Lindisfarne (2)

Walking around the village near the harbour I wondered what life on this small island would be like? Surely the present islanders would be touched by past inhabitants, the beauty of the place and be influenced by the ebb and flow of the tides?

The stone cottages with the red tiled roofs are typical of those in the area.

Our sandwich lunch was at The Ship Inn.

The iconic image of Lindisfarne Castle. It was built in Tudor times as a military garrison high on the whinstone rock formation of Beblowe Hill.  It's now a National Trust property.  It was renovated by Sir Edwin Lutyens for Edward Hudson, owner of Country Life magazine at the turn of the 20th century and became a holiday home with a garden designed and landscaped by Gertrude Jekyll. Naturally I would have liked to have walked over to it, but it was too far, quite a climb up to the castle itself and there was a need to spend time with our group in the afternoon. 

The up-turned old boats in the harbour are now used as huts. 

On the Harbour Road is the important facility of the Holy Island Coastguard's Station.

                                                                  

On the same road is a new Education Centre called Window on the Wild with information about the National Nature Reserve on the island and a lookout window.

                                                                  White Campion

On the opposite side of the road is the harbour area.  Lindisfarne's geology of hard dark rock, dolerite, known in Northumberland as 'whinstone' formed back in 'the mists of time' and the thin layer of soil content means that many plants unique to Northumberland grow on the rocky outcrops.  Different types of protected flowers such as the wild orchid and marsh helleborine grow in the wet grassland area.

Even the white campion growing on the stone walls was interesting to see.

The silhouette of the 'rainbow arch' in the Priory Ruins also gave one a sense of history whilst walking around. It was also a reminder to return there to meet up with the group and the guide at St. Mary's Church. 

St. Mary's Church by the Priory is believed to be the site where Aidan built the first wooden church on the island. In this place of worship there are many reminders of his ministry, the radical spiritual life of the monastic community and of Cuthbert, the man of prayer and faith as well as the continuing ministry (together with the other island churches) to the small community of islanders and to visitors who come to Lindisfarne.

  

Contemporary Christian art

The illuminated Gospels (replica)

                  The monks' journey with Cuthbert's coffin on the way to Durham:

                   a sculpture made from 35 pieces of elmwood carved mainly with a chain saw 

                   by Fenwick Lawson.

                                

Then it was time to leave the island and head back to our evening meal provided by the Franciscan Brothers in the Friary by the sea at Alnmouth. Our time away continued, but the visit to Lindisfarne remained a special part of that long weekend in Northumbria. 

Lindisfarne (1)

The majority of our group decided to take the causeway across to Lindisfarne so the watch tower was the first encounter as a reminder of what it means to be aware of the tides that sweep over it leaving only about half a day in which to use this access to the island. For those who wish to walk the Pilgrim's Way across the sands there are one or two towers to climb up into if necessary!  Pole markers show the safe way across the sands.

This is the view as the causeway road winds around with grasslands and sand dunes either side, the outline of the island village in the distance on the left and the mainland on the right. All this sand and grassland gets submerged during high tides, of course.

Two walkers are going back to the mainland after a visit.

The sands are strewn with pebbles and cockle shells.  The view is across to the higher northern dunes and the causeway road.

Our weekend with our group was intended as a spiritual journey so naturally we focused on that aspect of Lindisfarne which is also called Holy Island.

The Priory

The first monastery was built of wood and designed as a base for missionary work to the Anglo Saxons of the 7th century. Aidan and his monks from Iona came in 635 invited by King Oswald of Northumbria and later he was appointed Bishop of Lindisfarne. After his death in Bamburgh his body was returned to the island to be buried in the church. The second 11th century monastery, the ruins of which can be seen today, was occupied by Benedictine Monks.

A statue of  St. Aidan stands in the parish churchyard.  He holds his Bishop's crosier/crook 

                                              in one hand and a flaming torch in the other.

Cuthbert then came to spend some time on Lindisfarne in 664 although towards the end of his life he spent more time in prayer in a solitary place on a small island known as St. Cuthbert's Island.  Later on he retreated out to the Farne Islands, but when he died the monks brought his body back to Lindisfarne where it stayed until the Viking raids of the 7th century.  Eventually the monks left the island with the body and after a lengthy journey the final resting place was in Durham.  They also took the beautifully illustrated Lindisfarne Gospels with them and they can be seen in the British Museum in London although they were brought back to be exhibited for a brief time this year.  The last opportunity to see them in the north of England was 30th September. 

                                                                      St Cuthbert's Island

The shore near the Priory looking towards the mainland with Bamburgh Castle in the distance.

The ridge of rock is called the Heugh and is a good lookout point.  It extends around the bay, which is a natural harbour, and provides a good outcrop on which the castle was built. 

Our group had an appointment in the afternoon with a guide who was going to show us around the Parish Church, but beforehand there was an opportunity to wander around at leisure and have some lunch.  My husband and I wandered off towards the village for lunch and then I went to explore on my own for half an hour leaving him to rest because of his difficulty with walking far. More about all that next time! 

A trip to Northumbria (2)

                                                           Bamburgh Castle

On the Saturday of our trip our group drove along the coastal road to spend the day on Lindisfarne (Holy Island).  The plan was for some of the group to walk across the sands to the island when the tide was out and the rest of us to drive over on the causeway.

Since the tide wasn't going to be out until late morning we stopped off at Bamburgh for a coffee and a visit to St. Aidan's church.

Bamburgh was once the home of the ancient kings of Northumbria and Bamburgh Castle set on its promontory overshadows the village and is an impressive sight from every vantage point. One day we might get to visit the castle and walk the sandy beach beside it. The last time we came to Bamburgh it was pouring with rain so this time it was good to spend a little longer in the village on a beautiful sunny day.

                                                     
                                                    Carter's is a renowned butcher's shop

There's a grove of trees on the village green with a long-standing 'rookery'.  There's a saying in the village that if the rooks go elsewhere that will be the end of Bamburgh!

Bamburgh was also the home of Grace Darling, the young woman who at the age of 22 years rowed across perilous seas in 1838 t0 rescue survivors from a ship that had wrecked against Big Harcar Rock in the Farne Islands.  She was not only brave, but unassuming. Soon this young girl who had been brought up on two remote lighthouses became a national heroine. The Royal National Lifeboat Institution's Grace Darling Museum is well worth a visit (we did so last time we came to Bamburgh). It provides an opportunity to learn more about Grace, her family and the area where she lived.

Opposite the museum is St. Aidan's Church where on this site Aidan of Lindisfarne, an Irish monk and missionary built a wooden church and is the place where he died in 651 AD.  The present church is 800 years old.

In the churchyard is a memorial to Grace Darling which has been placed some distance to the north of her grave so that it might be within view for those who pass by the church by boat.

There are many beautiful relatively modern memorial windows in the church and an interesting embroidered piece of work made by members of the local Women's Institute depicting landmarks and sights around Bamburgh including those rooks and the puffins of the Farne Islands.

By the way, there's a new ITV television series, Inside the National Trust, that has just started on a Sunday just after mid day.  The work of the wildlife wardens on the Farne Islands who look after the bird colonies there is also being featured. The Farne Islands Blog is also an interesting look at the behind the scenes life of the National Trust Wildlife Rangers there.

More about our time on Lindisfarne next time. Until then, hope your week goes well!