Farne Islands Puffin Colony

A Seabird City off the Northumberland Coast

The Farne Islands form one of the most important seabird sanctuaries in the United Kingdom, hosting roughly 200,000 nesting seabirds across a scatter of rocky islets. This camera frames the teeming clifftops where the colony goes about its daily life within metres of the lens.

Puffins and Their Neighbours

Around 50,000 pairs of puffins — affectionately called the "clowns of the sea" for their colourful bills — share these slopes with guillemots, razorbills and kittiwakes. Watch them billing, defending burrows and ferrying food to their young, with the occasional bird of prey passing overhead.

A National Trust Nature Reserve

Cared for by the National Trust, the islands are a strictly protected National Nature Reserve. Rangers follow a non-intervention policy once nesting begins, monitoring puffin counts, seal populations and seabird health to feed national conservation data.

Planning a Visit

Visitors reach the Farne Islands by boat from Seahouses harbour, with tours departing whenever conditions allow. From the water and the landing sites you can spot grey seals, kittiwakes and, with luck, kestrels, merlins or peregrine falcons hunting along the cliffs.