Shags

A truly beautiful day visiting the Farne Islands.

We were picked up by the Community bus st 5am and it took us 3 hours to reach Seahouses. The wind was up and the sea too rough to allow a morning crossing, so instead we had a coffee and then walked along the coast for a couple of hours. By 11 the weather was improving and we boarded a small boat called Good Tidings into which 65 people were rather tightly packed.

For two hours we cruised around the islands, seeing huge numbers of birds nesting on the cliffs - guillemots, razorbills, kittiwakes and shags, as well as a lot of seals. The highlight for me was my first ever view of puffins!

At 1.30,we were able to land on Inner Farne, a small island inhabited only by National Trust rangers in the summer months, although St Cuthbert lived here for several years in the 7th century.

We had 3 hours on the island in bright warm sunshine, watching puffins fly back to their burrows with beaks full of sand eels, and being dive-bombed by angry arctic terns when we got too close to their nests. I enjoyed seeing these shags nesting right on the cliff edge.

On our way home now at almost 8pm..tired but happy.