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Priory ruins and museum
Lindisfarne Priory
English Heritage's ruined priory with the 'rainbow arch', a museum with Anglo-Saxon name stones and a family trail; check the tide before visiting.
A mini guide to
Holy Island & the causeway coast: things to do
Places worth your time in Holy Island & the causeway coast
Top places
Things to do in Holy Island & the causeway coast
Landmarks, museums, parks and viewpoints in and around the area.
Castle
Lindisfarne Castle
16th-century fort on a rocky crag, altered by Sir Edwin Lutyens in 1901 and now cared for by the National Trust.
Parish church
St Mary the Virgin, Holy Island
Parish church beside the priory on the site of St Aidan's wooden church of AD 635; restored in 1860.
Directions Report a problem with St Mary the Virgin, Holy Island
Garden
Gertrude Jekyll's walled garden
Small walled garden laid out by Gertrude Jekyll in 1911, north of the castle and looked after with it by the National Trust.
Directions Report a problem with Gertrude Jekyll's walled garden
Industrial heritage
Lindisfarne lime kilns
Lime kilns built by a Dundee firm in the 1860s below the castle; lime was burnt here until about 1900.
War memorial
Holy Island War Memorial
First World War memorial cross on the Heugh, designed by Sir Edwin Lutyens; grade II* listed.
Navigation beacon
Heugh Hill beacon
Metal tower with a black triangle on the Heugh, one of three Trinity House beacons guiding boats into the harbour.
Tidal islet
St Cuthbert's Isle
Tiny tidal islet off the village with the remains of a medieval chapel, linked by tradition to St Cuthbert.
Nature reserve
Lindisfarne National Nature Reserve
Dunes, mudflats and salt marsh covering 3,541 hectares; the only regular UK wintering ground for pale-bellied brent geese from Svalbard.
Directions Report a problem with Lindisfarne National Nature Reserve
Headland
Emmanuel Head
Headland at the north-east corner of the island, marked by a white pyramid-shaped daymark.
Industrial heritage
Holy Island Waggonway
Traces of the 19th-century waggonways that carried limestone from the north of the island to the kilns and jetties.
Fort ruins
Osborne's Fort
Remains of a fort on the Heugh above the harbour, close to the war memorial.
Historic building
Snook Tower
Listed tower and stable at Snook House at the west end of the island, passed on the causeway road.
Tidal road
Lindisfarne causeway
Road over the sands from Beal, about three miles long; Wikipedia notes tide tables are posted at both ends.
Walking route
Pilgrims' Way
Line of marker posts across the sands to the island; the council says to walk it only in daylight and never on a rising tide.
Lindisfarne (Holy Island)
More areas to explore
Photo credits
- Holy Island & the causeway coast (area photo): matthew Hunt, CC BY 2.0, source
- Lindisfarne Priory: Nicholas Mutton, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Lindisfarne Castle: Urbral, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- St Mary the Virgin, Holy Island: David Smith, CC BY 2.0, source
- Gertrude Jekyll's walled garden: Simon Cobb, CC0, source
- Lindisfarne lime kilns: Simon Cobb, CC0, source
- Holy Island War Memorial: Iain Lees, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Heugh Hill beacon: Phil Champion, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- St Cuthbert's Isle: Agnete, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Lindisfarne National Nature Reserve: Walter Baxter, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Emmanuel Head: Roger D Kidd, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Holy Island Waggonway: Alexander P Kapp, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Osborne's Fort: Dave.Dunford, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Snook Tower: Les Hull, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Lindisfarne causeway: Ian Capper, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Pilgrims' Way: James T M Towill, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Berwick-upon-Tweed: Whatlep, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
Photos from Wikimedia Commons, used under the licences shown. All photo credits
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