10 of the best UK birdwatching breaks

Combining areas rich in birdlife with birder-friendly places to stay, these breaks offer truly immersive birdwatching experiences

Puffins prefer to nest on uninhabited islands, including the Farne Islands and Isle of May, but they make an exception for Rathlin. The year-round human population of 150 is swollen by thousands of puffins arriving from Iceland and Greenland each April. They lay eggs and raise their young on the island before flying off again in August. The Manor House on Rathlin, reached by ferry from Ballycastle, is an ideal place to park your binoculars for a few days; during a summer visit here, you’ll normally get to see black guillemots, corncrakes and the exceedingly rare red-billed chough.
Two nights B&B, £200; manorhouserathlin.com