Guides, stories and practical advice for exploring the islands of Britain and Ireland: how to get there, what to see, and the history and wildlife that make each one different.
Wildlife
Every autumn, grey seals haul out on remote island beaches to give birth to white, fluffy pups. Here is where and when to see them, and how to watch without disturbing them.
The great auk, the flightless "penguin" of the North Atlantic, was hunted to extinction in 1844. Its story on St Kilda and Papa Westray, and the living relatives you can still see on the islands: razorbills, guillemots and puffins.
Where Search Isle’s wildlife sightings come from: GBIF, the Global Biodiversity Information Facility, the people who send in records, what the numbers can and can’t tell you, and how to add your own.
The Scottish wildcat, the "Highland tiger": how to tell it from a tabby, how it came close to vanishing, the reintroductions in the Cairngorms, and the west-coast islands near its last strongholds.
From April to July, Britain's island cliffs become some of the biggest seabird colonies on earth. The best islands to visit, from the Bass Rock and St Kilda to Skomer and Rathlin.
The best islands in Britain and Ireland to see puffins, from Skomer, the Farnes and the Isle of May to Lunga, Shetland, the Skelligs and Rathlin, and when to go.
The legends of the islands of Britain and Ireland: selkies in Orkney and Shetland, island saints, Fingal and the giants, and the mystery of the Flannan Isles.
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