Northern England: Lindisfarne

Lindisfarne, or Holy Island, is a mostly flat, windswept island off the east coast of England, just south of the Scottish border. I've been hearing about it for many years as a place of pilgrimage, so I asked our friends if we could take a day trip there. I read online that we'd find a castle, ruins of a monastery, and a contemporary church. I pictured a small, quiet island with a contemplative atmosphere.

You get to Lindisfarne by driving across a causeway that's underwater at high tide. There's a window of about five hours near low tide when it's safe to get on and off the island. We got there a couple hours after the causeway opened up. It was fun to drive right at sea level and imagine the road under water in just a few hours.

After we got to the island, we followed the signs to a parking lot. We turned in and saw about 500 cars! (I counted.) The village was crawling with tourists. I had no idea Lindisfarne was so popular as a place for a day trip. So much for my mental picture of a quiet reflective place. Still, I enjoyed seeing being there after hearing about it for so long, and the ruins of the priory were memorable, as was the setting on the sea.

The amazing castle on the only high point on the island.

The view of the village from the castle

The ruins of the monastery