The craggy Farne Islands

The boat trip from Seahouses out to the Farne Islands is worthwhile almost any time of the year (as long as the sea isn't too choppy!). In summer you get to actually land on one of the islands, run by the National Trust, to see the birdlife including a huge colony of puffins (very cute). In winter a seal colony arrives and you can see them pretty well from the boats.

The first time I took some friends from London up to Northumberland was November 2011. Four of us went up for a long weekend, staying in a nice little terraced cottage in Warkworth and getting beautiful weather (Northumberland has generally been good to me weather-wise when taking visitors). It was mostly sunny but obviously crisp given the time of year. The morning after this trip to the Farne Islands we woke up to a stunning ground frost and mist that picked out the small river behind out cottage (a photo for another day).

Today's photo was obviously taken on the boat out to the islands. The bright winter sun cast some nice contrasty shadows across the rocks and I managed to get a few decent shots between the sway of the boat.