Inner Farne and Staple Island are the landing islands and where the colony experience happens. Puffins nest in burrows immediately beside the paths, guillemots and razorbills pack the cliff ledges, shags nest at eye level, and kittiwakes fill the air with noise.

The Arctic terns on Inner Farne are the famous ordeal: they nest beside the boardwalk and defend it by striking the heads of anyone passing. A hat is not optional. They have flown from Antarctica to be here, which is worth remembering while being hit.

The boat cruise around the outer islands takes in the stacks where gannets and fulmars pass and where seals haul out on the rocks year-round — the option to take when landings are not running.

The autumn seal season, roughly October to December, brings several thousand grey seals ashore to pup, with white-coated pups on the rocks and the bulls fighting offshore.

Puffins are present from around April to late July and leave abruptly once the chicks fledge — arriving in August expecting puffins is the classic mistake here.

Practicalities

The islands are managed by the National Trust, which charges a landing fee on top of the boat fare, and landings have been suspended in some recent seasons because of avian influenza in the colonies. Check the current position before travelling — cruise-only trips still run when landings are closed, and they are still worthwhile.

Boats leave from Seahouses harbour and are weather-dependent; the crossing is short but exposed. Nearby Bamburgh and Lindisfarne make the wider trip worthwhile if a sailing is cancelled.