Staffa

The sea is so calm that today's boat trip to Staffa is a dream.

Having seen Fingal’s Cave before, I chose to head to the cliffs at the far end of the island, in search of puffins.

The theory is as follows: the human presence scares off the larger birds and as a result the puffins take the opportunity to head for the grass on the top of the cliffs.



If you sit there, they will come.

And they do. They flock in, puffin after puffin. The clumsiest landing skills of the bird world, the most comedic walkers, but what’s not to love about these handsome little bubbers?



Watching them is addictive and it’s hard to tear ourselves away to make it back to the boat.

The sea is still incredibly calm and so the boatman takes the vessel into the cave. A real rare treat.