Blog

We are delighted this year to be working in partnership with local artist ‘ John Birnie – JB’s Coloured Pencil Art’.  We have our online shop where we advertise greetings cards for sale, which are also available for sale onboard along with our other branded merchandise.  Our current greetings card stocks were created from an artist in the Highlands.  All created through paintings in pastel from photos taken by a number of passengers who joined our tours and with their permission of course.  

With stocks of our current online shop coming low for our greetings cards, we are this year keeping the creation to a local supplier.  John Birnie (JB’s Coloured Pencil Arts) is creating greetings cards using his fine pencil art skills, all inspired by photography he has taken on our tours.  He also suggested adding a photograph of our boat and contact details onto the back, great promotion for both business. 

We are very excited about this new collaboration and once produced, we will have them for sale online and onboard, along with our other branded merchandise.   

Until John’s drawings are ready to sell onboard, we have purchased some of John’s wildlife greetings cards which he currently has available, all of which are taken locally.  He has also added our boat and business details onto the back.  John quoted “Nice picture of your boat on the back, for visitors to remember their holiday experience on your boat”.

John is a self taught coloured pencil artist and has dabbled in pencil art on and off over the years and after retiring in 2012, we found more time to indulge in his art hobby.  Originally it was only graphite pencils he used as an art media but then he was inspirited by coloured pencil work.  He discovered online and especially the fine detail that the medium allows.

He has gradually developed his own style with drawings inspired by the scenery and wildlife of the Shetland Islands.

He tends to work with ‘Faber Castell’ Polychromos pencils which are oil based and allow for very fine detail and depth of colour.  You can view his drawings by visiting his website:  All his artwork is referenced from his own photographs.
https://www.jbscolouredpencilart.co.uk/

This is an exciting new innovative partnership with promotion for both local family businesses.   

We have also created a new website page ‘Partnerships & Sponsorships’ detailing all of the local businesses we collaborate with and support – great to support our local community where we can. 

When we took over the business, we wanted to make our tours ‘inclusive for all’ and create a great experience without barriers or restrictions. This in return improves the tourism experience for a wide range of customers who may need specific adaptions or facilities. These include disabled people, seniors, families with young children, and those with a medical condition.

With Marie having experience of working in the care sector for a range of different needs for both adults and children, many adaptions have been added to make our tours ‘inclusive for all.

Our first move was to make our boat ‘wheelchair accessible’ which was skilfully done by Brian whereby he added a flat, obstruction-free boarding platform to accommodate all levels and abilities.

It’s not just about having wheelchair access, we also cater for customers with hearing, visual and speech impairment, dietary requirements, foreign languages with our Original customised Identification charts which are available in many different languages. We basically cater for everyone to make us a Responsible and Inclusive tour provider.

Along with many new additions this year, we are delighted to have ‘Dementia Friendly’ name badges for all crew members. We also have onboard an ocean sensory box, to keep ‘autistic’ passengers calm should they find any given situation too overwhelming.

The team at Seabirds-and-Seals Noss Boat Tours believe that having improved accessibility appeals to a wide range of visitors and we want to make your tour a holiday highlight by making it accessible and enjoyable throughout.  By listening to our customers and having more awareness about the inclusive tourism market, we have worked hard and implemented changes to make our tours open and enjoyable for all.  We have a dedicated website page titled ‘Accessible & Inclusive Tourism’ which details our inclusive approach and welcome any new suggestions. 

Marie has worked previously as a Learning Support Worker and Social Care Worker, many times at a Senior level.  She has worked in various settings for a diverse range of clients, which she continues to do in the Winter months when not operating tours.  She has various care related qualifications and also has certified training for ‘disability inclusion’ in Hospitality, Travel & Tourism.  Marie has made adaptions within the business by providing facilities onboard which are autism & dementia friendly, as she has a good understanding on both due to all her care working experience

When we have customers using wheelchairs onboard or any other mobility aid, we position them where they are going to get the best view at all times throughout our planned tour route which we explain in our introductions and safety briefing. Could we kindly ask passengers travelling with us when we have wheelchair customers onboard or for anyone else having to rely on a mobility aid, to please be respectful and not block their view as we want everyone to feel socially included.

We know how easy it is to get immersed in all that you see. We do have an extremely huge viewing platform as shown on our website homepage video to allow everyone to enjoy the spectacular views and to get the best images on our 5-Star multi-award winning Noss Boat Tours.

We are delighted again this year to be working in collaboration with Ability Shetland, Shetland Befriending Scheme & Shetland Carers Plus many other local businesses.  We are proud supporters of our local community, if you have a new collaboration that you would like to discuss, please do get in touch.

If you have any questions or concerns prior to booking, please do not hesitate to get in touch and we will be delighted to assist.

Earlier this year we sourced a defibrillator through charity organisation AEDdonate . Our decision to have this onboard reflects our commitment to responsible tourism & inclusivity, ensuring everyone can enjoy the wonders of nature with peace of mind.

We hope we never have to use it but on hand should an emergency situation arise.

AED Donate – Press Release:
With no location out of bounds, we’re delighted to share a different kind of installation. There is now a defibrillator permanently located onboard The Noss Boat ‘Seabird’.  Taking a boat tour around Bressay and Noss Islands allows visitors to see the abundant wildlife in Shetland.

Owner Marie said: “Ensuring safety at sea is our utmost priority! On our nature tour boat, we’re now equipped with a defibrillator, ready to respond swiftly to any emergency situation. We’re prepared for the unexpected during our tours around Bressay & Noss islands. With support from ambulance services, coastguard teams, and the RNLI, we’re now part of a network dedicated to keeping everyone safe on the water. Our decision to have a defibrillator onboard reflects our commitment to responsible tourism and inclusivity, ensuring that everyone can enjoy the wonders of nature with peace of mind.

Thanks to Seabirds-and-Seals – Original & Best Noss Boat Tours for choosing to work with us, your support enables us to continue helping other organisations and communities.

Is your community protected in the event of a sudden cardiac arrest? Click on the web link to find out how they can support you https://www.aeddonate.org.uk/apply-for-funding/

On 30^th March we released here on our Blog as well as on Facebook, that we were running a competition to win a FREE trip for one adult and one under 16 with the winner drawn on 15^th April.  . 

The competition was to name the puffin which was gifted to Brian last year as a belated present for a Big Birthday, but we won’t see how old, ha.  This beautiful stuffed puffin was made by one of our many returning customers who joins us year after year for a few trips during her stay, along with her husband.  They had booked a few tours with us last year and had planned to present it to him personally but unfortunately had to cancel their trip due to personal circumstances. 

We absolutely love our new addition, but we needed help in giving our puffin a name, hence reason we decided to run it as a competition. 

It’s not been an easy task picking a winner, we ended up doing a Top 10 for a draw. Our draw took place on the afternoon of 15^th April inside the boat cabin with a video, which we posted on facebook to announce the winner and you can view it here if you are on facebook. Marie went mostly Shetland dialect so we hope you can understand her.  She originates from Burra Isle which has a very distinctive twang but we know from feedback that her accent is appreciated on the tours.

We beat not keep you waiting any longer…the winner is: Teresa Kirkpatrick who suggested ‘Tosh’. Well done Teresa and thanks again to everyone who entered. We will be in touch Teresa to get her gift voucher out to her.

We are pretty sure you are keen to hear the Top 10, so here goes:

NOSSAY

NOSSIE

OONA

PEERIE TROOKER

PERCY

POPFIN

PUFF

RIPPLE

SNIGGLEPUFF IN

TOSH

Tosh will be added to our ‘Meet The Crew’s section on our website as our Mascot and will keep Skipper Brian Or Marvyn in good company, keeping a lookout at the helm. We know Tosh will be in for a lot of love and affection by both children and adults.

We would like to take this opportunity to thank all our followers and to everyone who supports us in any way at all.

Thank You
The Noss Boat Team

Tosh – The Noss Boat Mascot