Beautiful Isolation (Lindisfarne Priory)

Member Name: vintage_laurie

Product:	Lindisfarne Priory
Date:	22/09/05 (50 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: really stunning and interesting

Disadvantages: busy in the holiday season

The visual image most of us have of Holy island is the castle, stood on a volcanic outcrop looking over the sea. However, the most important part of the history of the island can be found a few miles away, on the edge of the village, at Lindisfarne priory.

The priory costs £3.60 to enter, with the usual discounts for students/senior citizens/children. It is open from 10-6 each day in summer, 10-5 in October, 10-4 in February and March, and 10-2 from November to January. It is open every day apart from in Nov, Dec and Jan, when it's only open Monday, Sat and Sun. However, when it's open is only half the story. Holy Island can only be reached by boat or by the tidal causeway, which varies each day. The way to find out the tide times is to go to the signboards across from the RNLI station in Seahouses - where you can also catch the boats if you don't want to drive (costing about £7).

You enter via the visitors centre, which has a permanent exhibition on the history of the island, emphasising the role that the early Christian church had on the island - and the effect the Lindisfarne settlements had on the Christian church. The exhibition has added 'child friendly' bits, with the information at a child's height and fun sections. For adults, there is plenty of in depth information about the history and culture of the site and the island. There are also artefacts relating to the priory and island. It took me about 30-40 mins to read it all - my younger sister took 20 as she found it less interesting, but she was more than happy to browse the gift shop for a bit! It's at the end of the visitors centre, and contains lots of books, handcrafted items, quality soaps and candles, and the ususal 'English Heritage' bits.

After that's done, you go back outside, through the yard of the very pretty medieval church which was built on the edge of the site, and through the main door of the ruined priory. It no longer has a roof or most of the walls, but is still impressive. The main hall still has half the walls and the windows and an impressive vaulted arch (you can see it on the little photo above). You can also see the living quarters, guest rooms, kitchens, brewing rooms and the baking room, which still has the oven! While ruined, there is still a lot to see and you get a good feel for the scale and way of life there. There are noticeboards dotted all over the site explaining the uses of each room. There is also an impressive modern statue of St. Cuthbert, and lots of information about his life.

Disabled access is not great, mostly due to the limitations of the priory ruins - the visitors centre is very wheelchair friendly and I *think* I saw a notice that there are audio guides available for the partially sighted. However, the priory itself has a slightly uneven, grassed 'floor', and there are some steps and low walls, where original parts of the floor remain. Guide dogs are permitted on the site, as are pet dogs, as long as they are well behaved, on a lead and you pick up any poo!

I loved my visit to Holy Island as it is steeped in history and is beautiful, with a wonderful unspoilt, isolated feel. It is best to visit outside of the holiday seasons, as it can get a little busy, which spoils the isolated feel! I would definitely recommend a trip to the Island, and to the Priory.

Summary: A must see on any visit to Northumbria