National Trust - Farne Islands
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National Trust - Farne Islands

The National Trust-managed island group off Seahouses, reached by boat, home to puffins, terns and one of England's largest grey seal colonies.

Address:

Seahouses, NE68 7SH
Call:
01289 389244

Hours:

Daily: 10:15am - 3:35pm

Map

Good to Know

The Farne Islands are a group of rocky islands a few miles off Seahouses, cared for by the National Trust. In spring and summer they're home to tens of thousands of nesting seabirds, including puffins, Arctic terns, guillemots and shags, and in autumn the islands' grey seal colony gives birth to hundreds of pups. Inner Farne has a small chapel dedicated to St Cuthbert, who lived here as a hermit, and the Longstone lighthouse was Grace Darling's home.

Why it's on our list: it's one of the great wildlife spectacles in Britain, and seeing puffins at arm's length is unforgettable.

Worth knowing: you reach the islands by boat from Seahouses Harbour with operators such as Billy Shiel's. Landing carries a National Trust fee, which is free for members. Wear a hat in the nesting season, as the terns will dive at your head.

A Little Note From Heather & Sand

We haven't quite made it here ourselves yet, but it's on our list!

We're working our way around Northumberland, personally visiting and reviewing as many of the places featured in our Listed section as we can. It's a tough job, but somebody has to do it.

In the meantime, we do our homework. Before adding somewhere to Heather & Sand, we research it, look at what other visitors have to say and check that it has a good reputation. If the feedback isn't encouraging, it generally doesn't make our list.

Of course, a little online research is no substitute for muddy boots, a decent coffee and seeing somewhere for ourselves. So until we've visited, we'll leave the personal review to one side.

A little about us...

Heather & Sand is our little corner of Northumberland — a collection of places, stories, walks and discoveries from a county we love.

Through our Journal, Guide and Listed pages, we hope to help you discover somewhere new, revisit an old favourite or simply enjoy a little Northumberland from wherever you happen to be.

Tom, Lucy & the Heather & Sand crew.

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