This page has been written because Holy Island is one of the few places that I never tire of visiting.   When people visit me, it is the only place which they have to see. 

Pevsner said that "Holy Island from the mainland is not at all an impressive sight".   I don't agree and evidently those revising for the second edition did not either; the later version says that it is  "is not an especially impressive sight".  It's not breathtakingly beautiful, perhaps, but there something which draws you (or perhaps just me) to it, and it is a very unusual landscape.  Other people have descriped it as "sometimes heartstopping".

One reason I keep coming back is that the weather and light make the island into a different place every time you visit it.  The light can totally change the scene before your eyes. 

Sometimes the whole landscape looks tame.....

 

...and sometimes it looks like you are in space.

The official site knows more about the history than I can be bothered to tell you but in a nutshell there was St Aidan who came in 635 from Iona and settled there then St Cuthbert who was local (but not from the island itself) and a hermit, some of the time. The Lindisfarne Gospels - now in the British Museum - were written here. 

(in 1997 they did an archaeological dig on the island.  They found some calf bones which according to the press proved that the gospels - which were written on calf skin - were made here.  That's not brilliant proof  - what if they were just leftover from veal making? - and anyway I don't think the origin of the Lindisfarne Gospel was ever really in doubt).

The early monastery  was probably on the site of the parish church -right next to the current ruins.  It was abandoned from 875 until 1093 when the present structure was built.  The later monastery was a cell of the Benedictine monastery of Durham.  Apparently you can tell this from the columns in the priory church.   The alternation of compounded/circular columns is a dead giveaway apparently.  The Victorians rebuilt the ruins to make them look more picturesque.  They did quite a good job.

You can see most of the ruins from the churchyard - which, despite the slightly confusing sign on the gate,  you can get to without paying - or from the small piece of rock beyond the priory.  Or you can pay to look round the ruins at very close quarters and then look around the English Heritage visitors centre.  This is inexpensive, but the castle is more worthwhile to look round.

THE CASTLE

As a proper castle Lindisfarne Castle was pathetic and small.   It was built in the sixteenth century on a lump of rock which has come to symbolise the North East.  The lump of rock looks huge but actually it isn't very big.  It was apparently attacked once when there were only two people defending it and then re-taken by 16 people.  The sort of attack that nowadays only happens on school playgrounds.

The rock was believed to be uninhabited before the castle was built; the monks either being too humble or too lazy to build on the top of the rock.  Or maybe they wanted to stay out of the wind which always blows here.

In 1902 the then ruined casetle was done up to a design by Edwin Lutyens, with a garden by Gertrude Jekyll.  Lutyens's attention to detail has resulted in a large house (but a small castle) with lots of interesting features, patterns and colours.  Particularly look out for the door closures, the curtains (which swing out away from the windows) and the herringbone patterns on the floors.

The walled garden is nowhere  near the castle and is on the site of the castle gardens.  The scale of the gardens is less impressive than Alnwick, but they have fewer pretentions.

The castle is now owned by the National Trust and open but not during the winter months.  There are no toilets.  Except that there is a private flat in the castle so I bet there are toilets, you're just not allowed to use them.  I wonder what would happen if told them you were desperate? 

THE MEAD

Lindisfarne Mead is made on the island.   Berwick Borough Council's worst ever planning decision was to allow the winery to be built in the style of a dour 1960s bungalow.  Easily the worst building on the whole island.  Thankfully it's a bit nicer inside.  You can visit the winery shop to try a free sample of mead. You can also join the millions of holiday makers who still have half a bottle of mead in their drinks cupboard two years after they've been here.

The thing about Mead is that if you drink it like wine -  finish the whole bottle in a day - it is quite acceptable.  Drink it as a liqueur and you won't ever finish it.  Don't make the mistake of thinking it's irreplaceable because you can buy it through any branch of Victoria Wine anyway.  Or they'll post it to you.  Or you probably know someone who already has half a bottle lurking in their drink cupboard.

As well as neat mead, the shop sells about 4 million other mead products. Mead T-shirts, mead jam, mead mustard,  mead sausages.  Etc etc.

The shop also sells a wide range of quite interesting food and some non-meady wines which I think aren't made on Holy Island but which are very nice anyway. 

The stock is almost enough for you to forgive the architecture.

They look like modern art but they are Victorian marker posts, designed by John Dobson, who designed most of Newcastle.  They are where they are to mark the channel for boats entering Holy Island harbour.  They were needed because comparatively big boats used to take lime from the lime kilns which were here (the remains of the kilns are visible beyond the castle.  You can also see a few timbers which are said to be the remains of the staithe.

You can drive across during the two (often quite lengthy) periods each day when the causeway isn't flooded.  The Safe Crossing Times vary a lot and are widely published.  Sunday mornings are usually, but not invariably, good.  Check the times before you go because if you get stranded then you could be stranded for hours, or worse, get caught in the tide.  Every year at least one lot of tourists get caught and everyone laughs at them.  Sometimes they get a ride in a helicopter which is free but they usually lose their car.  Often the Northumberland Gazette is rude about them - for being foolish, ironically. 

The white box visible in the distance under the sign is a refuge for newly car-less tourists. 

Arriva Northumbria have buses which run to a tide table as well as a time table.
 

OFSTED

It is apparently true that the Holy Island primary school was ofsteded at a cost of £20,000 even though it only had one child who was leaving that term.  The older schoolkids go to Berwick.  They get free accommodation during the week.

FIRE STATION

There is a fire station but no firemen on the island.  If there's a fire and the tide's in they helicopter the firemen over. 

ELECTIONS

Sometimes the ballot box is airlifted off the island.  In the 1997 election in a less romantic but more practical move they just waited till the tide went out. 

NORTHERN ROCK BANK

It's based in Newcastle, but has adopted the lump with the castle on it as its symbol.  Now you can even get a credit card with a picture of the castle on it.  Click here for more details.
 

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