area 10 km²/3¾ sq mi. An island off the NE coast of England, UK, 15 km/9 mi SE of Berwick-upon-Tweed, renowned for its monastery founded from Iona by St Aidan in AD 634, burnt by Danish Vikings in 793, and ultimately abandoned c.875; also known as Holy Island. It was a notable centre of early English Christianity and learning, its most famous bishop being the ascetic St Cuthbert. The Lindisfarne Gospels were illuminated here, probably in the 690s, by Eadfrith (Bishop, 698721). The island is accessible from the mainland at low water by a causeway.
Lindisfarne (grid reference NU125421, 55°40′46″N, 1°48′27″W), also called Holy Island (variant spelling, Lindesfarne), is a tidal island off the north-east coast of England, which is connected to the mainland of Northumberland by a causeway and is cut off twice a day by tides — something well described by Sir Walter Scott:
For with the flow and ebb, its style Varies from continent to isle;Nature reserve
Large parts of the island, and all of the adjacent inter-tidal area, are protected as Lindisfarne National Nature Reserve to help safeguard the internationally important wintering bird populations.
History
The monastery of Lindisfarne was founded by Irish born Saint Aidan, who had been sent from Iona off the west coast of Scotland to Northumbria at the request of King Oswald around AD 635. Cuthbert later became Bishop of Lindisfarne. At some point in the early 700s the famous illuminated manuscript known as the Lindisfarne Gospels, an illustrated Latin copy of the Gospels of Mark, Luke, Matthew and John, was probably made at Lindisfarne. In 793 a Viking raid on Lindisfarne caused much consternation throughout the Christian west, and is now often taken as the beginning of the age of Viking raids. A very famous passage in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle reads:
"In this year fierce, foreboding omens came over the land of Northumbria.
Eventually the monks fled the island (taking with them the body of St Cuthbert, which is now buried at the Cathedral in Durham). The Lindisfarne Gospels now reside in the British Library in London, somewhat to the annoyance of some Northumbrians.
Lindisfarne also has the small Lindisfarne Castle, based on a Tudor fort, which was refurbished in the Arts and Crafts style by Sir Edwin Lutyens (who also designed the island's Celtic-cross war-memorial on the Heugh) and has a garden created by Gertrude Jekyll.
Turner, Thomas Girtin and Charles Rennie Mackintosh all painted on Holy Island.
Lindisfarne had a large lime burning industry and the kilns are among the most complex in Northumberland.
Local government.
Holy Island was considered part of the Islandshire unit along with several mainland parishes.
Present day
Lindisfarne was mainly a fishing community for many years, with farming and the production of lime also of some importance. By staying on the island while the tide cuts it off (time permitting) the non-resident visitor can experience the island in a much quieter mood, as most day visitors leave when the tide is rising again. It is possible, weather and tide permitting, to walk at low tide across the sands following the older crossing line known as the Pilgrims' Way and marked with posts: it also has refuge boxes for the careless walker, in the same way as the road has a refuge box for those who have left their crossing too late.
A popular delicacy on the island is crab sandwiches, which are sold to tourists at many shops and cafés.
Lindisfarne Castle, garden and the nearby limekilns are in the care of the National Trust and open to visitors.
Recently Lindisfarne has become the centre for the revival of Celtic Christianity in the North of England; Following from this Lindisfarne has become a popular retreat centre, as well as holiday destination.
The Holy Island of Lindisfarne is well known for mead. In the medieval days when the monks inhabited the island, it was thought that if the soul was in God's keeping, the body must be fortified with this elixir of herbs and honey, the wine bequeathed to posterity as Lindisfarne Mead. Lindisfarne mead is produced at St Aidan's Winery, and sold throughout the UK and elsewhere.
Holy Island was featured on the television programme Seven Natural Wonders as one of the wonders of the North. The Lindisfarne Gospels have also featured on television among the top few Treasures of Britain.
Lindisfarne seen from the mainlandSafety
Visitors wishing to walk across are urged to keep to the marked path, check tides and weather carefully, and seek local advice if in doubt. Visitors driving should pay close attention to the timetables prominently displayed at both ends of the causeway and where the Holy Island road leaves the A1 Great North Road at Beal.
Lindisfarne in culture
On film
Lindisfarne (particularly the castle) is the setting of the Roman Polanski film Cul-de-Sac (1966) with Donald Pleasence and Lionel Stander, shot entirely on location there. The island is semi-fictionalised into "Lindisfarne Island" and the castle is "Rob Roy".
In novels
Lindisfarne plays a role in The Consciousness Plague, a 2002 science fiction/mystery novel by Paul Levinson.
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