It has been a right royal bumper year for the Isle of May.
More than 10,000 people including royalty visited the national nature reserve in 2013, breaking the visitor record by more than 1,500.
A total of 10,800 visitors made the trip to the Forth island on the May Princess, the Scottish Seabird Centre boat and the RIB Osprey, bolstered by an amazing 111 kayaks and a number of small, privately-owned boats.
The island also held special events to celebrate the Year of Natural Scotland, as well as hosting a visit from the Crown Prince of Dubai, Hamdan bin Mohammed Al Maktoum, in June.
The reserve manager David Pickett told The Courier: “It’s been a terrific year for visitors to the May.
“The fantastic weather played a part but it’s also, no doubt, due to the hard work of the boat owners and crews to improve visitors’ experience of the island.”
Mr Pickett said he could not pick one highlight but some of his favourite moments include listening to Karine Polwart sing her Isle of May song in the South Horn, seeing a pod of 15 sperm whales from the island, and seeing how excited people were at watching the young grey seal pup on the Isle of May Seal open day.
“There’s always something special to see on the May, so if you want to see what all the fuss is about, why not put it high up your list and make plans for next year?” he said.
Known locally as The May, the small island sits on the edge of the Firth of Forth. The island’s importance for sea birds has drawn scientists to its shores for many years, and the May is home to the oldest continuously-running bird observatory in the UK. The May is also a regular haunt for grey seals, which are often seen lounging on the shoreline rocks.
To keep up with its news regularly visit the Isle of May blog at isleofmaynnr.blogspot.co.uk.