Ilfracombe Princess

This was the best picture I could get of the Ilfracombe Princess this afternoon without actually losing my place in the queue. Then when we came in it was to a different spot in the harbour and the view was even worse. If you google it, you will find their website easily enough and it will give you a much better picture.

The Ilfracombe Princess offers cruises around the coast of North Devon. We went on the Seal cruise today, in search of seal's, strangley enough, but they also run one which goes east out of Ilfracombe in search of other wildlife, caves and waterfalls. Cruises last an hour and half and the friendly captain of the boat offers an informative commentry as needed. We travelled west in deep water towards Woolacombe and stopped to turn around at Morte Point on the north side of the beach. From their the return journey took us slowly along the coast hugging the shore line and stopping frequently to search for the elusive seals. We spotted one bobbing his head up and down out of the water until the yellow helicopter from Chivenor flew overhead, circled the boat and frightened him away. Later we saw another, swimming around a little cave. Our captain told us that there are around 20 who live in those waters, but where they were today was anybodies guess.

We saw some different birds - seagulls, an oyster catcher, commorants ("Is that a penguin?" my 13 year old neice asked, much to the amusement of those nearby). And got a good look at villages and beaches from a different vantage. It was nice to be in a cool breeze but still enjoy the sunshine.

Tickets cost £12 for adults, £6 for children and under 5s go free. If you are thinking of making a trip I recommend phoning to reserve your tickets as it is very popular. Also, trip times are different each day according to the tides. I really enjoyed it and I don't even like boats!