You can't really miss the Isle of May if you visit the East Neuk of Fife. It dominates the seascapes, enticing the eye and inspiring countless artists. It lights up the sea after dark with its twinkling lighthouse. It is always there, seeming to ask: "Aren't you curious about me?", "Don't you want to find out more about me?". There's something so timless and romantic about an island and visiting them is always a little adventure. All islands have a magical and romantic allure in my book but none more so than an uninhabited one - the Isle of May has no permanent inhabitants. Or at least no human ones. It's a
national nature reserve with some serious credentials - it's home to up to a quarter of a million birds and the largest grey seal colony on the east coast of Britain (2,000 seal pups each Autumn). Volunteers work there for part of the year, studying and counting the wildlife. With daily sailings from Anstruther harbour from March to September it's also an accessible adventure for a day out.
My first trip to the May was summer 2011. I loved it but wanted to return in Spring to try and see the puffins, who were absent on that trip. I'd seen puffins on tiny Staffa on the West Coast of Scotland and wanted to see more of these adorably colourful and quirky seabirds. But as we firmed up on a sailing date I started to worry that the puffins would be keeping a low profile. No doubt sick of questions, including from me on Twitter, about whether there were puffins to be seen yet this season, the Isle of May blog published a blogpost called "
Yes we do have puffins"! This was heartening, however I was trying not to get my hopes up too much just in case it wasn't to be.
On the day of sailing the weather couldn't have been better. Defying a forecast of cloudy conditions the sun was unmistakably out and the strong wind that has been a feature of recent months was having a day off. So far so good. The boat, called the
May Princess, made its merry way out of Anstruther harbour, full of optimistic nature-spotters, including a school trip plus teachers. The trip takes around 50 minutes to an hour each way, costing £24 adult / £20 student / £12 child (tickets from the ticket office on Anstruther pier). For a faster ride take the
RIB Osprey - 25 minutes each way, £25/£20/£12.
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| Sailing to the Isle of May, including RIB Osprey aka the fast boat (top left) and the larger May Princess |
As we neared the island we started to see ever increasing numbers of puffins in the water near the boat and flying in their awkward way over us. I got pretty snap-happy, thinking this could be the best we get. However it quickly became clear that the best was still to come as we spotted lots of puffins on the island. Our skipper declared it to be the best day for weather AND puffins so far this year! Delighted, we skipped off the boat in search of nature's finest...and almost stepped on a poor lady eider duck, sitting on her nest to protect her eggs, right beside the path, very camouflaged. The reasons behind the warden's message to "stick to the paths" became very clear. Mrs Duck and her nest were OK though and the more noticeable Mr Duck was nearby.
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| Male and Female Eider Ducks, Isle of May, Firth of Forth, Scotland |
We reached the cliffs and our first group of puffins. Que about 50 million photos by me. After that we felt like we'd stepped into a nature programme due to the sheer volume of wildlife to be seen in quite a small area near the South Horn (where the island's biggest cliffs can be found). It was actually slightly surreal but really stunning. There were puffins left, right and centre plus all the other seabirds the May supports - diving gannets, distinctive cormorants, noisy gulls and kittiwakes, graceful Arctic terns, fulmars, razorbills and guillemots all nesting in different parts of the cliff face. Shy rabbits darted about in and out of burrows and the quietly determined eider ducks were all over the place. Looking down from the top of the cliff (where incidentally there are fabulous views of Bass Rock and Berwick Law on the other side of the water), grey seals and their pups swam playfully below in the glistening, translucent water. Sitting on a rock eating our packed lunches we soaked up some rays and had the chance just to listen to all the noises of nature. When we finally came out of this trance-like state we spoke to the warden, who had some environmental messages to relay, worrying that in 5-10 years time we'll have to travel to Norway to see puffins in the wild as their food sources dry up in this country due to global warming.
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| Puffins, Isle of May, Firth of Forth, Scotland |
With just an hour left until our departure (you get almost 3 hours on the island) it was time for a quick dash round the rest of the island. Luckily, we'd had more time to explore this more fully on our last visit, taking in the various lighthouses and interesting human history of the island (including smugglers and monks). Scotland's oldest lighthouse is here (The Beacon, 1636). The views from the Main Light (built by Stephenson in 1816) towards Fife were sublime that day, visibility being so good that you could make out the row of colourful houses all the way along at Fife Ness, beside the Crail Golfing Society clubhouse (not that R is a golfer or anything!). I have a romantic notion about staying overnight in Low Light some day, listening to the waves...
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Buildings of the Isle of May. From top left: Main Light, Low Light, South Horn, Beacon, Cute sign at the visitor toilets.
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...But no time for that sort of day-dreaming - just time for a few more quick puffin pics then back to the boat to sail around the North side of the island, past curious, grey seals and dramatic rock formations before heading off towards the mainland again. We shared a cold beer from the May Princess shop while soaking up some more rays on deck as Anstruther edged nearer and nearer.
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| Grey seals basking and swimming, Isle of May, Firth of Forth, Scotland |
It was a truly amazing experience, a taste of natural paradise right here in Scotland that will stay with us for a long time. My advice? Switch off the TV and see nature in the flesh with a trip out to the Isle of May.
Text and pictures copyright Sara Scott 2012 and 2013
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