Sometimes the best part of a trip out isn’t the fishing — it’s what you find on the way.
On a recent run out from Portrush, we made our usual stop at the Skerries Islands to check in on the resident seal colony, and they were putting on quite the show. Lounging on the rocks, splashing about in the shallows, and soaking up the summer sunshine without a care in the world. The passengers loved every second of it.
What Are the Skerries Islands?
The Skerries are a group of small rocky islands sitting just offshore from the North Antrim coast, a short trip out from Portrush Harbour. They’re largely undisturbed, which makes them ideal habitat for grey seals — and throughout the summer months, the colony can be sizeable. On a good day you’ll find them hauled up on the rocks in numbers, going about their business completely unbothered by the boat drifting quietly nearby.
It’s one of those wildlife encounters that genuinely surprises people who haven’t experienced it before. These are wild animals in their natural habitat, just a few minutes from the harbour — and getting up close from the water, without disturbing them, is something you can’t replicate from any shoreline path.
Part of Something Bigger
For this group, the seal stop was just one highlight of a longer day out — a family fishing trip with a wildlife detour built in along the way. That’s the beauty of getting out on the water up here. The Causeway Coast has so much packed into a relatively short stretch of coastline that almost every trip throws up something unexpected and brilliant.
Sea air, wildlife, and family memories. There’s not much that beats it.
Book your trip from Portrush and see what the Causeway Coast looks like from the water.
