Farne Islands

Key Facts

• Location: Northumberland
• Size: 6.8 hectares
• Terrain: Wooden boardwalk around the island
• Access: Billy Shiel Boat Trips, Seahouses, Northumbria
• Height gain: 20 metres
• Map: OS Explorer 340
• Starting point: Seahouses quay for boat trip; then Inner Farne island quay
• Accommodation/food:

  There are no refreshments on the Farne Islands and the only island-based facilities ate basic sea water and bucket toilets in the tower. The boats are also equipped with toilets.

• Island Summary:

  If you want to get intimate with birdlife nowhere else in Britain will match the experience of Inner Farne. The first step on this incredible island is an assault on the senses. Puffins, artic terns, shags and kittiwakes galore – feeding, nesting, mating and nurturing in every nook and cranny of the soil, air and sky of this wondrous place they call home. The noise, the smell, the fecundity of nature at her rawest is truly a life-enhancing experience if you are up to running the gauntlet of sharp beaks and poo! There is an easy walk on boardwalks around the island – these have been laid to protect the delicate burrows used by the puffins.

• Look out for:
  • Puffins, puffins and more puffins
  • Eider ducks, kittiwakes, fulmars, guillemots, razorbills, sandwich terns, common terns and seals
  • Don’t forget to have a chat with the awesome National Trust rangers who live and breathe this island
• Route description:

  A short walk around the island’s boardwalk.

• Getting there:

  Billy Shiel Boat Trips, Seahouses run a 2-3 hour boat trip of all of the islands with a stop on Inner Farne.