Bempton Cliffs

Bempton Cliffs

Route: Bempton Cliffs

Area: East Yorkshire

Date of walk: 28th May 2026

Walkers: Andrew and Gilly

Distance: 2.8 miles

Weather: Sunny, strong wind on the cliff tops

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 a quarter of a million seabirds come to Bempton and make the huge chalk 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

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, especially the gannets which can be photographed without the need for a telephoto lens. I’d hoped for a few puffin photos but for some reason they were all out at sea today and we only had a few distant sightings. There was so much else to see that this didn’t matter, it was another fantastic visit to this special place

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

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