Tales from Northumberland

Episode 1 (1x1)

: 28, 2013

Robson begins his epic journey around Northumberland traveling the length and breadth of this magical landscape by land, sea and air. As England’s most sparsely populated county, Northumberland has become a haven for an incredible range of wildlife. In this episode, Robson returns to Seahouses where he has many cherished childhood holiday memories, and gets back to nature on the magical Farne Islands, situated one mile off the Northumberland coast. Robson meets William Shiel, whose family have run boat trips out to Farne island for nearly 100 years. William’s family have even taken royalty on board. Robson jumps aboard William’s boat to make the journey across to the Farnes. Made up of 30 tiny islands at low tide, the Farnes are uninhabited apart from a handful of National Trust rangers who look after one of Britain’s largest bird colonies. As they approach the island, Robson is greeted by 40,000 birds. Robson says “That is unbelievable, look at that site! You’ve got puffins, you’ve got Guillemots, cormorants… isn’t that just wonderful.” Robson spends the next day and night living with the rangers to experience a side of the islands only a privileged few get to see. With a cacophony of birds through the night, Robson doesn’t get much sleep. Despite the lack of rest, Robson spends the next morning learning about the Farne’s most famous resident – the puffin. Last spring, hundreds of dead puffins were washed up on the northeast shoreline, having struggled to cope with the stormy weather. Robson’s first task is to check burrows for chicks and their parents so the iconic birds can be tagged. The good news is that numbers are up around a thousand on five years ago. After just two days, Northumberland is already proving that there is plenty still to be discovered even in the most familiar places.