A whale of a time!
“We enjoyed amazing bright rainbows encircling our view of the mighty surf as it crashed onto the beach below. It is a breathtakingly beautiful place”
A Bay of Biscay ferry crossing a few summers ago led to an encounter with a team of surveyors for ORCA – an organisation that contributes to whale and dolphin conservation. Enthused, I took its marine mammal surveyor course to become an active member.
The Bay of Biscay is a fabulous place for whale and dolphin spotting, and the waters around the UK are pretty good, too. About 30 species of cetaceans (a third of the world’s total of 90 or so) have been recorded around the UK, so it’s possible to get good sightings – with luck and some judgement!
On our trip to Scotland we had high hopes of cetacean spotting. I’d been on a cruise ship survey with ORCA the previous year on which, sailing past northwest Scotland one memorable day, we’d seen 16 minke whales and some Risso’s dolphins, as well as several hundred common dolphins and harbour porpoises.
We chose our stopovers carefully to maximise chances for land-based observation; Chanonry Point on the Black Isle being the first. This is a well-known location for spotting dolphins and, conveniently, there are two campsites nearby on the
