Page 14 - Natural World Summer 2018

GREAT DAYS OUT

Top places to see

ocean giants

If you want to see really big animals in the UK, you need to look in the sea.
As it happens, there are dozens of great spots. Here’s a selection

JOSPEH PENDER

F rom playful dolphins to the 1 Alderney West Coast and or boat trips. Common dolphins,
enormous basking shark, our Burhou Islands sunfish and basking sharks, plus
ocean giants o er a rare Alderney Wildlife Trust occasional whales and rarer dolphins.
glimpse into an unseen world. Seals, Internationally important Ramsar site Where is it? 28 miles o Land’s End.
porpoises, whales, sharks and great for grey seals, and common Map ref: SV 911 095
dolphins can be spotted from our and bottlenose dolphins. Maybe even
shores, so here are some of our top an ocean sunfish! 3 Towan Headland
places to find them. Where is it? Look from Fort Tourgis Cornwall Wildlife Trust
nature reserve. Good for harbour porpoises, common
Choose a calm day, with a flat Map reference: ST 531 798 dolphins and resident bottlenose
sea and a bit of cloud cover. Bring dolphins. Also minke and even
binoculars, find a high vantage point 2 Isles of Scilly humpback whales. There are regular
and make yourself comfortable – Isles of Scilly Wildlife Trust Seaquest seawatches, and wildlife
patience is essential! Carefully scan Start scanning as you sail to the boat trips from the harbour.
the sea for movement, looking for islands, then look for fins and Address: Towan Headland, Newquay,
splashes, a fin cutting through the splashes from the many headlands TR7 1HN. Map ref: SW 800 627.
water, or feeding flocks of seabirds.

14 NATURAL WORLD SUMMER 2018