This summer I’d planned to visit Skomer, an island off the coast of Pembrokeshire that’s famous for puffins. But when I tried to book, every single ferry from May to July was full. At first I was gutted to have missed out on the chance to see 52,019 puffins, but then I began to wonder whether I wanted to be just another tourist clogging up Skomer’s coast paths.
Conscious that my approach to wildlife watching is focussed on slow travel and discovering lesser-trodden sites, I decided I didn’t mind that the ferries were booked up. I’m sure Skomer is a stunning place, and I’m not criticising those who visit by the way. I just prefer to avoid the crowds and spend time in quieter spots.
A few days later, I found myself on the puffin page of the RSPB’s website. Halfway down was a fantastic photo of a sea cliff covered in puffins, labelled Coquet Island. I leapt onto Google Maps and discovered that the mysterious Coquet Island lies off the harbour town of Amble, thirty miles north of Newcastle. Where would I be visiting in a few weeks’ time? The one and only Newcastle!
After some more swift Googling, I found Dave Gray’s Puffin Cruises, a family-run company that’s offered daily sailings from Amble Harbour to the uninhabited Coquet Island since 1969. Thrilled, I called them up straight away, but because the trips are timed with the tides and weather conditions, I had to wait until a few days before my visit to book a slot. A few excitable weeks later, I was gobbling a seasickness tablet and stepping foot onto the bright red boat.
Leaving Amble behind, we bobbed our way out to sea and reached Coquet Island barely ten minutes later. Once there, we were met by a huge colony of grey seals. Some were swimming, but most were hauled out on the beach in a mottled blanket of charcoal and beige.
Because Coquet Island is a designated wildlife sanctuary, the public are not allowed to land on it. Aside from when RSPB wardens monitor the seabirds during the summer breeding season, the island is totally uninhabited, so the seals can snooze in peace all year round. Many were particularly inquisitive and swam right up to the boat, popping up so close I could count whiskers.
After admiring the seals, I turned my attention to the steep hill beyond the beach and there they were! A squadron of puffins lined up amongst the blooms of white campion. Some were huddled with their bills tucked inside their feathers, but most were waddling around like penguins. Every time I have the good fortune to see puffins I remember how tiny they are: they stand just eight inches tall.
Although the boat trips are called ‘Puffin Cruises’ for good reason, there are plenty of other seabirds here too. During summer, the island is home to breeding kittiwakes, eider ducks and four species of tern: common, Arctic, sandwich and the much scarcer roseate tern.
The terns look very alike at first glance, but there are distinct if subtle differences. Winter and juvenile plumages throw spanners in the identification works, but broadly speaking for summer plumage, you can look for the following to tell apart your terns:
Sandwich terns: black legs, black bills with yellow tips
Arctic terns: red legs, solid red bills
Common terns: red legs, red bills with black tips
Roseate terns: red legs, black bills with a red base
Easy features to observe when they’re half a mile offshore…!
Luckily for me, eagle-eyed skippers Dave and Steven pointed out a prominent pair of roseate terns right on the slipway. This was my first sighting of this rarer species, found in only small colonies across Britain with most in Ireland.
Leaving the roseate terns behind, the boat looped slowly around the island, passing dozens of seals. The water was choppier on the other side but the air was full of wings, with puffins, guillemots, terns and the occasional gannet whizzing past us.
After our hour was up, the boat returned towards Amble. I’d never even heard of Coquet Island before, and if I’d gone to Skomer I’d still have no idea you could get wonderful views of puffins less than an hour from Newcastle.
Of course, they weren’t waddling around me like I’ve seen in Skomer videos online, but I love that Coquet Island is kept human-free to give the birds their space. I believe I had a far more peaceful and accessible experience, still with plenty of insight into the goings-on of these charismatic seabirds.
Trossachs Rainforests & River Dips
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May 23
At the start of this month I was in the Trossachs National Park researching a magazine feature, but made sure to add in plenty of other adventures. You can read about my first day taking on The Cobbler mountain at the end of this post.
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