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Explorer Tom St Abb's Head pushes into the North Sea with cliffs busy enough in summer to sound like a seabird town at market time. The lighthouse stands above the rocks while Mire Loch offers a quieter walk inland. Tom says the birds have drawn up a visitor rota. The cliffs are too lively for anyone to enforce it. The National Trust for Scotland protects this coastal reserve for its wildlife, geology and old human traces. Thousands of birds nest on the cliffs in season, while grassland flowers and butterflies thrive back from the edge. An Iron Age fort, the remains of an early church and the nineteenth-century lighthouse show people have long watched this headland for different reasons. The inland loch adds swans and other freshwater life to a day that could otherwise be all wind and sea. Take one of the marked walking routes and the place changes mood within a short distance. The reserve is open year-round and free to enter, with a visitor centre on seasonal hours. The Trust has warned against travel here during the high winds forecast for this weekend, so check its current notice and the weather before setting off. Cliff edges are dangerous even on a bright day; keep well back and use the marked paths. Some routes are demanding, while a shorter accessible viewpoint gives another option. Bring layers and let the birds keep the rock ledges to themselves. Tom may never learn the birds' rules. Watch them from safe ground and take the quieter Mire Loch path as well. St Abb's Head is worth listening to in more than one voice.