About

We are a unique birding couple who are passionate about watching birds. We love nothing better than sharing exciting birds with other people. At Birdwatching Trips, we specialise in offering relaxed-pace guided birdwatching daytrips and tours in the best birdwatching locations in Britain and abroad. We always take our time to enjoy every bird we see and we never get tired of watching birds, whether they’re common or rare. Our guided birdwatching holidays and daytrips are all about making sure you enjoy yourself as you watch great birds in North Wales, across Britain, in Europe and further afield. It doesn’t matter if you are a birdwatching beginner or a birding expert, we want to help you get the most out of your birdwatching on our guided daytrips and longer holidays.

We met when we were both employed by the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds in its important work for bird conservation. In 2008, however, we gave up our jobs and spent the whole year travelling the world birding, and we set a new world record for the highest number of birds seen in a single year. We called this year The Biggest Twitch and we recorded 4,341 species, that’s nearly half the world’s birds.

Now we’re back in North Wales after our year of birding all around the world, and we have our own birdwatching tour company, called Birdwatching Trips with The Biggest Twitch. We now offer guided birdwatching daytrips, weekends and longer birdwatching tours in North Wales, across Britain, in Europe and further afield. We now lead relaxed-paced guided birdwatching tours together, sharing the very best birds with other people.

With this knowledge and experience, there’s no-one better than Alan and Ruth of Birdwatching Trips to offer you a truly unique birdwatching experience. We are also proud to be Birding Ambassadors for Leica Sport Optics, and we always have our top-of-the-range Leica telescopes with us for everyone to enjoy amazing views of the birds on our tours.

Born and bred in North Wales, I have always been passionate about birds and birdwatching. From a very early age, birds have been the focus of my life. For six years, I was the Site Manager of the RSPB reserve at Conwy on the North Wales coast which I developed into a popular visitor attraction as well as a haven for wildlife. I have also written the successful site guide Best Birdwatching Sites in North Wales, so with over thirty years’ experience of finding the very best birds, I know just what birds to look for and where. And there’s nothing I enjoy more than sharing exciting birds with other people.

Originally from Kent, I have always had a passion for the great outdoors and I’m happiest when I’m watching great birds in beautiful places. I worked as Head of Trading at the RSPB Head Office in Sandy, Bedfordshire before moving up to Llandudno in North Wales where I spend every possible moment exploring the wonderful countryside here. I’ve written a series of walking books called Birds, Boots and Butties, which gives you a clue to my other passion: enjoying tea and cake! I write a monthly article in Birdwatching Magazine, Britain’s most popular birding magazine, which allows me to share my passion for birds with a wide audience through my words and photographs. I hope you enjoy the read!