18/06/2026
This past weekend (June 12-14) we had our first ever women's sea kayaking weekend!
This took place in Northumberland. We stayed in a campsite just south of Seahouses, the gateway to the Farne Islands, home of over 200,000 breeding seabirds and a good number of seals. The original plan was to kayak out to the Farnes on Saturday, but alas the wind was against us. As a backup plan, we decided on a river paddle, setting off from Berwick-upon-Tweed and heading upriver. However even this was too much. We thought that we would get some cover from the wind on the estuary/river, but there was precious little - we fought valiantly against the wind for a bit under 2 miles before giving up and turning around. Then we were quickly blown back to our start point!
After our brief but tiring paddle, most of us went into Bamburgh for ice cream, a windswept walk on the beach near the castle, and a well deserved rest in the grass before heading into Seahouses for dinner.
On Sunday it was less windy, but still too windy to paddle across to the Farnes. One alternative was another attempt at a river paddle, starting in Newcastle and heading up the Tyne. At least that would have put us heading in the direction of home. And then someone suggested abandoning paddling altogether in favour of a commercial boat trip out to the Farnes to see the wildlife. Some of us (especially Myra) thought that this was a fantastic idea - she had never seen a puffin and was eager to see some by any means! After much pondering and discussion we decided on the motorboat trip, and so we all caught the 10am trip out to the islands, where we were overwhelmed by the vast number and variety of seabirds (including lots of puffins and the odd eider duck) and a good selection of very plump looking seals. Marianne amazed us with her great knowledge of all the birds.
Back on shore, we ate our picnic lunches and then departed for home, vowing to do something similar next year - hopefully with a bit more kayaking involved!
Many many thanks to Marianne, Kathleen, and Joanna for organising and leading us on this great weekend.
