Farne Isles, Northumberland

My mission was to see puffins, and a colleague of mine suggested that the Farne Isles was the place to go. So, off I went and as it turned out, my colleague was right!

The best place to embark from when it comes to boat trips to the Farne Isles is Seahouses. I took two boat trips from there. The first included a landing on Staple Island, where I was treated to a barrage of noise (and smells) thanks to the many nesting sea birds that inhabit the island. Stars of the show are the Puffins, but Shags, Guillemots, Razorbills, Fulmars abound too. I noticed very few Gannets there, but my stop off at Bempton Cliffs on the way had more than filled my Gannet quota - it was Gannet Central there! Staple Island was Puffin Central and a more adorable sight in the bird world is hard to find.

My second trip involved no island landing and the main purpose of the trip was to spot seals, something that was not difficult to do!

There is far more to Northumberland than the coastline and I also enjoyed some of the many castles there too, most notably Alnwick Castle, with it's Harry Potter theme (one of the films was shot there) and it's beautiful gardens.

If you get the chance, do visit Northumberland - the Farne Isles are one of Britain's real jewels in the Spring and Hadrians Wall is not far away either (although I missed out as the weather closed in).