lindisfarne

I had read about this place. I had heard it described as magical. I had visited as a child back in the 60s but only remember the causeway. It was 5 miles from our campsite to the island and we simply had to go. Debbie had it listed as a must see for her.

It was a cold and grey morning as we drove over the causeway following the published safe crossing times of 02:55 until 11:20. We would need to remain on the island at least until 15:20.

Those that ignored the timings in the past have paid the price of flooded cars and wet feet. Posts mark the causeway when its underwater and a refuge is provided for walkers crossing on foot should the tide flood faster than they are.

A film crew was already on site and had been for a number of days. An entire field had been given to them to park all the gubbins required to make a major movie on location. They were filming in one of the old houses in the village centre. The star is Cillian Murphy. A movie called 25 years later and due out next year.

We took the dog for a walk around the island to get the layout in our head. After around an hour and a half we took her back to the motorhome and returned ourselves to visit the castle and priory.

Sitting atop a rocky outcrop, Lindisfarne Castle started life as a Tudor fort built to guard the entrance to Lindisfarne Bay. from the Scots. It fell into disrepair and was rescued and restored as a home by a magazine owner and is now in the hands of the National Trust.

I found it to be a strange place. Neither old fort nor comfy home. Rather a bit of each which it is I suppose. It is windswept and surrounded my flat fields and the North Sea. In winter it is battered by storms. In summer is it battered by tourists feet. To me this was a holiday home. It lacked the warmth and touch of a ‘home’.

I came away with mixed feelings about the place. Deep down I think I would rather have seen it restored as a fort. But if not for a rich man it would still be a ruin.

We returned to the Priory.

Forgive me English Heritage for using your photo. But it is better than mine plus we cant use drones where it seems you can.

Now this is an altogether different experience. I cannot do the history of Lindisfarne Priory any justice here. You can read more here if you like. But this place really moved me. As I have mentioned before, I struggle to imagine the place back in its heyday. But the peace and serenity inside the ruins was wonderful. Birds chirped and hopped through the ruins. English Heritage do their best to inform you of the history. The Lindisfarne Gospels, St Cuthbert, St Aidan and the Viking raids. It is all rather overwhelming and of monumental significance to early Christianity on the British Isles. One of our sons studied at Durham University and it was in that city and its magnificent cathedral that I learned of the Gospels and Saints and how closely connected Durham is to Lindisfarne and why.

As we arrived at the Priory visitor centre the grey skies started to clear a little and the sun peeped through lighting up the pink stonework. It exuded warmth. Now I am not a particularly religious person but there was something about this placed that tingled.

The base of an old cross lies at the entrance between the Priory and St Marys Church opposite.

I adore the fact that in relatively modern times old traditions persist. The story of the ‘Petting stone’ made me smile.

We returned to the van to collect the dog and return to the town for lunch. A local crab sandwich. A bucket list item. Sad I know! It was Divine. With a capital D. The dog sat under our table and was the darling of the pub (as usual).

On returning to the campsite once the tide had receded enough for the causeway to become usable again we returned to our campsite to reflect on the day. We can see Holy Island in the distance from the van. It looks like any other low lying island off the English coast. Sandy, grass and with scrub covering the majority of it. Sheep are dotted about. But oh what history! Looking out to sea to the East one can imagine the Vikings approaching and seeing the same island we are looking at now. You need to go one day.

Todays distance: 11 miles

Total Distance: 2415 miles.

The day started foggy and ended foggy with a bit of mist in between. We saw sod all when we left and in fact saw sod all when we arrived and in between it was sort of ok. The sun did its best to burn off the mist but failed miserably.

We set off and took the road east to Alloa and then picked up the signs for the Forth Road bridge. Having been across it on a motorcycle recently, I was telling Debbie to get her camera ready for the spectacular views of the old road bridge and the rail bridge.

This is what ensued.

The temperature dropped 4C as we crossed the bridge and then recovered the same amount as we left the other side. Clearly the effect of the water below was cooling the air above and the water vapour condensed into blanketing cloud and we saw very little. Oh well. On we went.

The road skirts around the south of Edinburgh. It is Saturday and I had to resist the temptation of going through the city centre. The traffic in Edinburgh is awful at the best of times. I turned off the motorway to take a break, give the dog a chance for a walk and get a coffee. To get back on track we motored cross country and as I have said before and will say again, get off the motorway to see the best of the country. We passed through the delightful little town of Haddington.

Its majestic architecture harks back to prosperous days. Honey and rose coloured buildings, parks and open spaces attest to the fact that once upon a time it was the fourth biggest town in Scotland after Aberdeen, Roxburgh and Edinburgh. Clearly this was a wealthy place. I think it still is. I loved the place.

We continued on to Eyemouth passing though the golf country of Dunbar. Golf courses everywhere.

Eyemouth had been mentioned to us by a friend as a place where something rather special lay. Eyemouth itself is a small fishing town with a lovely harbour, a great fish and chip shop (ask me how I know 🙂 ) and the site of the Widows and Bairns sculpture. I was moved by this poignant piece of art. Bairns incidentally is children.

The fact that each bronze figure represents a real person I found really moving. The artist has captured the dreadful event in the faces and poses of the wives and children of the lost fishermen. The figures are only around 10- 20 cms tall and I wanted to spend a lot longer looking at them. But the fog rolled in and the temperature dropped and I was standing in shorts and a T shirt.

We crossed the border into England and passed through the delightful town of Berwick Upon Tweed. From there it was a short hop to our campsite for the next two nights at Beal Farm just a few miles away from the causeway that links Lindisfarne, Holy Island to the mainland.

It has been another wonderful day of exploration. Our van trip is drawing to a close now but still we have Lindisfarne to explore and one more place before we head home. I will leave you with a doggie picture. Leia the border collie was waiting for mum to return to the van with fish and chips from Eyemouth chippie.