As I Please John Pearson visits Holy Island. I visit the island quite often in fact, stopping over at my country ‘estate’ (small cottage, even smaller back yard!). The crucial part is the ‘stopping over’. Holy Island, or Lindisfarne, lies about half a mile off the North East coast, just south of Berwick (leave the A1 at Beal) and is delightfully cut off by the tide for up to five hours in every twelve. If you are fortunate enough to find a place to stay then you reap extra benefits, depending on when that day’s tides are due – either a morning free of people or cars, or a peaceful afternoon and evening if they have had to leave. On such an evening you should hear the cries of the seals, lying off shore. Nearly always most of the island including its mile- of the early Church. Indeed, the island was home first long flat wide beach, is deserted. The hundreds of day to St visitors tend to head just for the village square, souvenir shops, the National Trust shop or the tea rooms. Some, if they are very energetic, may walk or take the shuttle bus out to the Castle, about half a mile a magnificently hand written and illuminated docufrom the car park. This leaves acres (‘hectares’ I suppose I should say) of open space. Old farm tracks Library. (‘Lonnens’) lead out of the village through sheepstrewn fields to the dunes which cover perhaps 20% of home today of seals and puffins. When resident on the island, along its northern edge, and to surprisingly Holy high, wild cliffs, home to nesting sea birds. The dunes are a place of soft, fine white sand, long grasses and of many varieties of wild orchid. Latin wording on the reverse of the old map (17 century)
tells of how, since Roman times, the north west tip, the point at which modern travellers first reach the island, was a place of rabbit warrens. Named ‘The Snewke’ on the map, the Snook nowadays is still home to rabbits, though much reduced in number, both due abound and seldom does a day pass when there are not to myxomatosis and hunting, preventing a latter day plague of the creatures from eating the islanders out of in modern garb, some with cameras, but clearly sharing house and home (out of lettuces at least). The whole of this area is designated a Nature Reserve – wild fauna and flora abound. Historians of religion will recognise this, like Iona, the island’s history and development in differing ways.
soon! Ruins of Holy Island Priory
St Cuthert’s Island
as an important place in the development and spread
Aidan and then St Cuthbert, monk, bishop and hermit at the Priory which, albeit in ruined form, still stands on the edge of the village. It was here that Eadfrith created the Lindisfarne Gospels in 715 A.D.,
ment, the original of which can be seen in the British St Cuthbert himself divided his time between the Priory and the settlement on the Farne Islands,
Island Cuthbert’s own personal retreat was a tiny island which takes his name and which, like Holy Island itself, enjoys isolation at high tide. At low tide, family groups tentatively pick their way across its
th slippery stony approach, clearly nervous of the sea’s return. With so much holiness around it is hardly surprising that the village has become (or stayed?) something of a religious theme park. Retreat Houses
groups of ‘pilgrims’ to be seen. Nowadays they come
their predecessors’ awe and wonder at the island’s spiritual legacy and its current ‘presence’. The Visitor Centre and English Heritage museum each illustrate
The high spot for some is the electronic copy of the Gospels. A touch screen enables one to turn and view some of its pages. When not staffing the tea rooms, souvenir shops, museums and Retreats, what do the natives (about 150) actually do? Other residents of working age seek employment on the mainland (tide permitting). Children of secondary school age must go there too. There is some farming, mainly of sheep but some arable. Nowadays, just two sea-going fishing boats work out of the harbour. An old photo in the pub shows that back in 1919 there were over 20. Come