Visit to and review of Tantallon Castle, East Lothian

We had been due to travel out to the Isle of May for Open Lighthouse Day on the 7th September, but it had been cancelled due to bad weather.  The weather looked lovely too, but the sea was rough, so we weren't allowed to travel.  Exactly the same happened last year!!  We are now booked on the open seal day later in the month, so fingers crossed that the weather is kinder!!

So as not to waste what was to be a day out, we went down the coast to visit Tantallon Castle then on to the new Garden Centre at Dunbar for a coffee.  This is my review of the castle:

This castle sits high on the coast between North Berwick and Dunbar and commands spectacular views over East Lothian and the Bass Rock.  We visited here recently on a windy but sunny day, and found our visit very interesting.  There is ample car parking then a short walk to the castle, however for those that perhaps are not too mobile, you can travel further on up the road towards the castle where there are more car parking spaces.  There is an entrance fee to pay, and a small shop with very helpful and pleasant staff, where you can buy souvenirs and guide books.  There are also toilets, but no café.

The grounds of the castle are very well maintained and you are allowed to climb the stairs inside parts of the castle to take you high onto the ramparts were you are able to get the most fantastic views of the shoreline and the countryside.  It is certainly well worth spending an hour or so here exploring all the various nooks and crannies.  You won’t be disappointed.

Be warned though, that this castle sits right on the coastline so I wouldn’t advise visiting when the weather is extremely windy or if it is raining.  On a clear sunny day you will be able to see for miles, but if the weather closes in, as it often does, the majestic views will disappear into a grey and misty haze!!

As ever, the camera was to hand, so here are a few photos of our day out:

Tantallon Castle

Tantallon Castle

Entrance to Tantallon Castle

Bass Rock from Tantallon Castle

View from Tantallon Castle

Tantallon Castle

Tantallon Castle

Tantallon Castle

Helicopter Flight

My husband and I had had been given a present of a helicopter flight for our birthdays - to celebrate his 70th in March and to celebrate my 60th in June.  It had already been postponed, but had been reorganised for Sunday 5th May.  Sunday morning had started off lovely with loads of sunshine but, by the time it got to our allotted time for our flight, the sun had gone and the skies were grey!!  However, it was soon time to climb into the helicopter, and I was to be co-pilot!!  This is an extra that you can pay for, so we done that, which was an added bonus.  This is the helicopter we were going to be flying in

Part of the safety briefing, particularly for me, was not to touch the foot pedal controls!!  You can see them here, so I made sure not to go anywhere near them!!

We were soon on our way onwards and upwards, with spectacular views of the Lammermoor Hills, the Bass Rock and the village of East Linton.  All too soon though, the flight was over and we were back down to earth.  All in all, it was a great experience - I would love to do a longer one and fly over our house!!  Here are some of the views

Looking towards the Lammermoor Hills

Looking towards the East Coast

The Bass Rock

Bird's eye view from the co-pilot's seat!

Village of East Linton

Isle of May - Open Seal Day

As we had been so disappointed not to be able to travel out to the Isle of May on the open lighthouse day, we had re-scheduled to go over for the open seal day on Sunday 23rd September and, as the day approached, we were eagerly watching the weather forecasts as there was a storm heading our way, scheduled to hit on Monday 24th September. 

When Sunday morning arrived, there had been no cancellation phone call so, with back pack packed with essentials like filled rolls and coffee, we headed off to North Berwick for coffee and cake in the Seabird Centre.  The weather was just lovely, so lovely in fact that we sat outside on the cafe deck for our coffee!!  I loved the 'no smoking' signs outside!!

North Berwick beach from the harbour area

 The sea was blue and fairly calm but, when we went to the office to get togged out in our waterproofs, our guide for day Maggie told us that it was almost touch and go as to whether the trip was on or not as the weather front was approaching faster than anticipated!!  However, we were cleared to go and a full boatload took off to the island. 

On arriving at the Isle of May, we were taken round to the part known as Rona as that's where most of the seals were.  It was just fantastic to see them bobbing about in the water and lounging about on the rocks.  This is a map of the Isle of May as supplied for our trip

It was quite difficult getting a photo of the seals in the water what with the movement of the boat and the fact that the seals were popping up out of the water all over the place only for me to just get focused on them before they bobbed under the water again!!  Here are a few photos that I managed to capture from the boat.

We then headed round into Kirkhaven where we all disembarked and were allowed to roam freely on our own.  We had already done the short tour with Maggie on our last visit, so we just wandered about on our own.  It was like a summer's day on the island and really quite warm to start with, although as time passed, there was a distinct change in the weather and the wind started to pick up a little.

As we walked round, I took some photos of this wonderful place.

Not just seals and birds here!!

Then came the highlight of the trip!!  At a superb vantage point, the reserves manager David Pickett was able to give people a wonderful view of a mother seal with her pup which had only been born in the previous 24 hours!!  What a truly wonderful sight.  We had to be careful though because she knew we were there and mothers can abandon their pups if disturbed too much.  I quickly took some photos then had to tear myself away!!

We then headed back to the picnic area, taking some photos along the way, plus we had a look up to the viewpoint at Bishop's Cove.

Bishop's Cove

Bishop's Cove

Looking towards the priory and the foghorn

After a welcome coffee and our rolls, I had another little wander up to the Priory and the foghorn

Priory

Priory steps

Priory

Pilgrim's Haven

Pilgrim's Haven

They were just a bit too far away to take photos, but as I was leaving here it looked like two seals were heading in, probably to give birth to their pups.

All too soon, it was time to leave as the weather was on the change and we were warned to expect a bit of a swell on the way back to North Berwick.  We all got our waterproofs and lifejackets on and headed off - sure enough, the spray was quite bad and some passengers did get pretty wet.  I was very lucky and was in one of the best seats on the boat as I was a bit sheltered  by other passengers!!  One poor girl looked as if she wasn't enjoying the journey back and had found a way of keeping relatively dry, but unfortunately wouldn't have been able to see anything!!

This is the iconic view of the Bass Rock on the way back - the while dots are all gannets!!

So, that was the trip finished, and we were back before the weather got too bad.  The storm hit us quite fiercely the very next day!!

I can't quite believe that I have been on the island twice this year within a matter of weeks, and it was just fantastic.  I sincerely hope that I will also have at least one opportunity to go back again in 2013.  It is really a very special place indeed.