Glorious Gannets, the Bass Rock and North Berwick

To the east of Scotland’s capital city, Edinburgh, the adjacent county of East Lothian offers an impressive variety of coastline, countryside, beaches and islands. In the Firth of Forth, off the coast of the North Neuk, the islands of Fidra, Lamb, Craigleith and the Bass Rock are easily reached on boat trips out of North Berwick. Boat trips to the Isle of May have recently been added and there’s even talk of reviving the old pilgrims’ route across to Earlsferry in Fife.The most spectacular of these islands is the Bass Rock, rising majestically out of the sea with near-vertical sides apart from the south side where the landing jetties, lighthouse, old castle walls and chapel ruins are located. The Bass, which gave its name to the northern gannet (sula bassana or morus bassanus), is home to the world’s largest colony of northern gannets with more than 150,000 birds. A boat trip round the Bass Rock is a memorable experience. Landing on the Bass and observing the glorious gannets up close is awesome and a photographer’s dream, now shared in this book of amazing photographs.