A WORLD OF WILDLIFE WOWS

Whatever your budget, time in life or level of experience, Brian Jackman has the perfect trip for you

SAFARI IN WEST SUSSEX

The 3,500 acres of Knepp Castle Estate have been transformed by one of the largest rewilding projects in lowland Europe into a habitat known for its nightingales, turtle doves and purple emperor butterflies. Open April to October.

Pitch your own tent for £17 per person or enjoy a long weekend in a shepherd’s hut from £240 per person. Seven-night stays also available. Knepp Wildland Safaris (01403 713230; kneppsafaris.co.uk).

WHERE EAGLES FLY

Aigas Field Centre in the wild heart of the Highlands is the home of author and conservationist, Sir John Lister-Kaye. Here, meals are eaten in the baronial hall next to a roaring log fire. You’ll have the chance to spot beavers on the loch and pine martens in the woods. Then join a ranger to head out in search of ospreys, eagles and blackthroated divers.

A special family week, including picnics in Glen Affric and dolphin-spotting boat trips on the Moray Firth, begins Aug 3 and costs £1,395 adults, £545 children. Aigas Field Centre (01463 782433; aigas.co.uk).

LIVE LIKE A HIGHLAND LAIRD

Welcome to the Alladale Estate, a 23,000-acre wilderness reserve with a Victorian lodge offering five-star comfort and total seclusion in Glen Alladale, 50 miles (80km) north of Inverness. Paul Lister, its owner, has dreams of reintroducing wolves and bears. Meanwhile, there’s plenty to see in the way of eagles, deer, grouse and salmon.

Nine nights off-thebeaten track in the

Highlands, including four nights at Alladale and return flights to

Edinburgh, cost from

£4,900 per person with

Scott Dunn (020 8682

5080; scottdunn.com). See beavers and pine martens in the Highlands, main; a Siberian tiger, below; dolphins, left; a short-eared owl, top right

TRACK WOLVES IN BELARUS

Naliboki Forest is the primeval setting for this offbeat European adventure. Based in a simple eco-station, join local naturalist guides on foot, tracking wolves, bears, lynx and bison.

Five days, from £1,060 including flights, B&B accommodation and some meals. Explore (01252 883358; explore.co.uk/holidays/wolfwatching-in-belarus).

PLAY HIDE-AND-SEEK WITH BEARS

What could be more exciting than a night in a hide watching brown bears? Wolves, lynx and wolverine all live in the taiga – the fathomless woodlands that spill across the Finnish border into Russia around the little town of Kuhmo – but brown bears are the superstars and summer is the best time to see them.

Four days from £1,180 per person, including flights. Best Served Scandinavia (020 7838 5956; best-served.co.uk).

REALM OF THE IBERIAN LYNX

In Andalucia, only an afternoon’s drive from the Costa del Sol, lives the

Iberian lynx – the rarest cat on Earth. To spot it you must visit the Andujar Natural Park in the Sierra Morena (the Dark Mountains) whose 4,000ft summits and wooded slopes are the principal refuge for Spain’s most important lynx population numbering at least 80 adults.

A five-day guided tour costs £1,495 per person including flights with Wildlife Worldwide (01962 302086; wildlifeworldwide.com).

GANNETS GALORE IN IRELAND

The Skelligs, twin peaks soaring from the sea off the wild Kerry coast, have earned fame as a Star Wars film location but are also home to 27,000 pairs of gannets – the world’s second-largest colony. See them on a guided week of hiking and island hopping that also visits the abandoned Blasket Islands looking for whales and dolphins.

From €1,795 (£1,564) per person sharing, including cosy guesthouse and hotel accommodation and transfers. Wilderness Ireland (00353 91 457 898; wildernessireland.com).

ENJOY A FLUTTER IN BULGARIA

Bulgaria’s mountain regions abound in butterflies and birds. Here, in the dramatic gorges of the Rhodopes and elsewhere you can expect to find all kinds of rare and endemic species on the wing as well as black woodpeckers, wall creepers and five species of eagles. This new, small group tour (eight guests maximum) is an ideal opportunity for solo travellers to meet like-minded individuals while exploring top wildlife hotspots.

From £1,290 for solo travellers, including eight nights’ full-board accommodation, return flights from London to Sofia and the services of a naturalist leader with The Travelling Naturalist (01305 267994; thetravellingnaturalist.com).

SIBERIAN TIGER SAFARI

Measuring 13ft from nose to tail, the Siberian tiger is the biggest cat on the planet. They are incredibly rare, too (population

550 at most), so the chances of seeing one are slim. The accommodation is basic, the conditions challenging. Yet this is a unique opportunity to track them in Siberia’s snowbound forests and help set and collect camera traps. Seven days from £3,775 per person including flights with Natural World Safaris (01273 691642; naturalworldsafaris.com).

LAND OF THE CLOUDED LEOPARD

Join a small group and set off into Borneo’s rainforests in pursuit of the region’s rare mammals: orang-utans, Asian elephants, Malayan sun bears and clouded leopards. This escorted tour begins with a visit to the orang-utan rehab centre in Sepilok but the highlight is seven nights in Deramakot Forest Reserve, the best place in the world for clouded leopard sightings. Fourteen days from £2,995 per person sharing, including return flights from London. Wildlife Worldwide (01962 302086; wildlifeworldwide.com).