Route: Bempton Cliffs
Area: East Yorkshire
Date of walk: 10th June 2022
Walkers: Andrew and Gilly
Distance: 2.8 miles
Weather: Mostly sunny
Bempton Cliffs is billed as ‘the best place in England to see, hear and smell seabirds’. It’s a spectacular place, especially at this time of year when sea birds nest here in their thousands. Between April and August each year, almost quarter of a million seabirds come to Bempton and make the cliffs come alive. The RSPB have provided various viewing points from which to see the non-stop action
Puffins, gannets, kittiwake, guillemot and razorbill are everywhere, nesting in every crook and cranny along the huge cliff face. It’s fascinating to watch them jostling for position, warding off predators, bringing food to the nests and generally leading their very busy lives
There’s also the chance of seeing an exceptionally rare visitor – a black browed albatross which has been spotted here, the only one in the northern hemisphere. It had been blown off its course and unable to return to its usual home in the South Atlantic. The helpful RSPB volunteers know when it’s around and on enquiry we heard that ‘Albie’ was out at sea fishing for a meal
We parked by the new RSPB Visitor Centre and walked along the path to the edge of the cliffs, visiting each of the viewing stations in turn. The stations are well positioned, perched on the top of the cliffs and giving wonderful close up sightings of the seabirds, including the irresistible puffin. A couple of hours seemed like a couple of minutes, there was so much to see
For a unique view of Bempton Cliffs from the sea follow the link to the ‘Glorious Gannet Cruise‘
For other walks here, visit my Find Walks page and enter the name in the ‘Search site’ box
Click on the icon below for the route map (subscribers to OS Maps can view detailed maps of the route, visualise it in aerial 3D, and download the GPX file. Non-subscribers will see a base map)
Scroll down – or click on any photo to enlarge it and you can then view as a slideshow
There's a choice of paths at the start, and it doesn't matter which one is taken
A bird hide near the entrance gives good views of tree sparrows, once a common sight, but now on the 'red list' of endangered species
From the visitor centre we follow the path to the coast. We turned right here
Looking out to sea
Looking along Bempton Cliffs in the direction of Flamborough
Zooming in on the rock arch of Scale Nab
Every nook and cranny in the cliff face is booked for the season
Kittiwake
Kittiwake in flight
Another view along the cliffs
Guillemot....
Razorbill...
Looking north towards Scarborough
Everyone's favourite - puffin
Gannets - there are over 11,000 nesting pairs on the cliffs
The courtship ritual known as billing. Gannets pair for life and return to the same nest each season
If you look carefully, you should be able to see a recently born gannet chick
There are hungry mouths to feed, and the skies are full of seabirds in search of a meal
Gannet in flight, I think it's carrying nesting materail rather than food
Gannets are our largest seabird and have a wing span of around six feet
The end of another visit to this wonderful place as we follow the waymarked Nature Trail back to the start
