Puffin Spotting Holiday

[EdithGrantham]

3yo DD is somewhat obsessed with puffins because of the TV show Puffin Rock so I thought it would be nice to arrange our usual caravan holiday somewhere where we might be able to go on a puffin watching trip. Lundy Island seemed a good choice because of the other family friendly attractions in that area but I'm open to other suggestions. I'd like some recommendations for caravan parks, with indoor/outdoor pools if possible. We also have an 8mo to consider and if anyone has any advice or tips for puffin watching please let me know!

Just make sure you get the right time of year.

We didn’t!

I second the general recommendations for a boat trip to Lunga, because you can just sit down and have the puffins potter around near you.

Alas, I agree, that it's just not something you'd want to do with small children, but save it for when they're older.

Curveball suggestion but they’ve recently opened a colony of rescue puffins at Gweek seal sanctuary in Cornwall. You’d be pretty much guaranteed to see them and the tickets normally get you access for 12 months so you can go back again.

You can have a 'lead' for DD and hang on to her. It's fairly easy walking once you are there. I would expect her to be quiet though and endure the boat trip. Ditto Skomer.

North Berwick , east of Edinburgh.
Good puffin and gannet boat trips.

Check the timing of puffins though, they are there one day and gone as soon as the season is over

Thank you for all the new replies, definitely a lot to consider! Skomer sounds fab and I've heard good things about Bluestone so will check that out too. We definitely want to be in England or Wales purely due to travelling time, we're in the Midlands, about as far away from the sea as you can get so any holiday to the coast involves at least a 2.5 hour journey!

Sorry I missed this before I replied, that sounds perfect, I did wonder if there were any zoos or parks with puffins! Although I think from the suggestions so far for England and Wales it is the longest travel time of nearly 6 hours!

I think there may be other colonies in zoos/parks but the seal sanctuary is the only rescue one in the UK. We have family nearby and it was BIG news (it’s a v quiet area) when they arrived last year!

If you don’t mind not having the wild experience, that part of Cornwall is great for a trip with small kids. Plenty of holiday parks and self catering accommodation, nice beaches and other places to visit like farms, a mini railway and soft play.

I am not a big lover if boat trips, but the trip round the Farne Islands sticks in my mind 30 years later. Loads of puffins and seals. And in the same area, you have Lindisfarne, Bamburgh and loads of lovely coastal villages.

Haven- Thornton Bay, Flamborough