THE WILDCATS ARE HERE!

This summer Newtonmore is staging an exciting new attraction - the Wildcat Experience.

Scores of life-size, accurate models of the Scottish Wildcat can be found all round the village, every one of them differently decorated as part of a community art project.

The Scottish Wildcat is rarer in its pure form in the wild than, for instance, the Amur Tiger.

With the Wildcat Experience you can learn about the Scottish Wildcat, have a fun day out tracking down the model cats and discover the many other things Newtonmore has to offer.

Get your Wildcat Experience TrackPack from the Wildcat Centre on Main Street. This contains a brochure with photos of all the wildcat models, maps of the village and a pen to mark down each one as you find it. The showerproof TrackPack also contains information about other attractions in Newtonmore, with discount vouchers.

If you correctly locate 25 or more Wildcats you get a Wildcat Experience Certificate.

If you go on and find them all there are some great prizes. The first person over 18 to do so qualifies for the chance to feed the Amur Tigers at the Highland Wildlife Park!

Many of the cats have been decorated by children and we are sure that families with younger children will particularly enjoy setting out on a hunt to track down as many of the cats as they can.

The Highland Folk Museum, which shows life in the 18th century, when wildcats were more frequently seen, the Clan Macpherson Museum and the beautiful Wildcat Trail are all in Newtonmore.

The Highland Wildlife Park, just six miles away, has Scottish wildcats in captivity - the only chance you are likely to get of actually seeing a real one - and of course, they also have Amur Tigers.

So see if you can find The Cat's Pyjamas, Cat-a-log, Cat Burglar, Puss in Boots, Scaredy Cat etc. You'll need to be on the alert, as you never know where they might be hiding!

The Wildcat Centre is open 7 days a week.

The project is run by the Newtonmore Community Woodland & Development Trust, a registered charity which manages the Wildcat Trail and Wildcat Centre. The Scottish Wildcat Association and the Highland Tiger project, the Cairngorm National Park's own scheme to conserve the wildcat , both support this exciting new attraction .

Select a thumbnail below to view the Wildcat Experience gallery.