North England Farne Islands

gramps said:
will get the chance for puffins etc on Skomer Island
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I dont know if you've been before, but I made an almost wasted trip down there last week. There are three boat departures for landings which can not be prebooked (10, 11 & 12) and they were sold out when I got there about 10:30 - the NT guy on the carpark said people were queuing from 6am as they'd missed out the day before because of the weather. I went on one of the 'cruises' instead, which although nice, was very cramped and even with a 500mm lens presented little chance of good shots.
Still, at least I saw some, took in a decent gig in the evening and Bristol Zoo and Slimbridge the next day - and a little unexpected extra on my wageslip pretty much covered it :D
 
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Yes, I think the advice is to arrive at least two hours before the sailing time.
I've booked a workshop purely to avoid this type of issue ... the tickets will be obtained for me with guaranteed 1st boat out and last boat back - no guarantees with the weather of course but less to think/bother about :)
 
new2me said:
I dont know if you've been before, but I made an almost wasted trip down there last week. There are three boat departures for landings which can not be prebooked (10, 11 & 12) and they were sold out when I got there about 10:30 - the NT guy on the carpark said people were queuing from 6am as they'd missed out the day before because of the weather. I went on one of the 'cruises' instead, which although nice, was very cramped and even with a 500mm lens presented little chance of good shots.
Still, at least I saw some, took in a decent gig in the evening and Bristol Zoo and Slimbridge the next day - and a little unexpected extra on my wageslip pretty much covered it :D
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That's the thing I don't want to go all that way and find there are no boats available.I can imagine it would be Bedlam on a sunny day.Best thing to do is take your own boat and pay the £10 landing fee by the sounds of it.
 
shapeshifter said:
That's the thing I don't want to go all that way and find there are no boats available.I can imagine it would be Bedlam on a sunny day.Best thing to do is take your own boat and pay the £10 landing fee by the sounds of it.
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If you have a yacht tucked away in the garage, you can land for free :D I did wonder at the time if you're allowed to canoe across.
 
shapeshifter said:
That's the thing I don't want to go all that way and find there are no boats available.I can imagine it would be Bedlam on a sunny day.Best thing to do is take your own boat and pay the £10 landing fee by the sounds of it.
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I doubt you can do that as numbers are regulated and buying a landing ticket assigns you a seat on the boat.
 
From what I gathered you can only land on the Farne islands if you are on one of the regular boats. When I rang the booking office to enquire about the 2 hr trip I was told just ring up the day before. But I decided to book the 5 hr one and there was room for a few more on the boat. You don't pay until you go to pick up the ticket just in case they cancel I had a 4 hr journey to get to seahouses which is a chance I took and well worth the journey looking forward to going again next year
 
anyone know why the trips only run until july as i am going to be over that way in August and there are no boat trips for that month on the website
 
no birds ... no need to visit :D
 
Been 4 times, stayed at Beadnell camp site, check the weather, book and go, brill each time, Jim
 
Just resurrecting this thread as am trying to get to the Farne Islands again this year and have booked a 1st week in Seahouses in June.
Have booked with Billy Shiels for the full day trip ... if the wife gets ill this time I'll have her put down! :D

Any more up to date information, changes, tips, advice etc would be most welcome :)
 
The Farne Islands is a fantastic place. Keep your eyes open for seals as you approach the islands in the boat, also watch out for sea-skimming puffins coming in fast & low with beaks full of sand eels, they will test your camera skills. The last time we were there we saw a female eider duck nesting on the doorstep into the chapel. As well as wearing a hat (wide brimmed) consider wearing a jacket you don't mind getting bird droppings on as the terns don't just use their beaks when dive bombing. In Seahouses itself, the Bamburgh Castle Hotel has a nice lounge/dining room overlooking the harbour & the food is pretty good too.

While you are in the area, consider visiting Lindisfarne (watch out for tide times), not to mention Bamburgh, Craster & Dunstanburgh, Alnwick, & Berwick. If you have time fit in a trip to see Warkworth Castle too.
 
broc said:
The Farne Islands is a fantastic place. Keep your eyes open for seals as you approach the islands in the boat, also watch out for sea-skimming puffins coming in fast & low with beaks full of sand eels, they will test your camera skills. The last time we were there we saw a female eider duck nesting on the doorstep into the chapel. As well as wearing a hat (wide brimmed) consider wearing a jacket you don't mind getting bird droppings on as the terns don't just use their beaks when dive bombing. In Seahouses itself, the Bamburgh Castle Hotel has a nice lounge/dining room overlooking the harbour & the food is pretty good too.

While you are in the area, consider visiting Lindisfarne (watch out for tide times), not to mention Bamburgh, Craster & Dunstanburgh, Alnwick, & Berwick. If you have time fit in a trip to see Warkworth Castle too.
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Thanks for the tips ... especially the extra bird protection info :D
 
Fantastic, I'm going again this year really enjoyed it last year. It was worth the long trip.
 
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