Lindisfarne

Our first stop on the island was to visit the museum and ruins of Lindisfarne Priory. Run by English Heritage, the museum gives a good overview of the island's history, covering its importance to early Christians, the Viking attacks, its later role in border defence against the Scots, and the subsequent dissolution of the monastery by Henry VIII.

Attached to the priory is the Norman Church of St Mary the Virgin. This is worth checking out for its pretty stained glass windows and striking modern wooden sculpture, The Journey, depicting the monks leaving the island with the remains of St Cuthbert.

In 1901, publisher Edward Hudson, owner of Country Life Magazine, bought the ruins of Lindisfarne Castle. He commissioned the architect Sir Edwyn Lutyens to convert the castle into a seaside holiday home. The result is what The National Trust describes as a castle that isn't a castle. A stark contrast to the ornate grandeur of nearby Bamburgh and Alnwick castles, on the inside Lindisfarne Castle is oddly small-scale and domestic. An Edwardian country house masquerading as a castle.

As part of the design, Lutyens installed three boat sheds, recalling a once common practice in the North East of fishermen re-purposing defunct boats, upturning them, covering the hulls with tar, and using them for storage. The castle boat sheds are recent replacements, the originals were sadly destroyed by fire in 2005. However, around the harbour you can find authentic examples of boat sheds still in use.

Gertrude Jekyll was the most famous garden designer of the early twentieth century, creating over four hundred British gardens. She was a frequent collaborator with Lutyens. He commissioned her to convert the castle's former vegetable patch into an ornamental walled garden visible from the castle.

In 2023, The National Trust restored the garden according to Jekyll's original planting scheme. Since the castle was intended as a summer retreat, the garden is at its best in May, June & July.

On the other side of the castle, you will also find a disused lime kiln, once used to burn limestone to create lime used as mortar in stone buildings and to improve agricultural yields.

The path up to the castle affords magnificent views over the whole of the island, but it is also worth walking from the harbour up the hill called the Heugh. At the summit is an old coastguard lookout tower, which has recently been converted to a glassed-in observation deck. From there, you can enjoy fine views of the castle across the harbour and out to sea, to Bamburgh, the Farne Islands, and the beacons on Guile Point.

A slightly steep path down the opposite side of the Heugh from the harbour will take you to a small, shingly beach. From there, tide permitting, you can walk out to St Cuthbert's Island - a tidal island off a tidal island, where you will find the ruins of a medieval chapel.

Where to eat on Lindisfarne

We advise taking a picnic and eating it on one of the benches overlooking the harbour. The cafes and pubs in the village were hectic and crowded even when we visited outside of the peak season in September.