The Best Time to Visit Lindisfarne

Holy Island of Lindisfarne, England

The sun had barely come over the horizon. Mac and I donned our heavier-than-they-seemed backpacks, wiped the sleep out of our eyes, and started shuffling along the long walk onto Lindisfarne. As we watched the tide start to creep ever closer to the causeway on which we were walking, we couldn’t help but think is this really the best time to visit Lindisfarne?

Our predicament had started the night before. Our CouchSurfing host was headed to Stirling from Newcastle for work on a Monday morning. Never ones to let an opportunity pass us by, Mac and I asked if he wouldn’t mind two extra passengers for a bit of the journey. Our reasoning? To visit the Holy Island of Lindisfarne. Chris happily agreed to take us with him, but he had one caveat. He had to be on the road by 6am. But, a ride was a ride, and that’s how we found ourselves on the causeway leading to Lindisfarne a little before 7am.

A Coastal Island

The Holy Island of Lindisfarne is a coastal island in Northumberland, England, just south of Berwick and the Scottish border. The coastal island part means that for a few hours each day, Lindisfarne is cut off from the mainland and made into an island by the incoming tide. The causeway that we found ourselves walking on in the early morning has prominent signs at each end warning drivers, cyclists, and pedestrians about the dangers of high tide. Tide schedules are also posted and the causeway is generally closed three hours before high tide and two hours afterwards. Despite all the warnings, there are still numerous cars that get stranded each month by the sudden appearance of high tide. (A sea rescue by the coastguard or RAF helicopter can range from £2400 – £4500!!!).

So, back to our early morning arrival on the island. Our friend dropped us off not too far along the causeway. When we started walking, the island seemed a lot closer than it actually was. We saw a van approaching in the distance and did what we’ve grown so accustomed to doing in Europe. We stuck our thumbs out. Thankfully the woman that pulled over – Trisha, a south-England native on a 2+ week holiday exploring her own country – and offered us a lift onto the island. As we drove onto the island just before 7:30am it became clear that we might have accidentally stumbled on the best time to visit Lindisfarne.

The Best Time to Visit Lindisfarne

The streets were empty. The few shops on the island were not yet open. The locals were just starting to putter about, and the tourists that had stayed the night were still sound asleep in their lodgings. Mac and I said a grateful goodbye to Trish and set about exploring. We happened upon a beach with a perfect bench and watched the tide creep ever so slowly up the banks.

After a while, we walked over to the castle. This small-ish castle by typical standards is on the highest point on the island and was constructed in 1550. At the time of our visit, it was under renovations, but we could still appreciate the grandeur of the building.

After touring the castle, we wandered over to the ruins of the priory. The priory was established in 634 and used until the mid-1500’s. After this time the stones were used in the construction of the Lindisfarne castle. The nearby Parish Church of Saint Mary the Virgin is perched at the top of a hill was also an impressive sight in the morning light.

High tide was due at 11am, meaning that the causeway would be closed between 9am and 1pm. Our quiet explorations on Lindisfarne continued until about 12pm. At this time, some motorists decided there was no longer any flooding danger on the causeway and started driving onto the island. We were eating our lunch by the parking lot when the vehicles starting arriving in droves. One after another, in a line of cars that stretched seemingly the entire length of the causeway. It appeared that our quiet time on the island had come to an end. We hitched a ride with a local fisherman to the city of Berwick-upon-Tweed. We were one of the only cars leaving the island at that time. Mac and I shared a knowing look, we definitely had happened upon the best time to visit Lindisfarne.

Have you ever been to a coastal island before? Are you an early bird like me and like exploring in the morning hours?

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