Our first destination on our trip to England was Lindisfarne, or Holy Island. A little background. Why would my daughters and I be interested in hopping on a train and riding three hours north to visit an island? Lindisfarne is a tidal island off the northeast coast of England which is the site of an abbey established by Saint Aidan in 635AD at the request of King Oswald of Northumbria. Aidan, an Irish monk, came from Iona to establish a monastery. After Aidan, a monk named Cuthbert became bishop there. Unfortunately, about 150 years later, the Vikings invaded the area several times and destroyed the monastery. Eventually, a new church was built about 1150AD and later fortified for protection. During the reign of Henry VIII, the priory was closed but not destroyed. We visited what remains of the abbey because... we love ruins and history.
But. That's not all! Lindisfarne also has a CASTLE! It started out as a fort but in 1901 Edward Hudson bought it and built an Edwardian country home. Pretty remote but pretty amazing.
And people live where they can see this castle every day from their fishing huts.
Yes, people live full time on Holy Island. They have farms, and they do commercial fishing, and they cater to tourists. And they live in normal houses, not castles or abbeys.
And of course, Eleanor made a friend.
4 comments:
Those Vikings really were destructive. It really is amazing to soak in the history of Britain. Happy you could enjoy it with the 'girls'!
While the abbey and castle and ruins are cool, I found those fishing huts really interesting. Amazing that people can still carve out a living here.
Now, that is my kind of secluded island! Thank you for sharing these beautiful pictures and a piece of history. I've always wanted to go to Northern Europe, Ireland and Scotland. In the summer that is! LOL!
What an exciting post. Yes, I did think it odd at first that you would choose this as your first stop, but oh, how wonderful! I do love the remote and the ancient history of places. Our plans for our Scottish trip is fun of historical places. Since our granddaughters are going .I am still seeking a venue or museum of historical everyday life in a castle or something similar. I d9 not know if I will share much of the trip while we are in Scotland, but will probably wait til we get back home. So look for Scottish posts. In late summer. Happy Mother’s Day!
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