🌳 Outdoor🐐 AnimalsSeasonal openingEducationalSchool holiday activities
What’s there
- Dogs welcome
Only facilities we’ve confirmed are listed — anything missing here we simply haven’t checked, rather than know to be absent.
Coquet Island is a Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) managed nature reserve lying just one mile off the coast of Northumberland, near the fishing port of Amble. Each year in spring and summer, the island becomes home to 35,000 nesting seabirds, some coming from as far away as Africa.
Designated as a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI), Coquet Island is a safe haven for puffins, terns, and grey seals. It holds more than 95% of the UK population of roseate terns — the UK's rarest breeding seabird — and is the only place in the UK where they breed. Thanks to the efforts of RSPB wardens who live on the island during the breeding season, their numbers are growing.
The island is also home to 30,000 nesting puffins that use old rabbit burrows. Arctic, common and Sandwich terns nest here too, along with kittiwakes, fulmars, and eider ducks. A colony of up to 600 grey seals can be seen sunning themselves on the rocks at low tide.
Boat landings are not permitted — only RSPB wardens are allowed to step foot on the island. However, boat trips around the island run regularly from Amble harbour with local operators offering 1-hour cruises. Passengers can see the puffins, terns, and seals up close from the water, with expert guides providing commentary.
The lighthouse on Coquet Island was built in 1841 on the remains of a Benedictine monastery and has been solar-powered since 2008. The castellated appearance of the lighthouse mimics that of a castle. Coquet Island is owned by the Duke of Northumberland and was bought by his family in 1753.
A Napoleonic gun battery, an explosives store, and the crenulated garden walls are Grade II listed buildings. A live interactive camera allows visitors on the mainland to watch the puffins on the island.
Stuff to take with you
The things people wish they’d packed for a day out like this one.
- Wellies
- Refillable water bottleMost places will fill it for free.
- Snacks that survive a rucksackCheaper than the café, and buys you twenty minutes.
- Wet wipes
- Sick bagsYou only forget these once.
- I-spy book
- Binoculars
- Sunglasses
- Hand sanitiser
- Magnifying glass
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