Holy Island.
Hello peeps,
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Yesterday my friend and I finally made it to Holy Island. My goodness, what a beautiful place it is.
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She rang me at about 10.30 to ask if I felt like going there at 11.30, because she was suddenly left with a free day, and I said I would definitely love to go.
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It was wonderful to finally arrive there and see the island in the distance, far across the sands.
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Once you cross the three mile long long causeway, across the flats, you find yourself in the most pretty and quaint village.
All the houses are different. Some stone, some plastered and painted white, tiny, large, historic, everything you could want to see.
There are many out of the way courtyards, and hidden corners, and many of the properties are simply smothered in colourful hanging baskets. Truly lovely.
We saw some monks walking together in their long belted robes, and also the the many visitors, who were busy admiring the stunning views of Bamburgh Castle and Farne Island. Of course it is the childrens’ Summer Holidays at the moment, so there were many cars and people.
My friend said that she had never seen it so busy before on any of her previous visits.
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We saw the the ruined Priory, and Lindisfarne Castle, beautifully set against the sea.
I was amazed to find a small walled garden, placed all on it’s own behind the castle, and find that it had been designed and created by Getrude Jekyll. It was a riot of beauty and colour.
By then the sun was hot, so we sat on the garden seat and absorbed the peacefulness of the surroundings.
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We had stopped in the first cafe we came across when we arrived on the island.
As we had a dog with us we sat outside in the large patio provided, having bought some tea, sandwiches, and an Eccles Cake ( this last being an English regional delicacy consisting of a sweet pastry case fill of currents ).
I was very disappointed with the fresh, local crab sandwich which I had chosen, thinking that if a crab sandwich would be good anywhere, then it would be here.
My very first mouthful contained a very hard piece of crab shell which I bit down on, luckily not breaking a tooth.
Then I had a mouthful with some long pieces of crab feelers in the mix.
I finally gave up when I chewed upon a very unpleasant piece of very hard black stuff. A most disappointing and extremely unpleasant culinary experience!
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Anyway, the place is totally enchanting and I would definitely recommend it to anyone as a very different day out.
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We had to leave by half past six, before the tide came in and cut us off on the island. It really is exciting.
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We had done nothing but gossip together all day and enjoy being with each other. She is a lovely friend to have
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By the time I got back home Big H had gone out to see his friend and play computer games, so I just ate some left over Chinese and watched television.
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A well spent day.
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Jx
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I took my camera with me because I wanted to upload some pictures for you, but when I got there I found that the battery was flat because Big H had been taking lots of photographs of my artwork for me to put up on the site.
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Oh, alright then, for Big H to put up for me, on my site.
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I tried to take some on my phone even though it was so sunny I could not see anything in the viewer. I just aimed it in the general direction of everything nice and hoped it would be usable. Assuming that I was using the camera facility correctly in the first place, of course!
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When Big H gets up he will be able to tell me if there are any pictures stored in the phone.
If so, I will be able to share the day with you.
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Lindisfarne Castle: Photo Jaksie
Sorry, but this picture was the only decent result I got.
I did not see much point in showing you pictures of people with their heads cut off and different views of grass!
But, then again, there is no accounting for taste, so if that would have been your preference…I apologise profusely.
