Recent Trips
Trip to Bass Rock and Beadnell Beach
22/07/08
Gannet in glorious sunshine on Bass Rock
After trying for two years, I finally got to land on Bass Rock in Scotland. The Rock is world famous for the Gannet Colony, with in excess of 150,000 nesting birds, it’s the largest single island colony in the world. The weather on the previous day was so bad I couldn’t get onto the Farne Islands further down the cost and had to visit the excellent Tern colony on Beadnell beach instead. When I got to Dunbar later that day, the sea spray was well above the harbour wall and boats were bobbing up and down several feet inside the harbour itself. I didn’t rate my chances of getting on the rock. However the weather improved slightly overnight and we took our chance. The skipper was excellent, managing to get us all on and off the rock despite strong winds and a significant swell – he later admitted it was touch and go.
I would recommend a visit to Bass Rock to anybody interested in wildlife photography. The most useful lens is a wide angle as you can get so close to the birds.
