The "Sula II", commonly referred to as "Sula", is an open wooden passenger boat that carried visitors from
North Berwick harbour in
East Lothian
East Lothian (; sco, East Lowden; gd, Lodainn an Ear) is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland, as well as a historic county, registration county and lieutenancy area. The county was called Haddingtonshire until 1921.
In 1975, the histo ...
,
Scotland
Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...
around the island bird colonies of
Bass Rock,
Fidra
Fidra (archaically Fidrey or Fetheray) is a currently uninhabited island in the Firth of Forth, northwest of North Berwick, on the east coast of Scotland. The island is an RSPB Scotland nature reserve.
Geography
Like the other islands near N ...
and
Craigleith
Craigleith ( gd, Creag Lìte) is a small island in the Firth of Forth off North Berwick in East Lothian, Scotland. Its name comes from the Scottish Gaelic ''Creag Lìte'' meaning "rock of Leith". It is at its highest point.
Geography and geolo ...
. The vessel was retired in the spring of 2019, and is now in Southampton.
After opening the nearby
Scottish Seabird Centre
The Scottish Seabird Centre is a marine conservation and education charity, that is supported by a 5 star visitor attraction in North Berwick, East Lothian, Scotland. Opened by HRH Duke of Rothesay in 2000 and funded by the Millennium Commission ...
in 2000,
The Prince of Wales (Prince Charles) enjoyed a tour around the islands on board Sula II, while famous naturalists including Sir
David Attenborough
Sir David Frederick Attenborough (; born 8 May 1926) is an English broadcaster, biologist, natural historian and author. He is best known for writing and presenting, in conjunction with the BBC Natural History Unit, the nine natural histor ...
and
Terry Nutkins have boarded the boat. An estimated 8,000 tourists take a trip on Sula each year.
The name "Sula" comes from the Latin ''Sula bassanus'', an old name for the
northern gannet
The northern gannet (''Morus bassanus'') is a seabird, the largest species of the gannet family, Sulidae. It is native to the coasts of the Atlantic Ocean, breeding in Western Europe and Northeastern North America. It is the largest seabird in t ...
- tens of thousands of which inhabit the Bass Rock. The Marr family have owned and operated the boat since 1961.
References
External links
Sula Boat Trips*John Richardson'
Bass Rock & Sula photo collectionScotsman article
on Bass Rock tourism
general tourist information
Passenger ships of the United Kingdom
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