Bempton cliffs with little ones

[LottieMary]

5yo is animal mad and it looks great but is this just good photography?!

we’d want to try spot puffins. Is it pushchair friendly? And do we need binoculars to really be able to see anything? We won’t be able to go on a boat trip.

thankd for any info!

I haven't been in many many years but I think some of the trail is pram accessible and you can hire binoculars if you don't have your own. Have you completely ruled out the Farne islands? Much further north but we went up there when ours were 2 and 5, there is a boat ride but you disembark onto an island and the puffins are easily visible with the naked eye.

You can get close to the cliffs via viewing platforms. binoc helpful but probs not essential.

Last time I went (last year) it's pushchair-friendly near the visitor centre. Beyond that it's grass track so can get bumpy. The RSPB website has an accessible trail map which should help.

Binos will help you spot birds but if you go at the weekend, there's likely to be a volunteer on the main viewing platforms with a spotter scope. And they are very happy to help kids see the birds!

Just watch your little one on some of the trails and platforms. It's a long way down to the sea...

We've just come back. Paths are very accessible even for wheelchairs and the platforms are good for viewing. But we didn't see any puffins. The best chance of spotting them outside the small gift shop is very early morning or in the evening. But there are nearly half a million seabirds and the gannets in particular are very impressive. If you only walk one trail take the blue trail for the best chance of puffins but Saturday morning there were apparently only 2 on land.
The café is very small for the number of visitors - the one at The Lodge is bigger and that has way fewer visitors - and the queue can be long so take snacks and drinks. I recommend trying to avoid getting there mid-morning to mid-afternoon as the car park fills quickly but there are marshalls directing people to spots.

We went to Farne Island about 3 weeks ago on one of those trips, thoroughly recommend it and the Puffins were practically coming up to us, very near the path, absolutely loads of them.

We have been to Bempton before but only seen the odd one in the distance

Yes it's complete fabulous and much much easier then Bempton for the kids to see puffins only a couple of metres away. They were literally everywhere! It is though 3.5 hours further north, so depends where you are I suppose.