I've talked all about Holy Island and Lindisfarne Castle on the crag and Lindisfarne Priory, sacked by Viking and torn down by Hanry VIII. But why were all of these things built on Holy Island; what is so special about the island?
The island is just about a mile offshore and has always been accessible by walking across the sand at low tide. So it is protected and more easily defended than a lot of places. That said, to drive there (a road was paved in the '60s), you are responsible for checking the tide tables and driving to and from only during low tide. The day we went, the tide was low enough for driving across from 7:00AM until 2:00PM. If you miss the window, you'd be stuck on the island until 8:00PM, when the tide receded again.
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| Driving out to Holy Island |
We knew the castle and priory didn't open until 10:00, so we had breakfast and set out around 9:00. That way we'd be there when the castle opened, see all the sights the small island had to offer, and then get off the island before 2:00. On our drive over to the island, we laughed at the car getting off the island as it was creating such a huge spray of ocean water!
The weather was quite unpredictable whilst we were on the island. Very, very windy with smatterings of rain. There was a storm all around us, but thankfully the brunt of the storm hit a bit further south.
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| The crazy-strong wind! |
There were lots and lots of visitors on Holy Island, seeing as it was half-term (school break / Spring break) as well as Easter weekend. Bill and I realized that if we left just before 2:00, we may get stuck in a line of traffic and actually not get off of the island before the tide rises. So when it started raining in earnest at 1:00, we decided to head back to the car park and get to the mainland.
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| Driving back to mainland England |
There were a few cars heading back, and we noticed that the car in front of us was causing quite a bit of splash. There was even more water on the road than there was when we drove over at 9:30. If you look closely, a few inches cover almost up to the lane divider.
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| The car ahead of us is getting waterlogged - ha, ha! |
We slowed down a bit as we laughed at the car ahead of us. And then…
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| Oh, crap! Now we're getting waterlogged! |
… we couldn't see a damn thing! The photo above is through the front windscreen (windshield) the moment we were doused in water. We both yelled, horrified that we were going to swerve into something. Bill said he consciously didn't slow down too much, too quickly for fear that the car behind would crash into us, yet he was terrified that he was going to do exactly that to the car in front of us… or into a pole or some such thing. For a good 5 seconds we both held our breathes (while I kept clicking the camera button on my phone).
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| Coming out the other side, with windscreen wipers on full tilt! |
Bill finally got the windscreen wipers blasting full speed so that we could see again. Whew! We have since read that the tide tables are good, but when there are storm surges, low tide may not be as low as you'd like it and discretion is advised.
There are little huts about 5 feet off the ground where visitors who get caught in high tide (or in a storm surge) can climb up and find refuge until the tides abate. Good luck finding your car afterwards, though. I'm glad we weren't one of the few visitors who experience that excitement!
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| Holy Island Warning Poster (NOT MY PHOTO) |
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