The Holy Island of Lindisfarne

Any trip to Northumberland must include time on Lindisfarne or Holy Island as it is known. Obviously it has a long and varied history, but also it's a wonderful island to just follow the footpath around the coastal edge and marvel at the wildlife and soak up the peace and tranquility.

We have visited the island before, but a re-visit was today's objective - tides permitting! 

Lindisfarne Castle is really two buildings; the comfortable Edwardian holiday home with the Lutyens features and the cosy atmosphere is the obvious one as it is what we see today. But hiding behind all this is the old fort, dating from Tudor times and taking up three quarters of the Castle's history.

Lindisfarne Castle as we know it first appears in about 1550, but wasn't in any completed state until 1570. For the next three hundred years, the fort (as it was known then) was home to temporary garrisons of soldiers on detatchment from the larger force based at nearby Berwick. Their main job was to man the guns, watch the horizon for trouble, and try and stave of boredom with gunnery practice. Aside from a couple of incidents, the Castle could be said to have had a quiet military history through this period. The fact it was still standing when Edward Hudson discovered it in 1901 is testement to that. His friend the architect Edwin Lutyens was soon to dramatically change the building over the next few years, from a fort to a holiday home. 

Many of the features of the old fort were lost during the Lutyens renovation of 1903-1906 but if you delve a little deeper and don't accept what you see in front of you, parts of the old building reappear before you. It does require some imagination I can vouch!

In the Dining Room, for example, Lutyens created a new fireplace, laid a distinctive herringbone brick floor and carved out a huge window bay with tracery window in stone. He left untouched a bread oven and salt hole from the soldier's time (probably dating from the 16th-century) along with the low vertical walls which are about as old as anything in the Castle. The vaulted ceiling, installed in the 18th-century to bear the weight of a new gun battery above. 

Elsewhere there is the original staircase leading to the Upper Battery is a prominent feature along with the low ceilings of the western end of the building, and the surviving Victorian doors leading to the former gunpowder magazine - Lutyens' West Bedroom. 

The holiday home from the early twentieth century is the building most on show, and we tell the story of those who worked here, those who visited, and those who called the place home over a hundred years ago. For the best part of seventy years, Lindisfarne was so much more to so many people than a old fort on a crag.

Having taken images of these upturned boats, come sheds, on our previous trip in 2009, this time I took one of the more `used` ones.

A display of Red Valerian as seen from the castle path.

View of the village, priory ruins and harbour from the castle.

The lime kilns at Castle Point are a Scheduled Ancient Monument – a designation made in recognition of the national significance of the site. They are some of the largest examples of their kind anywhere in the country and certainly the largest actively-conserved kilns in the area.

Have the kids been busy? - piles of stones on the foreshore.

One of a series of `willow` wildlife dotted around the island.

A series of eight larger-than-life willow sculptures have taken up residence on points around the Lindisfarne Nature Trail. The sculptures were created by local artist and willow sculptor Anna Turnbull with help from 40 volunteers. The sculptures depict key species of the Lindisfarne National Nature Reserve, managed by Natural England, and include Brent Geese in flight, a creche of two female Eider ducks and their chicks and a flowering Lindisfarne Helleborine orchid.

The sculptures are situated on the Lindisfarne Nature Trail, a circular walk of approximately 3 miles, that loops from Holy Island village along to the Castle, then follows the former limekiln waggon way to the dunes of The Links. The trail returns to the village via the Straight Lonnen

Silverweed, and there was a lot of it about, is a creeping, trailing plant that can be found on rough grassland, roadside verges, sand dunes and waste ground. Its yellow flowers appear between June and August among the creeping mats of its silvery, downy leaves which remain all year-round.

Big sky with glorious clouds.

This white granite pyramid was one of the first daymark beacons built on mainland Britain. It was built between 1801 and 1810 by Trinity House.

The oldest building on Holy Island, the church of St Mary The Virgin. The only building that retains work from the Saxon period. 

The interior of the Parish Church of Saint Mary the Virgin

The original wooden version of `Journey` in St Mary`s church. 

"Journey" is a wooden sculpture, carved from seven elm trees, by Fenwick Lawson (1999). The sculpture depicts the monks of Holy Island carrying the coffin of St. Cuthbert to safety and eventual rest in Durham Cathedral, c.875 AD, when Viking raiders threatened the island. The sculpture was exhibited in Durham Cathedral for a time and proved popular. Local people raised funds for a bronze casting of Journey, and this now stands in Millennium Square, in Durham. 

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Bamburgh and Dunstanburgh Castles

What to do on a squally day? - we decide to visit two of the great castles / ruins in the area. After all you can usually shelter in a castle if a shower appears. 

So, first stop was at the huge Bamburgh Castle. The 6th century Kings of Northumbria established Bamburgh as their capital, building a wooden stockade to create a stronghold on the existing Castle site. After being ransacked by the Vikings at the end of the 10th century, the Normans built a new castle on the site, the core of which remains today, and in the 12th century Bamburgh Castle became the property of Henry I, the reigning English monarch.

Next came the arrival of the Foster family, gifted the ruins by James 1st and then the subsequent acquisition by Lord Crewe and the formation of the Crewe Trustees. 

Finally the castle passed into the hands of the First Lord Armstrong, with the intention of creating a respite home he passed away before its restoration was complete and became the Armstrong family home. It is still owned by the Armstrong Family who opened it up to visitors in the mid 1900’s and remains to this day an icon of the North East of England.

As you can see, Bamburgh is a huge place. This image from the road passing through the village. The castle in fact covers around 9 acres in total. 

Northern Marsh Orchid seen in the dunes near Bamburgh 

The ruins of the twin tower keep of Dunstanburgh Castle. Originally the gatehouse. 

Built on the most magnificent scale, Dunstanburgh Castle stands on a remote headland in Northumberland. The walk toward it along the coast is worth it on its own. 

The castle was built at a time when relations between King Edward II and his most powerful baron, Earl Thomas of Lancaster, had become openly hostile. Lancaster began the fortress in 1313, and the latest archaeological research indicates that he built it on a far grander scale than was originally recognised, perhaps more as a symbol of his opposition to the king than as a military stronghold. 

Unfortunately the earl failed to reach Dunstanburgh when his rebellion was defeated, and was taken and executed in 1322. Thereafter the castle passed eventually to John of Gaunt, who strengthened it against the Scots by converting the great twin towered gatehouse into a keep - see above. 

The focus of fierce fighting during the Wars of the Roses, it was twice besieged and captured by Yorkist forces, but subsequently fell into decay. 

The Lilburn Tower, Dunstanburgh Castle 

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The Magic of the Inner Farne Islands

In the afternoon of 10th June, we had booked a trip to Inner Farne, home of a multitude of seabirds - one of the best locations in the British Isles. This time of year, most breeds are plentiful, as they are busy raising young. So, blessing the calm day, we made our way to Seahouses, our point of embarking.

The trip visits some of the outer islands, just for a brief look. This was interesting as we skirted the island housing the lighthouse from where Grace Darling and her father made their heroic rescue. Then passed large numbers of gray seals lazily watching us sail past. Finally, we landed on inner Farne to be dive bombed by Terns who were nesting near the landing point.

Guillemot covering the rocks as we approached by the island.

Longstone Lighthouse - our closest approach. Some trips actually land - but not ours.

Grace Darling became a national heroine after risking her life to save the stranded survivors of the wrecked steamship Forfarshire in 1838. A good site to see the story of the heroic Grace Darling who lived here with her father, the lighthouse keeper. https://rnli.org/about-us/our-history/timeline/1838-grace-darling

Gray seals

The remains of St Cuthbert's Chapel and Terns galore!

The chapel on Inner Farne was once part of a larger monastic complex including the present visitor centre - once itself a chapel - and the surrounding courtyards. It was built in the early fourteenth century and was used by the holy community up until the Henry VIII's Dissolution. It was heavily renovated to its present state in the nineteenth century.

The first monastic buildings on Inner Farne are no longer visible. They were built by Aidan and then Cuthbert, and the passage of time coupled with the weather has removed all sign of these structures. The Venerable Bede, in his Life of St Cuthbert, does though give us some clues as to the nature of these early buildings. Cuthbert's cell, the building that Aidan had first built, was of stone and turf and stood - according to Bede - 'higher than a man'. Another larger structure, a guest house or 'hospitum' probably stood on the site of the present Fish House. 

It wasn't until 1370 that we know the present Chapel was in existence, as the building of a new chapel on the site of a previous building is recorded as having begun in 1369, at a cost of £50. The presence of slightly older stone in parts of the north wall suggests an earlier building on the site so at least some of that has been incorporated into the later building. The monks of the House of Farne were wealthy enough to build such structures; they cultivated crops and even had livestock on some of the other islands. Seals were also a valuable commodity as they were classed as creatures of the sea, and so could be eaten on Fridays. 

Arctic Tern

They do indeed `dive-bomb` you if they think you are too close, as I found out. Luckily I had a cap on, as advised!

Guillemot

Kittiwake

Razorbill telling me to go away! This with a telephoto so I wasn't too close anyway.

And then of course the Puffin. Running the gauntlet of the huge gulls who waited near the Puffin burrow to grab their catch before they could deliver it to their young. We did see many a Puffin get away down their burrows, although it was quite a battle.

Shag 

Shag with young. Amazing how so many species of bird nest and raise young so close to other species.

Puffins galore

Baby rabbit near a burrow. His or a Puffins?

Young Gull

Goodby to the Inner Farne - our last view as we sailed back to Seahouses at the end of an amazing afternoon. A definite `must do` if in the area!

The Rescue in Seahouses

Dynamic statue, presented to the Parish of North Sunderland and Seahouses by Countrylife Homes and Seafield Caravan Park.

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Start of our holiday in Beadnell, Northumberland

Thinking of going abroad? There is a very good reason of course to stay at home, and that is the beautiful country that we live in. So, off to Northumberland, a place that always attracts. Beadnell, to be precise. We had a lovely cottage, shame about the road leading to it! As several days of this holiday were wet, very wet!, we found ourselves almost floating through large areas of this unmade road.

On the nearby beautiful beach was this seaweed left by the receding tide.

The foreshore just across the road was less inspiring being made up of rock and stones as above. However, just round the corner was miles of gorgeous beach, backed by sand dunes. Wonderful. A great base to explore the surrounding area. 

Past history revealed near the harbour, as the old lime Kilns show. I believe the harbour is the only one on the east coast which faces west. Only a small one now though. 

Another view of the magnificent beach and dunes as the tide receded. We walked along the Beadnell Bay beach until we reached a point called Miller`s Nick. A `Nick` is a local name for a gap, between two higher points, where water flows through. Beyond this point was a large area called Long Nanny, roped off for breeding Little Terns, . 

We, however, climbed to the top of the dunes and walked back through the varied vegetation. Some of the things we saw are pictured below. 

The beautiful Burnet Rose. 

The Bloody Cranesbill 

Spittle on a Yellow Rattle. 

Small White butterfly 

A great morning walk, before heading to Seahouses from where we were booked on a trip to the Farne islands, just off the coast. 

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