Venue Description

From April through to October, we provide daily wildlife tours around Noss National Nature Reserve & Bressay. On our tours we get up close & personal to this extraordinary seabird metropolis, home to 25,000 Northern Gannets and thousands of other seabirds towering the sandstone cliffs of Noss. Superb opportunities to see and photograph Shetland's widlife against the stunning backdrop of the 181-metre high cliffs. We provide an extremely varied tour with fun, informative and engaging live commentary to suit all ages and interests. We share stories as well as our in-depth knowledge on the wildlife, local history, geology and folklore that surrounds Lerwick's harbour and as we navigate around Bressay & Noss. Close seabird and seal encounters, breathtaking scenery, stunning rock formations, geos, iconic landmarks and eye catching geology.

Accessibility

Our driving ambition is to provide trips for as many abilities as possible, and we constantly tweak what we do to make our tours accessible and inclusive for all. One of the many adaptions was adding a flat, obstruction-free boarding platform to accommodate all levels & abilities, including wheelchairs and we are the only boat tour in Lerwick to have this facility.

Accessibility Guide

Accessibility Guide Link: https://www.seabirds-and-seals.com/accessibleinclusivetourism/

Accessible Performances

We trialed a hearing loop but there was too much background noise causing too much interference. Instead we have individual headsets for each passenger so that they can hear our dedicated guide Marie all of the time, particularly handy when the boat is moving at speed, meaning you don't miss any of Marie's informative commentary. We have identification charts available in Braille format.

Awards List

We are a 5-Star Visit Scotland Tour and we are also accredited Green Tourism 'Gold'. Both those awards are the highest you can achieve which is in recognition of the exceptional standard we provided running our business. Early 2024 - We were awarded 'Service Excellence' in Scotland by FSB - Federation Of Small Business Awards. Early 2024 - We were awarded 'Boat Tour Of The Year' at the Travel & Hospitality Awards. November 2023 - we had a double win at The Highlands & Islands Thistle Awards for: 'Best Visitor Attraction' & 'Inclusive Tourism'. October 2023 - We were awarded 'Wildlife Tour Operator Of The Year - Scotland' at the Scotland Prestige Awards for 2023-24. September 2023 - We were awarded - 'Best Wildlife & Photography Boat Tour Company - Scotland' - we also won this award in 2022 & 2021.

Toilets

We do have a toilet on deck level, however the toilet along with our heated indoor cabin - are only accessible to ambulatory wheelchair users. The doors to both areas are not wide enough to accommodate someone in a wheelchair all of the time. We have a dedicated accessible & inclusive tourism section on our website which can be found by clicking on the link below and once you navigate there, you will find a link to our published accessibility guide. The section below details all the services we provide to make our tours inclusive for all. https://www.seabirds-and-seals.com/accessibleinclusivetourism/

Staff

Our dedicated guide Marie is qualified to a Senior level in social care and well used to assisting wheelchair users. Marie also has certified training for 'Disability Inclusion' in Hospitality, Travel & Tourism - respecting inclusion for everyone.

Assistance dog facilities

Assistance dog exercise facilities

Assistance dogs are welcome - we do have a very large platform to allow assistance dogs to move around with their owner in charge at all times.

Other assistance dog facilities

Water bowls can be provided, just let us know when booking.