Thursday 11 May 2017

Gotta Getaway: Holy Island


Apparently the ride over Lindisfarne Causeway is one of the "must do" things for bikers in the UK so I've had it on my to do list for some time. Armed with a new camera I pointed the bike North for a couple of days.

Camping is not allowed on Holy Island and some nearby sites are very expensive, of the family friendly caravan / campervan variety and frankly too sterile for me. Luckily I found a reasonably priced site just six miles away at West Kelsoe Farm at the Old Mill Site. The campground is situated well away from the main farm near an old mill (as the name suggests) with good clean facilities. You are also welcome to look around the farm and a map is provided of paths and accessible areas.


After getting pitched mid-afternoon I had plenty of time to go and have a ride over the causeway although I didn't intend to have a serious look or take any pictures until the next morning. The causeway itself is little more than two miles along the sand flats and nature reserve, finishing at a car park at the edge of Lindisfarne. Visitors traffic is restricted to residents only on the island but this is no problem, it's not a big place and everything is within easy walking distance.

Heading back to the mainland I stopped off at various points along the causeway to have a look around the nature reserve and the beach on the North side. This would have been great for a few shots of the area but grey sheets of cloud meant the light was poor and the cold wind coming in off the sea stopped me hanging around for long.


Up before sunrise the next morning proved to be pointless as the golden hour turned out to be more of a grey hour with the flat light caused by the same low cloud cover of the day before. Nevertheless I hadn't come all this way for nothing so after a final check of the tide times I took off again for the causeway.


The refuge hut for anyone stranded by the incoming tide is an iconic image for Holy Island so with my own shot in the bag I made my way on to Lindisfarne to have a look at the castle before the morning influx of tourists started to arrive. Again I stopped a couple of times to appreciate the peace and sense of desolation out on the sand at this early hour.

To my disappointment the castle is currently undergoing refurbishment and is encased in a layer of scaffolding until 2018. Making my way back through the picture postcard village I found the priory. The more interesting parts of the ruins are behind gates with an admission fee of over seven quid for which it doesn't seem that you get to see much more and it doesn't open 'til ten a.m. anyway. Although there's a few little shops, cafe, pub and mead shop nothing is open at eight in the morning so it's back to camp to brew a coffee.


I could have happily spent another night up here if it had been warmer but with it being bitterly cold at night and not much warmer in the day I struck camp and headed for home. I'll definitely be back later in the year though, this is a great place to escape and chill out for a while. 

Check out www.lindisfarne.org.uk for more information, accomodation and tide times.

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