East Yorkshire’s eagerly awaited new sculpture trail is set to take flight in July when a colony of more than 40 giant puffins are unveiled in often unlikely habitats.
Already established as a ‘puffin paradise’ thanks to its dramatic cliffside breeding sites, East Yorkshire is set for a spot of more unusual bird watching this summer.
From 2 July 2022, visitors can celebrate one of the world’s favourite birds on a new public art trail, as 42 puffin sculptures – each 1.5m tall – take up residence along the coast, and even inland.
Puffins Galore! will see a parade of the colourful, artist decorated fibreglass sculptures spring up at coastal locations from Flamborough Head to Spurn Point, as well as in the popular seaside resort of Bridlington.
More unusual habitats for the comical character will include the medieval market town of Beverley, while Yorkshire’s only maritime city, Hull, will also now be on the puffin trail.
While this new trail is set to become a new visitor attraction for 2022, East Yorkshire has long been a must-see destination for spotting the real-life seabirds, which return annually to the cliffs to breed, before heading off back to sea again in mid-August.
The Flamborough Headland, and the towering Bempton Cliffs Nature Reserve, is one of the best places in the UK to see puffins from land – and already a major draw for visitors during the breeding season.
An unmistakable bird with its black back and white belly and cheeks, and of course, its multi-coloured bill, around 4,000 pairs of puffins return to the cliffs to breed, with each pair laying a single egg in a crevice in the rock face.
At the RSPB’s Bempton Cliffs Reserve, just outside Bridlington, special viewing points make spotting the birds easy for visitors, The reserve – known as ‘Seabird City’ during the summer months when it becomes home to more than 250,000 nesting birds, including gannets and razorbills – also offers puffin patrols throughout the season to take visitors to the best spots to see the birds.
For a different perspective, Puffin Cruises, aboard Bridlington’s MV Yorkshire Belle, run until August each year, with a three-hour journey of discovery that takes passengers to the base of the 400-foot chalk cliffs for spectacular bird-watching.
Once the trail is finished, at the end of October, the sculptures will be auctioned to raise money for the Yorkshire Wildlife Trust, RSPB, Hornsea Inshore Rescue and the RNLI.
Puffins Galore! follows similar schemes in the region, including Larkin with Toads and A Moth for Amy, and is supported by Yorkshire Coast BID and Visit East Yorkshire.
For more information on the trail, visit http://puffinsgalore.co.uk.
For event news and updates on East Yorkshire as a destination, see www.visiteastyorkshire.co.uk