Farne Islands Trip

Hi all

I'm planning a trip to the Farne Islands at the end of June this year and was wondering if anyone has any tips on where to say, what boat trips to use etc.. Is it possible to do an all-day stop on one of the main islands?

Any advice greatly appreciated


Simon

Clicky here - http://www.seahouses.org/

I've always been with boats from Billy Shiel (he has a website with all the details) and he offers a number of options as to how long you spend where. Be prepared for mayhem in June - if you've never seen fifty 500-600mm lenses on a boat before, you are in for a treat!! I now go at the end of July when it is peaceful and still very good for the puffins (in my experience anyway). Book early with Billy if you are limited on dates.

Hope you don't mind crowds, the place is utterly packed! Make sure you book the boat before you go and check the shipping forecast beforehand to make sure they'll be landing.

So, should I be booking the boat trips now? Looking at Billy Shiels trips you only get a couple of hours on Inner Farne - I was hoping to get on the island early morning and stay until late afternoon, getting in a good six or seven hours of photography. Is this possible?

Simon

You can get a good range of photography into the standard trips run by Billy Shiels, as the islands are very small and easily covered. The Farnes can be very frustrating on several accounts - honey pot site and summer contrasty light shooting basically black and white birds - as an experience it cannot be rivalled as the birds are so habituated and easily approached.

Don't forget to take a hat for the tern island to save a sore head and ears, you don't have much protection from the territorial arctic terns when looking through your camera viewfinder

I always used to arrive a good few hours earlier than the boat sailing time to get some quality time with the eider and other shorebirds. You also have better light before sailing times earlier on as well