Holy Island

Driving across the causeway to Lindisfarne is a little disconcerting - it's as though the tarmac has simply been laid on the beach - which is probably more or less the situation. It does make you feel vulnerable and I make a mental note to leave clearly within the safe crossing times - I don't fancy being on this road when the tide is rolling in.

I like islands - don't know why as a grew up in Birmingham which is about as far from an island a you can get in the UK - but I'm not sure what to make of Lindisfarne. Is it an island or isn't it? For large parts of the day you can easily drive across to it, but equally for other large parts it is cut off and definitely an island - does this 'part time' nature of being an island mean living there is different to, say, the Western Isles?

It is still nonetheless fairly remote and off the beaten track and, like so much else in Northumbria, is beautiful with stunning bays and the seemingly obligatory castle. It is given something else by the presence of the Priory. Fascinating to wander around and simply feel and sense the history of the place and like many other such places, for example Glastonbury Abbey, I can but imagine what the place must have looked like in its 'prime', or, indeed, how different it may look today if Henry VIII had dissolved the monasteries.

A wonderful place I wish I could spend more time here today - but the safe crossing times mean I head back to mainland after a few fascinating hours spent on Holy Island.