I have never been so excited to see puffins in my entire life! I couldn’t go and see Larkin’s toads in 2010 or the Moths for Amy in 2016 as my walking was very limited. I had to contend myself with looking at everyone’s photos online instead and try not to get too jealous.
BUT NOT THIS TIME!
Having the wheelchair has made this trail possible, and what a trail it has been. I have loved getting to see the sculptures up close and personal, well most of them.
We decided to do the trail in several trips as the country was going through an unprecedented heatwave at the time and even though we were travelling around in an air-conditioned car, getting out to see the puffins meant having to endure scorching heat!
Putting the heat to one side, a few of the locations were new to me and I was intrigued to see where this would take us. However, a little heads up about the accessibility would have been nice so we could have planned our adventures accordingly. Do not get me wrong, the Puffin Spotters App has been fantastic, I have loved the ability to scan the QR codes and read all the information about the individual sculptures and the artists alike, but it does seem that the best way to view some of the puffins is to walk between the locations, especially so in Bridlington and Hornsea. With this in mind, my husband and partner in crime, sorry that should be “Trundle Buddy” decided to write an accessibility guide and gave a rating for each Puffin’s accessibility. He hasn’t rated the artwork as each person will undoubtably have their own favourites; as they say, “beauty is in the eye of the beholder”. I am hoping that the guide might help others in my situation to work out the best way to see all the puffins.
I just can’t narrow my favourite down to a single puffin, I loved elements of so many that I just couldn’t chose one! I love the Beverley nightlife, Bembo (memo to self, do not touch the metal feathers on the hottest day of the year so far) in Easington, I loved the glitter on “The balance of threat and hope” up at Bempton RSPB visitor centre, and as for the headscarf revolutionary, the artwork is simply stunning, such a beautifully done puffin with a powerful message. I guess all the puffins fall into that category, beautiful artwork with powerful messages.
I have found that Bridlington isn’t really self-propelled wheelchair friendly, but if you had a mobility scooter you would find the travelling between puffins a lot easier. Bridlington was also the first place I have ever felt unsafe in my chair, narrow pavements and big crowds of people meant it was an overwhelming experience for me. We ended up doing the Brid puffins on 2 separate occasions, the first time in scorching heat during the day and then the second visit in a cool refreshing rain shower early one evening.
The only negative thing I can say about the puffin trail has nothing to do with the organisation, or the placement of the puffins (accessible or not), but about my fellow human beings. I am saddened to see a few of the puffins have been damaged by mindless acts of vandalism. I cannot understand why someone would want to cause destruction to something like the puffins, but then again when you see the puffins and understand the messages behind some of them, you realise that we are all guilty of causing random acts of vandalism with the way we have treated this planet.
