Sam Hooke

Bempton Cliffs

All trips at this location:

Distance2.25 km / 1.4 miles
Elevation gain30 m / 98 ft
Duration2h
Moving35m

We visited RSPB Bempton Cliffs to see the puffins, but the main attraction on this stretch of coastline were the gannets. There were some puffins here, but we saw far more on the walk yesterday along Flamborough Cliffs. Still, both sections of coastline are well worth a visit for all the sea birds.

Some tree sparrows hiding in a tree, of all places!
At the entrance to RSPB Bempton Cliffs is a small wood with a colony of tree sparrows (Passer montanus). The UK tree sparrow population has seen a 93% decline between 1970 and 2008 (according to the RSPB), and are a rare sight in the south of England.
A distant puffin tilting its head.
A curious puffin.
Close up shot of a gannet, a large white sea bird with a peachy head.
A gannet (Morus bassanus).
A flying gannet with speckled brown wings.
A juvenile gannet.
A colony of gannets.
A pair of gannets tapping their beaks.
A pair of gannets tapping their beaks.
A side view of the gannet colony.
A side view of the gannet colony.
Looking down upon a flying gannet.
A lone distant puffin on a cliff.
Another puffin.
A cliff covered with guillemots.
A cliff covered with guillemots.
A guillemot with a white outline around its eye and a dash leading down towards the neck slightly.
A bridled guillemot, which has a distinctive eye marking. It is considered the same species, but is a genetic trait that less than 1% of guillemots have.
A guillemot head peeking over the cliff edge.
Peek-a-boo!
A puffin in flight.
A puffin in flight.
Some razorbills.
Some razorbills (Alca torda).
A nesting razorbill with chick beneath.
A nesting razorbill with chick beneath.
A kittiwake standing on a nest to reveal two white and brown speckled eggs.
A kittiwake (Rissa tridactyla) with a clutch of two eggs.
A gannet coming in to land.
A gannet coming in to land.
Another puffin.
Gannets on a cliff edge.
A puffin hanging out with the pigeons.
A puffin hanging out with the pigeons.
A lone kittiwake.
A lone kittiwake.
A ringed guillemot.
A ringed guillemot.

We didn’t walk all that far, but RSPB Bempton Cliffs offers half a dozen wooden viewing platforms that jut over the cliff edge, so we spent much of our time standing on these platforms. There were RSPB staff members who were scattered about, and it is thanks to them that we saw the bridled guillemot. A couple days after we left, Iolo Williams came to visit for the week and recorded several segments for Springwatch! (See 2026 episode 9, episode 10 & episode 11). I’m fairly certain they showed the very same bridled guillemot, and they tried to show the same nesting kittiwake and/or razorbill but weren’t so lucky with the timing.