Tag: farne islands

The Fabulous Farne Islands

Posted on April 15, 2024 by - North East Attractions, Northumberland

The Farne Islands lie just off the North Northumberland coast and they are the perfect way to spend a day enjoying the very best bird and wildlife. The islands are home to literally thousands of seabirds and to one of Europe’s largest grey seal colonies and are internationally known as a breeding site of high importance. The Farnes are a must for anyone who enjoys seeing wildlife and birdlife and to see them in this, their most natural and wild habitat is a truly special experience.

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A Puffin at the Farne Islands
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Shags at the Farne Islands

The Farnes consist of around 25 islands with some visible at high tide and some only visible at low tide, they boast wonderful names such as Megstone, Elbow, The Bush, Glororum Shad, Gun Rock, Staple Island, Brownsman, Fang, North and South Wamses, Big and Little Harcar, Nameless Rock, Blue Caps and Longstone to name but a few. The Farne Islands can be broken into two main groups, the first is dominated by Inner Farne, the second a mile away includes Staple Island and the well known Longstone Island, which will be forever associated with the story of Northumberland’s greatest heroine, Grace Darling. In fact if you’re in up in North Northumberland for the day then The Grace Darling museum in the nearby and very gorgeous Bamburgh is definitely worth visiting too!

The Farne Islands are formed from the rocks of the Whin Sill Complex and this can be traced from Upper Teesdale in Durham where it forms the High Force waterfall all the way up to North Northumberland to the Farne Islands and the rocks upon Lindisfarne, Bamburgh and Dunstanburgh Castles all sit. The dolerite rock gives the Farne Islands their distinctive blackened appearance.

alt="Farne Islands black cliff face and lighthouse on Inner Farne"
The blackened rocks of Inner Farne (image credit Serenity Boats)

As well as birdlife the islands are also home to one of the largest colonies of grey seals and as you take your trip you’ll see them lazing on the rocks or bobbing inquisitively in the sea. The Farnes are in fact the top grey seal pupping site in England with more than 2000 pups born on the islands each year and to see these fluffy white seal pups visit the islands from late October.

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Seal pup – image Serenity Boats

To enjoy the Farne Islands take a boat trip from the fishing village of Seahouses and enjoy either a cruise or a landing trip, boat operators such as Billy Shiel’s and Serenity Boats offer trips to Inner Farne and Staple Island and landing trips to Inner Farne. Choose from their Puffin Cruises, a Birdwatch Cruise, Sunset Cruises and cruises where you can enjoy grey seals as well as the seabirds, and some trips follow the route Grace Darling and her father took during their heroic rescue in 1838. Both operators are renowned for their cruises and their skippers and staff are hugely knowledgeable on both the wildlife and the history of the Islands and give a full commentary during their trips. (do please always check their websites for any current restrictions and up to date sailings)

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Sunset Cruise (image credit Serenity Boats)

The Farne Islands are undoubtedly a seabird spectacle with over 23 species of birds including razorbills, guillemots, common & arctic terns, cormorants, shags, eider duck and around 43,000 pairs of puffins and for the best chance of seeing the largest number of birds then ideally plan your visit between late April and late July. If you wish to enjoy a landing visit to Inner Farne, famed for providing sanctuary to St Cuthbert in the 7th century, and the half mile wildlife walk then later in the season may be preferable for a more tranquil visit.

If you love nature and birdlife and don’t mind putting on your sea legs then The Farne Islands offer a great day out in North Northumberland and our top tip for your trip ….take a hat!

A Haven for Wildlife

Posted on January 20, 2022 by - Northumberland, St Oswald's Farm

If you’re wild about wildlife then Northumberland is most definitely the place to be. Our diverse countryside of rolling hills, dales, moorlands, woodlands, forests, rivers, lakes and our coastline are teaming with wildlife and any drive or walk through Northumberland will undoubtedly mean you can easily spot some of our slightly wilder residents.

  • Coastal dunes
  • Rolling hills and woodland
  • Perfect for spotting resident wildlife

Our nature reserves are second to none, and each one with it’s own unique offering. Kielder Water & Forest Park provides a huge variety of habitats from marshy grasslands and bogs to woodland which attract an impressive amount of wildlife including badgers, roe deer, otters, red squirrels, shrews, pine martins, foxes, several species of bat, woodland birds and birds of prey, including ospreys. Of course the offering doesn’t stop at birds and animals, the insects, grasses and wildflowers come into their own at certain times of year, don’t be surprised to see the likes of yellow rattle, bird’s foot trefoil, and a variety of orchids. 

The Kielder Water website is packed full of information on all their ‘residents’, their ongoing projects, such as the ‘restoring ratty project’, their own Bakethin Nature Reserve and check out their nature calendar for what you’re most likely to spot during your visit.

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Roe Deer

In North Northumberland Hauxley Nature Reserve is right next to the beach and offers one of the best wildlife watching spots in the North East. The reserve is renowned for it’s bird life and regularly attracts 140 different species a year including tree sparrow, reed bunting and bull finch to coot, moorhen and curlew. The summer offers spectacular wild flowers including viper’s bugloss, bloody cranesbill and northern marsh orchid and of course where there’s flowers you will find variety of butterflies and the reserve attracts species such as the common blue and wall brown and you may see dragonflies and damselflies on the ponds, including the common hawker and the common darter. The reserve has a circular path leading to it’s wildlife hides and lots of information boards if you’re unsure what you might have spotted.

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Common Blue

If you’re visiting Holy Island, the Lindisfarne National Nature Reserve offers 3500 hectares of dunes, saltmarsh and mudflats and is home to a fascinating array of wildlife. The Reserve can be enjoyed all year round with Winter being the best time to see the visiting waterfowl, Autumn and Spring are the best for spotting rare birds on migration and with Summer best for the stunning flowers, butterflies and insects.

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Ringed Plover

We couldn’t talk about nature in Northumberland without mentioning The Farne Islands. For any bird and wildlife enthusiast a boat trip to The Farne Islands is simply a must. The Farne Islands are home to 100,000 seabirds ranging from Eider Ducks to Artic Terns to Puffins and then if that wasn’t enough there’s the thousands of grey seals. Each Autumn hundreds of seal pups are born there and rangers are on constant ‘pup watch’ as the keep an eye on the numbers born each year! The National Trust wildlife calendar is really useful to check the best times of year to enjoy your favourite.

  • Images: Serenity boats

If you prefer something smaller that can be found while exploring the open countryside there are plenty of small reserves dotted all over Northumberland. Druridge Pools, Cresswell Pond, East Chevington, Falstone Moss, Whitelee Moor, Butterburn Flow, Greenlea Lough, Grindon Lough, Beltingham River Gravels… to name but a few. If you’re looking to pack a flask and sandwich and head on a quiet wildlife hunt then there’s lots of information on where to go and how to access them on the Northumberland Wildlife Trust website.

Even a relaxing day spent enjoying St Oswald’s Farm can bring some wonderful wild finds, heron, curlew, woodpecker, buzzards, lapwing, a huge array of garden birds and if you’re lucky you may spot a barn owl. We encourage and protect our environment however we can and in the Spring it is heartwarming to see our birdboxes being put to good use. A quick peek out of the bedroom window in Heavenfield Cottage might just bring a glimpse of a busy little wren. This year we’re hoping to create a new stumpery and look forward to seeing who’s going to join us and makes St Oswald’s their home.