The Farne Islands are an archipelago off the coast of Northumberland. The Inner Group includes Inner Farne, Knoxes Reef, and the East and West Wideopens, which are all connected at very low tide, as well as Megstone, while the Outer Group comprises Staple Island, Brownsman, North and South Wamses, Big Harcar, and Longstone.
Designated both a National Nature Reserve and a Site of Special Scientific Interest, the islands support significant populations of wildlife, particularly seabirds and seals. They are also closely associated with the story of Grace Darling, who rescued nine sailors from a paddle steamer wrecked on Big Harcar.
The earliest recorded inhabitants of the Farne Islands were Christian monks and hermits who sought spiritual perfection through poverty, charity, self-denial, and perseverance. In the early 7th century, the islands became a retreat for Saint Aidan, an Irish monk and missionary credited with converting the Northumbrian Anglo-Saxons to Christianity, who was based on nearby Lindisfarne. Later, Saint Cuthbert lived in isolation on the islands, leading a life of great austerity until his death there in 687. During his time, he introduced laws forbidding the taking of birds and their eggs to protect eider ducks and other seabirds, possibly the earliest bird protection measures in the world. In Northumberland, eider ducks are still commonly known as “Cuddy Ducks,” a name derived from Saint Cuthbert.
Over the following centuries, the islands were inhabited by hermits and Benedictine monks until the Dissolution of the Monasteries in 1536, when they passed into the ownership of the Dean and Chapter of Durham Cathedral and were leased to various tenants.
In 1778, the first lighthouse beacons were built on Staple Island and Inner Farne. A succession of lighthouse keepers lived on the islands, including the most famous, members of the Darling family. In 1990, Longstone Lighthouse, built to replace earlier, poorly sited beacons that had led to numerous shipwrecks, was fully automated, and the keepers were withdrawn.
The islands remained part of County Durham until 1844, when the Counties Act transferred them to Northumberland. In 1861, they were sold to Charles Thorp, Archdeacon of Durham, who, troubled by hunters visiting the islands to shoot seals and seabirds, established a fund to employ a warden to protect the wildlife.
In 1894, the engineer and philanthropist William Armstrong, an advocate of renewable energy who built Cragside, often described as Britain’s first “smart home”, purchased the islands, and founded the Farne Islands Association to safeguard their unique environment and wildlife. Ownership later passed to the National Trust on 10 August 1925. The association continued to manage the islands until the Trust assumed full responsibility in 2000.
Today, no members of the public live permanently on the Farne Islands. However, a team of National Trust rangers resides there for around nine months of the year, living in off-grid conditions without mains electricity or running water, relying instead on basic solar-powered systems.
The main draw of the Farne Islands for visitors is its rich array of wildlife.
The Farne Islands are home to one of the largest puffin colonies in the British Isles, with around 40,000 pairs breeding here each season. Often called the “clown of the sea” for its comical waddle and brightly coloured beak, the puffin uses its wings like flippers, propelling itself swiftly underwater to catch small fish. The colony thrives on the islalnds thanks to plentiful sand eels, their preferred food, along with a lack of ground predators such as rats, and an abundance of suitable nesting sites.
Puffins arrive at the islands in April, digging burrows into the soft, peaty soil of grassy clifftops or making use of natural rock crevices. Each pair lays a single egg, and the chick, known as a puffling, remains hidden for about 40 days before making its first unsteady journey to the sea. In August, the colony departs, spending the autumn and winter far out in the open ocean.
Grey seals live on and around the Farne Islands throughout the year. The colony, numbering around 3,500 individuals, is one of the largest on the east coast of England. From the 12th century, monks living on the islands harvested seals for their oil and meat, and as creatures of the sea, they were classified as fish and could therefore be eaten on Fridays.
The best time to see them is during pupping season, from late October to early January, when females come haul out onto beaches to give birth. The pups are born with a white coat and remain with their mothers for about 40 days, until they develop their waterproof adult fur and are ready to enter the sea.
For the rest of the year, grey seals can be seen resting on rocks or swimming and hunting in the surrounding waters.
In addition to puffins, nearly 300 bird species have been recorded on the Farne Islands, with more than 20 species breeding there regularly. Breeding birds include mallards, eider ducks, guillemots, razorbills, fulmars, herring gulls, kittiwakes, lesser black-backed gulls, shags, and cormorants. The islands are also an important breeding site for Arctic terns, which are well known for their fiercely protective behaviour, and visitors are advised to wear hats to guard against dive-bombing birds.
Most species arrive from mid-April, although shags can be seen all year round. On occasion, rare visitors appear, including the Aleutian tern, lesser crested tern, and bridled tern. Other birds to look out for include curlews, purple sandpipers, golden plovers, whimbrels, and short-eared owls.
Although less predictable than seabirds and seals, cetaceans can sometimes be spotted in the waters around the Farne Islands. Harbour porpoises, one of the smallest marine mammals, are particularly elusive, as they rarely breach the surface, making them difficult to see. They are most often sighted during the summer months between Seahouses Harbour and Inner Farne.
In late summer, keep an eye out for bottlenose and white-beaked dolphins. Bottlenose dolphins are chunky and grey, with a short, stubby beak and a tall dorsal fin often marked with notches. The less common white-beaked dolphin has a stockier black body, a paler underside, and a distinctive white beak. If you’re lucky, you may spot them leaping and playing in the water, and they are sometimes curious enough to approach boats.
Britain’s smallest whale, the minke whale, can also occasionally be seen. It has a sleek grey body, a tall, backward-curving dorsal fin, and distinctive white bands on its flippers. Sightings are most likely between May and July.
To visit the Farne Islands, whether landing on them or sailing around, you’ll need to catch a boat from Seahouses, and it’s advisable to book your tickets in advance. Please be aware that trips are weather-dependent and may be cancelled in adverse conditions. Landing access may also be restricted during rainy weather to protect nesting seabirds. If landings aren’t possible, boat tours sailing around the islands are usually still able to go ahead.
There are several independent boat companies that sail to the Farne Islands. Please note, that although dogs are welcome aboard the boats, they are not permitted on the islands, but will be looked after by the crew in your absence.
Billy Shiel’s has been operating since 1918, and offers a variety of boat trips including grey seal cruises all year round, puffin cruises between April and July, and Inner Farne landing trips between April and September.
Serenity sail all year round to the Farne Islands with landing trips to Inner Farne between April and September. Puffin and seabird cruises are available between the middle of April to the end of July. The also offer sunset cruises over the summer, perfect for photographers who want to catch the islands in the warm light of the golden hour.
Golden Gate offer landing trips to Inner Farne, as well as cruises around the islands to view seabirds and seals. They also run exclusive trips to Longstone Island, where you can enjoy an guided tour inside the lighthouse. Dogs are welcome to land on Longstone but must be kept on a lead at all times. Please note that dogs are not permitted inside the lighthouse.
