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17th Oct 2018

The beautiful Farne Islands, lying just off the Northumberland heritage coastline, is a stunning archipelago and is home to the third largest colonoy of grey seals (also known as Atlantic seals) on the east coast of England.  From October to December each year over 1,500 seal pups are born and reside alongside the vast array of sea bird colonies also resident on these islands.

Grey seals are known as 'capital breeders', meaning that during the breeding season both male and female seals fast, relying only on their blubber for sustenance.  Females tend to fast for around 20 days, whilst their male counterparts can be over 50 days.  The males tend to fast for longer in a bid to protect their territory.

The pups, with their adorable white fluffly coats, are weaned by their mothers after just 18 days and left to fend for themselves.  By this time they have quadrupled their weight and go on to spend another 20 days or so on The Farne Islands before moulting their white coats in favour of thick grey waterproof fur and heading out to sea, where they'll feed on a wide variety of fish, squid and octopus. 

Although we're used to seeing seals lazing around on the rocky shorelines, they in fact spend 80% of their time below water when not fasting and can reach depths of up to 30 metres during their feeding trips.

We've teamed up with Farne Island Boat Trips (aka Billy Shiels Boat Trips) to provide discounted boat trips to The Farne Islands to see the seals and other wildlife for our holidaymakers - just ask at time of booking or call into our offices at Seahouses.  These fascinating and informative trips leave daily from Seahouses harbour but please be aware that they are weather dependant. 

With over 500 cottages to choose from in prime locations throughout Northumberland, why not take a holiday and see the seal pups up close?

Click to search and book your holiday cottage here....