Isle of Noss Shetland Scotland
United Kingdom
36
Cruises availables
At departure or passage at this port
Seabourn Cruise Line (29 Cruises)
Seabourn Pursuit
9 Cruises
Seabourn Venture
20 Cruises
Silversea Cruises (5 Cruises)
Frequently Asked Questions
No, and that is what makes this call unusual. No cruise passengers land on the reserve: ships cruise slowly along the east coast, as close in as prudence allows. Some launch Zodiacs to approach the cliffs at idling speed.
Get your binoculars and telephoto lens ready the night before and head up early to the open decks, which become a grandstand. The ship's naturalists usually narrate the scene from the bridge.
In the Shetland Islands, Scotland, just east of the island of Bressay and only a few kilometres from Lerwick, the Shetland capital. That proximity is why so many expedition itineraries set aside a morning for this scenic approach.
The Noup, the eastern headland, rises 181 metres — the highest cliffs on Shetland's east coast. At the height of the breeding season some 150,000 birds occupy a little over a kilometre and a half of cliff: every red sandstone ledge is taken, every crevice occupied.
Around 25,000, one of the major colonies of the North Atlantic. Watching them dive around the ship, wings folding at the last second before they spear the water, is one of the great images of a northern cruise.
Puffins, whose burrows riddle the grassy slopes above the cliffs; grey seals hauled out on the rocks in the inlets; and great skuas, which Shetlanders call bonxies — aerial pirates that harry other birds for their catch. With patience you may also spot otters along the narrow sound separating Noss from Bressay.
Not since 1939. Before that, families raised sheep and ponies here, and a stud farm even bred Shetland ponies in the late 19th century. The island became a national nature reserve in 1955 and now belongs to the birds.
Yes, and it is actually an easy call for them: everything happens from the deck, with no transfer and no walking. Bring warm, windproof layers, because the scenic approach is often early in the morning and the Shetland wind is unforgiving.
Late May to mid-July, at the peak of the breeding season. That is the only window when the cliffs are full and the noise carries all the way to the ship. From late summer the colonies empty out and the spectacle loses much of its power.
Pound sterling and English, with a strong Shetland accent and local vocabulary inherited from Old Norse. Since there is no landing at Noss, payment only becomes a question if your itinerary also calls at Lerwick.
