Discovering the East Coast with our grandson - day 2

Lindisfarne Priory with Linsisfarne Castle in the distance

What we intended to do today and what we really did were completely different things.  And that is so often the way we travel!  We assumed we could travel at the pace we usually do and get to see Lindisfarne quickly and then get to Bamburgh. At any other time, I would view a plan like this by a tourist and think how silly! These distances don’t look far on a map but realistically it takes time to get from point A to point B, plus you do need to factor in quality time….. However, we are not familiar with this side of the Southeast and made our own rookie mistake! 

What we had today was superb quality and only one location was visited - Lindisfarne! 

Considering the distance from our campsite to the English border is less than 30, we thought we would arrive at Lindisfarne in no time.  And we did have a relaxing morning so we left a bit later than we probably should have, but that is also part of the beauty of camping.

It took us over an hour to get to LIndisfarne and then you have to drive over the causeway to get to the island.  I have always compared this island to Mont St Michel - they are only accessible at certain times of the day.  I was in the back seat for this journey but did notice a sign warning not to attempt to cross if the water was up to a certain height.  So, we thought “one hour” that will be enough and we won’t have to worry about the tide!  I sat in the front so I could take photos of these signs on the way out.

When water reaches the causeway,
I think I would simply be in
a panic!

One hour!  No way!  We spent 3 hours on this beautiful island and would have spent more if we had only known how much we would enjoy it.  There is a big carpark as you arrive and the choices for parking times are 3 hours, 24 hours, 48 and 72 …..  24 hours only costs £2 more than 3 hours and should have been our choice, but we still thought we would only be here one hour!

Times are hard to see here due to plastic covering

Note to future visitors - before you commit yourself to a time, walk to the exit of the carpark and look at the tide timetable. Then figure out if you might just spend more than 3 hours there.  For an extra £2, we might have had time for coffee or even lunch! Or just sitting and enjoying being there!

So now that I am finished with complaining about “only” having 3 hours, let me tell you how magical this place is.  And how I believe I will need to return to see it all again one day!

Although there are some cars on the island, it looks like you need a permit to drive beyond the carpark.  But that is ok because the walk in itself is lovely.  

On our way out of the carpark is a seafood seller so if you planned it right, you could get a delicious local seafood sandwich or a hotdog for lunch.  I wish we had done that on the way out, these things you look back on…..

Then turn left and you are on your way!   We passed two local farm stalls and I made a mental note to buy something from both of them. That is one thing I love about travelling - eating locally produced food!  This was taken on the way in and on the way out, I did buy delicious strawberries here. The cases sitting on the ground were all gone though by the time we returned!  

We had no map and I was only aware of the two main locations after seeing them on our roadmap - the Priory and the Castle.  The island is not that large, but these locations are situated at two different points of what looks like a bay, so it is quite a walk between the two.  

Having no map, we were able to find the Priory easily because there are signposts guiding the way. The Priory is owned by English Heritage, and this was ok because we belong to Scottish Heritage so we were able to enter at no charge.  (Including our grandson!). I cannot stress how valuable these memberships are if you like to visit interesting things and not have to worry about having enough time to spend at one place to justify the entry fee! 

Our grandson thoroughly enjoyed visiting this site, he and I even had a chat about how the gravestones quite often tell a story. Then he discovered all the collapsed walls and hidden spiral staircases.  He also noticed the huge fireplace at one part of the priory.  There is another one upstairs.  In reading the signs, this was the “Warming Room” and the only place the monks could come to get warm. In other words, the only place that had a fireplace, in this climate!!!!  The one on the floor above was for the most senior monk. The life of personal sacrifice for them is unthinkable.  At about this point our grandson said “Who would have thought a ruined church would be so much fun?”  Not my thoughts at the time, but glad a 10 year old boy found joy in visiting an historical location!

Inside St Mary's

There is also a church, St Mary's,  there that is still in use and it was nice to see the inside of this on my own while the rest of my travelling companions stayed outside with our dog! 

This first part of our visit took an hour! Since that was all we had originally budgeted for the whole island, I feel the need t once again stress, this island is worth as much time as you can spare! 

View from the top of Lindisfarne Castle.
 You an see the Priory on the other side of this bay.

Next was the long walk to the castle! Again, following the signposts.  It was a nice walk, much of it along the shoreline.  I tried to imagine what it would look like when the tide came in.  

We did not rush, you can’t really rush when you have a 10 year old in tow.  He was fascinated by the rocks, sea glass and odd bits of ship he found along the way.  But we finally got to the castle. 

This is not an easy climb!  Sort of steep but well worth it.  In this photo, you can see where the road goes around the hill and the more rocky bits of the base of the mountain start.  This is where I left my 3 travelling partners.   We always have to take turns going inside places thanks to having a dog with us!  

Lindisfarne Castle is owned by the other historic group - The National Trust.  We are members of this one too and we do get our money’s worth!  

After going through reception, the steepest part of the climb starts with cobbled stones going up and up and up!  I loved this castle and managed to get into rooms and areas without people in them!  There were people before and after me, but I was very lucky in my timing, so I can share how beautiful this little castle really is.

And it is a bit more modern than I expected! 

At the highest point of the castle

                                                                                 Look at this timeline…..

I loved it here!  The cobbled stones going down were a bit worrisome and I wonder what they would be like if it was a wet day.  

When I got back to my group, we descended the hill a different route and there were stairs that did not appear to be as scary or slippery as the cobbles. But they were!  I massively slipped on one and was fortunate to be holding onto the railing.  Pulled muscles all along my left leg and worried this might impact the rest of our holiday.  (Bought some Deep Heat and took some Ibuprofen when we got back to our motorhome.  Babied my leg that day and woke up almost 100% better!  Whew!). 

As a result of my “accident” the walk back to the carpark was much slower and we had about an hour to get back, with various retail therapy stops along the way.  One I controlled myself about was not buying the Holy Isle gin.  3 days later, I am still not convinced it was the right decision!  And ice cream!  One must have ice cream on a day like today and on a beautiful island like LIndisfarne!

Then it was already time to return to our campsite!  We do not usually enter Scotland from the East Coast and we had a very pleasant surprise. The border here has flags, a lay-by so you can stop for photos and even a place to get food!  On "our" side of Scotland, there is a welcome sign but no lay-by or flags.  (There were flags for entering England too, but I did not see them since I was sitting in the back then!)

                                                     



         
                                                         

And another glorious sunset to end our lovely day.