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.

  Index of posts

Lindisfarne or Holy Island

Holy Island has a very special place in history as the birthplace of the Lindisfarne Gospels, among the most celebrated illuminated books in the world. 

According to an inscription added in the 10th century at the end of the original text, the manuscript was made in honour of God and of St. Cuthbert by Eadfrith, Bishop of Lindisfarne, who died in 721. 

Eadfrith played a major part in establishing Cuthbert's cult after his relics had been raised to the altar of the monastery church on 20th March, 698, the eleventh anniversary of his death. The Gospels may have been made in honour of that event.

The book's original leather binding was provided by Ethelwald, who followed Eadfrith as bishop and died about 740. He had been associated with Cuthbert in his lifetime. An outer covering of gold, silver and gemstones was added by Billfrith the Anchorite, probably about the middle of the 8th century. 

Both covers have long since vanished but the manuscript itself has survived the thirteen centuries associated with Cuthbert's relics at Durham during the Middle Ages and preserved from destruction after the Reformation through the scholarly interest of Tudor antiquaries. 

The Lindisfarne Gospels is now part of the collection of Sir Robert Cotton, (d. 1631), in the British Library in London, where it is seen by visitors from all over the world.

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 detachment 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 testament 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.

Another view of the castle.

On the grass area near the sea, we stumbled upon, what looks like the work of many busy children! Near the castle entrance, there are also some fascinating sheds, now owned by the National Trust. See BELOW

Local fishermen on Holy Island apparently considered it a sin to send boats to the junkyard. They instead found a way to transform their old herring boats into perfect little storage sheds for their nets, tools, and other equipment. Tip them over and use them as sheds!

Very clever indeed.

Looking toward the ruins of the Priory.

Why Holy Island? Lindisfarne was the name given to the Island by the first Anglo-Saxons to live here and we don`t know the meaning of the word. But the monks of Durham, after the Norman conquest, added the words Holy Island when they looked back over the story which began with the coming of Saint Aidan and the building of the first monastery in 635 AD, continued with the ministry of the "very popular" Saint Cuthbert and then received a staggering blow from the Viking attack in 793. 

The period of the first monastery is referred to as the "Golden Age" of Lindisfarne. Aidan and his monks came from the Irish monastery of Iona and with the support of King Oswald (based at nearby Bamburgh) worked as missionaries among the pagan English of Northumbria. In their monastery they set up the first known school in this area and introduced the arts of reading and writing, the Latin language and the Bible and other Christian books (all in Latin). They trained boys as practical missionaries who later went out over much of England to spread the Gospel. Aidan also encouraged women to become nuns and girls to receive education but not in this monastery. In time Lindisfarne became known for its skill in Christian art of which the Lindisfarne Gospels are the most beautiful surviving example.

After the Norman Conquest (1066) the Benedictine monks of Durham possessed the undecayed body (?) of St.Cuthbert and saw themselves as the inheritors of the Lindisfarne tradition. Here on the Island they built the second monastery, a small Benedictine house staffed by Durham monks. This monastery was beset by a number of troubles, especially during the border wars between England and Scotland. It was finally dissolved by Henry VIII in 1536. 

The ruins of the second monastery can be seen on the Island today. The first monastery, originally built entirely in wood, has disappeared.

Let's have lunch, watched over by St Cuthbert.

A manuscript copy of the Gospel of St John, the St Cuthbert Gospel was produced in the North East of England in the late 7th century and was placed in St Cuthbert’s coffin on Lindisfarne, apparently in 698. The Gospel was found in the saint’s coffin at Durham Cathedral in 1104. It has a beautifully worked original red leather binding in excellent condition, and it is the only surviving high-status manuscript from this crucial period in British history to retain its original appearance, both inside and out.

In 2012 The British Library has announced that it has successfully acquired (For £9 million) the St Cuthbert Gospel, a miraculously well-preserved 7th century manuscript that is the oldest European book to survive fully intact and therefore one of the world’s most important books. 

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