Seahouses and the Farne Islands, England

Latitude: 55°34'58.30"N, Longitude: 1°39'9.06"W

We drove from Alnmouth north to a town called Seahouses. From here we caught a boat (the Serenity II, if you go, look for this tour operator) out to the Farne Islands to see the puffins. That was the plan. We ended up seeing so much more. Yes, we saw puffins, Eiders, shags, terns, razorbills, guillemots, and gulls on the shores. We also saw sea lions and loads of jelly fish. We got out and walked around for an hour on a National Trust site on Inner Farne and saw the nesting birds very up close. Sometimes up too close as the parent birds, protective of their young or their eggs would swoop very near our heads, shewing us onward and away. It was fun though. Gulls make their nests right on the edge of a cliff. Puffins make a burrow for their eggs and hatchlings.

We also saw St. Cuthbert's Chapel on Inner Farne. Cuthbert figures prominently in the Christian history of northern England so it was interesting to see this sweet little chapel on this rugged, bird-filled rock island.

These photos and more from the trip are located on my Flickr page.










Added July 22, 2010. My daughter made a video of her birding experience on the Inner Farne. Here's her YouTube channel.