath Connecting with Glen Trool: Tea & Forest Bathing, Duration: 3 hours

OVERVIEW: Welcome to the heart of the UNESCO Biosphere, where our highest mountain, the Merrick, looms over temperate rainforest and the magical Loch Trool.  Your clients will experience rushing rivers and tumbling waterfalls, and a unique and ancient woodland filled with birdsong. As well as its natural wonders this is a place where legend and history meet, the site of critical battles for kingship and supremacy, where Robert the Bruce commanded his troops and where the armies of nations fought.
This tour is an immersive experience: guests walk through ancient woodland to a tranquil site perfect for a tea ceremony and tasting. Scene-setting takes place during the walk, while the tea ceremony explains the concept of connecting with nature. The tea tasting allows guests to experience the astonishing range of fragrances and flavours of tea from around the world. Guests are invited to relax through forest-bathing, the art of shinrin yoku.
This experience is unique – it is not available anywhere else in Scotland.
Min/Max  people: min 8/max 12
DURATION: 3 hours / start time to be discussed.
LOCATION: Glentrool / Loch Trool (13.5 miles from the Newton Stewart)
SCHEDULE includes: 
<ul>
<li>An exclusive guided walk to Loch Trool (approx. 1 mile; gentle) led by one of our Biosphere Guides</li>
<li>Tea ceremony and tea tasting</li>
<li>Forest bathing</li>
<li>Storytelling of landscape changes and local culture</li>
</ul>
HIGHLIGHTS/Points of interest: Loch Trool, village of Glentrool
NOTES: 
<ul>
<li>No further driving involved for the main activity; parking is at Loch Trool Visitor Centre</li>
<li>Toilets located at Loch Trool Visitor Centre</li>
<li>Experiences is best in shoulder season due to unbearable armies of midges (small biting flies) in warmer months</li>
</ul>
ADD ON: Guests can have a coffee/tea and homemade cake and/or homemade soup at The Glentrool Hive, a former forestry village and now a Biosphere Community. Glentrool can provide someone to tell the group about Glentrool’s ‘sense of place’: the fascinating old stories of the community and the changes and challenges it has undergone over the generations.
Glentrool Hive is 1 miles from Loch Trool Visitor Centre. It has a small craft shop for souvenirs.
<ul>
<li>Food (soup/cake/tea) at the Glentrool Hive</li>
</ul>

Experience 4 - Have bread with Clan Hannay Sorbie Tower with the option of breadmaking, Duration: 1.5 hours

OVERVIEW: An exclusive experience at the 12th century Sorbie Tower, seat of Clan Hannay, in the heart of a region we call the Machars (southwest Scotland). The tower is nestled in rolling countryside just 2 miles from the coast at Garlieston, and one mile from Galloway House and gardens, a stately home.
Your clients will learn about the significance of the castle in medieval times, how it fell into ruins, and its eventual restoration by the custodians of Clan Hannay. Guests will enjoy an exclusive tour in and around the tower house and learn the stories about the clan, its decedents (some famous!) and its ghosts.
And what better way to have storytelling whilst making bread with our guide (see Add-On below). It is immersive, inclusive and fun.
LOCATION: Sorbie Tower (14 miles from Newton Stewart)
Min/Max people: min 6/max 12
DURATION: 1.5 hours / start time to be discussed
SCHEDULE includes: Guided walk and access to the tower
HIGHLIGHTS/Points of interest: Sorbie Tower, 12th century
NOTES: 
<ul>
<li>Multi-generational</li>
<li>No further driving involved for the main activity</li>
<li>Toilets at Sorbie Tower</li>
</ul>
ADD ON:
<ol>
<li>Breadmaking at Sorbie Tower: This experience combines the tour described above with traditional Scottish Bannock bread making, a hands-on activity on site.</li>
</ol>
Your clients will connect with history and culture by making bread at Sorbie Tower while listening to the stories of local history and days gone by.
Min/Max people: min 6/max 8
Duration: 3 hours / start time to be discussed
 
2. Afternoon Tea/ light lunch/ or a 3 course meal at Garlieston Hive: Guests can indulge with coffee and homemade cake or homemade soup at The Garlieston Hive. The Hive team can also prepare a more substantial meal if requested.
Garlieston is a small seaside village that played a very important role in World War II as the testing site of three Mulberry Harbour prototypes, which were used in the Normandy landings on D-Day in 1944.
Garlieston Hive is 2 miles from Sorbie Tower.
<ul>
<li>Afternoon Tea at the Garlieston Hive</li>
<li>3-course meal at the Garlieston Hive</li>
</ul>

The Wild Goose Chase 1-day tour around Loch Ken

OVERVIEW: A ‘wild goose chase’ is a search that is unsuccessful and a waste of time because the person or thing being searched for does not exist or is somewhere else.
This is much more than an elusive birdwatching tour; we use migrating birds to introduce guests to the Biosphere’s unique landscapes, and to illustrate some of our region’s most beautiful stories. The shoulder seasons are perfect for migrating birds and nowhere else in Scotland can visitors encounter up to 7 species of geese at a single site.
This experience can commence at either end of Loch Ken; at the market town of Castle Douglas, or in St. John’s Town of Dalry, a Biosphere Community. The tour follows a loop around Loch Ken and the River Dee, which are home to migrating birds and, fascinatingly, the site where Galloway Hoard was unearthed; this collection of gold, silver and other precious items dating back to Viking times is one of Scotland’s most important archaeological discoveries and is valued at £4,000,000.
Guests will stop in the village of Parton to learn about the famous physicist James Clark Maxwell – without whom SatNav would not exist! Your guide will also show guests the 100-year rewilding project at Threave Estate, site of Threave Castle and home to our distinctive cattle breed, the Belted Galloway. The tour continues to the Red Kite Centre where guests will discover how this nearly extinct bird was reintroduced to southwest Scotland and now thrives.
Min/Max people: min 8/max 12
DURATION: 3-4 hours / start time to be discussed
PRICE : Please contact us for further details
LOCATION: Castle Douglas (1 miles from the A75), or St John’s Town of Dalry (on A713)
SPECIAL SCHEDULE includes: 
<ul>
<li>Gentle guided walk to Threave Castle and RSPB Nature Reserve</li>
<li>Donald Watson Trails at St John’s Town of Dalry</li>
<li>Visit to Red Kite Centre near Laurieston for red kite feeding</li>
</ul>
HIGHLIGHTS/Points of interest:
<ul>
<li>Castle Douglas</li>
<li>Threave Garden (a National Trust for Scotland property) and Threave Castle</li>
<li>Red kite feeding station at Laurieston</li>
<li>Parton and the burial place of James Clark Maxwell</li>
<li>Biosphere Community of St John’s Town of Dalry (with ancient Motte & Bailey structure)</li>
<li>Loch Ken</li>
</ul>
NOTES: 
<ul>
<li>Multi-generational</li>
<li>Binoculars provided</li>
<li>Toilets at Castle Douglas, New Galloway (en route), St John’s Town of Dalry</li>
</ul>
ADD ON:
<ul>
<li>Food at the Clachan Inn</li>
<li>Food at Earth’s Crust Bakery (dependent on opening hours)</li>
<li>Food Designs (Castle Douglas)</li>
</ul>

Biosphere Walks & Talks Bespoke discovery sessions for groups

About us and sustainable tourism

The Galloway and Southern Ayrshire Biosphere Partnership is a registered Scottish Charity (SC044137) supporting conservation, learning, climate resilience and sustainable development in SW Scotland. The GSA Biosphere Partnership works right across the UNESCO Biosphere region, more than 9,700km² that encompasses wild land and rolling hills, meandering rivers and peaceful lochs, a rugged coast and pristine sandy beaches. This is a place of contrasting landscapes, where everyone can find their place.

Biosphere Enterprises is the GSA Biosphere Partnership’s trading arm, a social enterprise which has created unique Biosphere Guided Experiences for the travel trade. All profits are reinvested in the Biosphere region through local projects and initiatives delivered by the GSA Biosphere Partnership.

We are committed to fostering sustainable tourism in multiple ways, including providing Biosphere Guide Training, the only such course in Scotland. This allows us to connect the global travel trade with small businesses, independent guides and activity providers, and to offer visitors an experience like no other.

Find out more about Biosphere Guides, Self-Guided Discoveries, and Low Carbon Days Out

Explore and Discover

The Galloway & Southern Ayrshire UNESCO Biosphere covers 9,720km² of southwest Scotland.
See Map here: Explore the Biosphere Map

It can easily be reached via road from Glasgow, Edinburgh, Newcastle and Manchester.
To the east access is via the M6 (Carlisle/England -Glasgow)
To the west access is via the M77/A77
There is easy access to Northern Ireland via the Cairnryan ferry, and the DFDS Newcastle Ferry terminal is about 2 hours by car from Dumfries.

info@gsabiosphere.org.uk

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Biosphere Experiences for Travel Trade

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