Bempton is getting decked out for summer

Some of you may remember that last year Steve Race and I carried out a little questionnaire on the reserve regarding our viewpoints. This wasn't just so we had an excuse to get out on the cliffs and sun ourselves, it was to try and find out what you guys would do to improve the views from Jubilee and New Roll Up. Two of the main comments we received were to improve the wheelchair access and to provide more benches.

So that's what we're doing.

This year, before the seabird breeding season gets into full swing, we're hoping to install completely new viewpoints at Jubilee and New Roll Up. They have been designed for ease of wheelchair access with a ramp and non-slip wooden decking and will be set slightly further back from the cliff edge to ensure that they last for years to come.  We will be installing the viewpoints in such a way that minimises disturbance to both visitors and birds and we hope that they will both be ready for the summer seabird spectacle.

Whilst we were walking along the reserve to inspect the old viewpoints yesterday, we came across several different birds in various locations. As Ian, our Site Manager, was the sole person with a pair of binoculars, he was the only one who spotted the red throated diver bobbing about on the sea. Whilst I was borrowing his binoculars to look, a cormorant flew into view followed shortly afterwards by a group of gannets. Other cliff side birds around this week included guillemots, razorbills, fulmars and two solitary winter plumage puffins. On the walk back to the Visitor Centre we heard the lovely sound of a rock pipit, which then very obligingly flew in to view as we neared its grassy resting place.

Whilst there is always wildlife on the Bempton Cliffs reserve if you look for it, the spring and summer months really do provide a much more in-your-face experience. The whole reserve takes on a more bustling feel and you don't have to sit quietly and wait for it to come to you, you can just walk straight up to it...