Boat Trip To Isle of May and Bass Rock : 16 Jul 2011
We went up to Scotland in the middle of July to visit relatives but I was also aware that there was only another week or so to go before the Puffins would leave the islands in the Firth of Forth off the east coast of Scotland and then they would be out in the open sea for another year. In order to get really good views of thousands of Puffins we would have to go to the Isle of May. The boat trips to both islands are run by the Scottish Seabird Centre. The day was inauspicious and we donned out waterproofs in the rain.
The Isle of May is a lot further from North Berwick harbour than the Bass Rock so we made the trip in a RIB (rigid inflatable boat) which is much faster than the boat we had been on the previous day. At the best of times this is a bit of a rough ride as the boat scuds along the top of the waves but the sea was choppier than the previous day so we had quite a ride of it with the rain slashing into our faces and the boat bumping along like a fairground ride and waves regularly crashing over the boat.