Sunday 28 July 2019

Scottish Seabird Centre

I often start with a weather update, but this time I feel its truly worth commenting on. Thursday was the all time high temperature recorded in Edinburgh (31.6C) and then by Saturday the high was 18 complemented with torrential rain. Saturdays doggy play date with Maisie was downgraded to a pop round for lunch and a shuffle round the park so today I was determined to have a bit more of an adventure.


I always love to find a new dog-friendly day out and the Scottish Seabird Centre has been on my radar for a little while, but I've held off as the good weather meant that the place would probably be rammed. A slightly damp weekend seemed like a good time to try it and we pre-booked the morning boat with fingers crossed for better weather. I also rang them to double check just how dog friendly they were and was pleased to be informed that, apart from the kitchen, Missy was more than welcome anywhere.

The weather was kind - it was still overcast and a bit drizzly, but it was warm enough a light rain coat was all I needed and cool enough that Missy was comfortable to be exploring. We timed our arrival to get checked in for the boat and were surprised to learn it was a full boat. We'd been warned that the skipper had last say about the dog (basically if they were being boisterous they may be asked to leave) so it wasn't until we were on the boat that we breathed a sigh of relief. It was a nice catamaran type boat and we left those with kids to the sheltered bit and sat at the back so Missy could have some space and I could get some nice photos.

A very different perspective of Tantallon Castle
It was a bumpier ride than we are used to! Loch Katrine with tea and cake, easy. An audio tour on Loch Ness with tea and cake, no problem. Windermere with, yep, tea and cake, a breeze. Tea would have been a safety hazard on this boat as we lurched and bounced over the waves and laughed as we were asked continuously if we felt OK. I had a bag to hand just in case Missys travel sickness returned and we all watched as someone made a dash to the privy to lose their breakfast. Missy was a trooper and just cuddled up to us, taking it in her stride as always.
The worst was over as we arrived at Bass Rock and it was certainly worth the rough journey:


So. Many. Ganets. The noise and smell was astounding. I remember fondly doing the same boat ride as a young child and I was surprised at myself that those two things had not left an impact. We made a leisurely sail around the rock and were given its history and had the behaviours of the birds explained to us. It was fun watching them dive into the water by us and see them flying back and forth to the (now very large) chicks. Missy clearly found the smell exciting as she stood up and wagged her tail at all the activity, but she's not daft and showed no inclination to move to the edge of the boat or water.


We then sailed over to another island and watched puffins and shanks in the water. I was pleased to spot a seal before anyone else as we watched the tiny puffins. In a moving boat, it was very hard to get photos of them, so I sat back and just enjoyed watching the little birds. After that it was almost a trundle back to dry land and we decided to grab some lunch before going into the seabird centre proper.


We decided to upgrade to the annual pass as I can definitely see us at the centre again with other family members. The staff were great and seemed genuinely pleased to see Missy and we happily played with all the cameras and read all the information about the conservation projects that were ongoing for the birds.
There was a very nice looking cafe and soft play and we scoped out the play room ad well which had plenty of appropriately themed kids books sat out for parents to read.


We finished with a walk other beach and I was surprised to see the old tide pools in existence. Perhaps next time I'll come prepared with a swimming cosie and go for a paddle - or at the very least a bucket and spade to build some sand castles! A lovely day all round, I'm already planning a repeat trip with the neices and nephews and their fur cousins!

1 comment:

  1. Sounds like a fantastic day! I also recall that trip as a child and like you, I can't recall the sounds and smell, the size of the rock and all the birds and the tiny blue jellyfish in the water, that's all I remember from it.

    I suspect I'll need to pay a visit myself!

    ReplyDelete