Visiting Inner Farne

It is a real privilege to arrive when there are no other tourists. There were plenty of people, wardens and a 2 person BBC crew filming for Coast, but they were busy with their own affairs while we just wanted to stop and stare.

We were greeted at the landing by a friendly young warden, who directed us to land on the beach rather than the landing stage. She then helped pull Worm ashore so my feet did not get wet. (I had assumed a landing stage arrival, and just worn my trainers.) She admired Worm very much, and called one of the other wardens to look too. Apparently wooden dingies are rare beasts! Robinetta herself was totally ignored. The warden said that she rows around the islands herself (although she has to use an inflatable) which put put my mind at rest about the row back. Rowing there had been easy, but at slack water.


Nesting season was at its peak, and we were dived at repeatedly by arctic terns. Most were just threats, but several connected with a thump, and we were glad of both hats and hoods that we had been advised to wear. Luckily they were not nesting everywhere, just near the landing stage, so we were able to view eider ducks, puffins, guillemots, and cormorants on the nest without getting attacked.

Some tiny eider ducklings were around, looking less than a day old while other ducks were still on the nest. The cormorants had chicks; the wardens were weighing chicks and tagging parents as we watched. The cormorant chicks looked like fluffy dinosaurs, and both chicks and adults sprayed out white liquid onto then wardens in protest at being handled.

Black headed gulls mobbed any puffins they say returning to the nest with fish, but most of the puffins got through to vanish into their borrows the reappear seconds later with empty beaks.

We walked back to Worm through diving Arctic terns, then rowed back to Robinetta. We got the sail covers on, then Julian cooked potatoes and heated baked beans and the last two of the Newcastle pies. Lovely! Then I washed up and we spent the rest of the evening planning where we would go next.