Historic Holy Island Of Lindisfarne And Its Unusual Disappearing Road

Historic Holy Island of Lindisfarne and its unusual disappearing road should definitely be on your list of places to visit.

If you came across a road leading to an island but submerged by the North Sea would it arouse your curiosity? It certainly did for us.

We came across this on one of our road trips through the United Kingdom. We had just crossed the border from Scotland and then passed through Berwick-Upon-Tweed on the Northeast coast of England. Next was a nice rural drive through the countryside along the coast.

As always, no road trip destination, just driving. You never know what you can come across this way and rarely are we disappointed since we always find something interesting. We were sure to come across something compelling here. And we did!

 

Where Did The Road Go?

 

A big brown sign said Holy Island of Lindisfarne to the left. So, we turned left on Holy Island Road to see what this was about. A narrow road started where the appealing Lindisfarne Inn and charming Hush Holiday Cottages began.  

What happened next surprised us. This relaxing road took us through curves and straightaways to where the road disappeared underwater. Completely underwater. We found ourselves parked at the water’s edge behind a white plumbing service van. He took advantage of this wait for lunch. Soon after, other cars came and formed a line, but we had the best view right behind the van. 

 

Wow, this curiosity led us to this cool road and its signs explained the whole scenario. The Lindisfarne Causeway leads to Holy Island but is only accessible when the fast-moving tide is out. We read a sign with a tide chart and several other warning signs while waiting.

 

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Time For Lunch While Waiting

 

Turns out we were about an hour away from the road being passable so what a perfect time for lunch. We dug around and found cream cheese and olives in our cooler so we added those on top of crackers from our Costco variety pack. Have you ever tried this?

Along with these, we ate various flavors of Walker’s potato crisps. We also bought this pack of individual bags at Costco. Walker’s is owned by Lay’s brand potato chips and is the same thing in the United Kingdom, only different flavors. I (Tom) ate the prawn flavored since no one else liked those. We also ate some peanuts and drank diet coke. Once we finished snacking we ate a few cookies from our tin of assorted biscuits.

Since we travel in mostly rural areas on our European road trips we stock up on grocery items when we come into a town. Accordingly, finding a bakery is never hard in small towns, so this is convenient and delicious each day.

 

The Ocean Road Emerges

 

More cars started lining up behind us and we began to realize what makes this a big deal. We felt pretty lucky since ours was second in line so we could watch everything going on. How exciting to randomly come across this experience!

As the water starts slowly receding, seaweed and other ocean stuff cover the road. Anxious, the delivery van keeps creeping up further as water levels go down. Most of the time it’s sitting in water. When it’s time to go we start slowly moving across this shallow body of water. Water still rushed over some portions of the road even as we crossed. We had a nice time driving where the ocean had just been a few minutes before.

Although only about a mile of paved road goes through the sea you still need to go at a slower pace to enjoy the experience. Standing right in the middle is a small wood tower that resembles a lifeguard stand. This is an emergency tower for those that left too late and became stranded in the fast-moving tide.  

Turns out an average of one car a month becomes stranded in the tide, even with all the warnings. It’s pricey too if you need to be rescued by the coast guard. If you need a sea rescue by raft then it costs about 2,700.00 pounds. But an air rescue by a Royal Air Force helicopter costs about 6,000 pounds. And as a general rule, it’s safe about three hours after high tide until two hours before the next high tide.

 

Check the official tide table here from Northumberland County Council.

 

A Walking Path For The Pilgrim’s Way

 

You will also see a line of wood poles sticking out of the water in the sand and mud. Connecting the island and mainland these poles mark the safe footpath for those walking the pilgrimage of St. Cuthbert’s Way. This path stretches between Melrose, Scotland and Holy Island along the border.

 

Originally, this route started 1300 years ago and poles have marked the path through the ocean ever since. Even though a road was built to connect the island in the mid-1950s this pilgrimage through the sand and mudflats remains active.

 

Historic Holy Island of Lindisfarne and its unusual disappearing road is truly a unique experience. Luck was on our side as we found this at just the right time.

 

Walk Through The Village

 

After we made it across the sea we followed the road around the island. Most everything was closed in early November because of the offseason but you will still have a nice time enjoying the sights and causeway.

Even though Holy Island is small, only 1.5 miles wide and 3 miles long, you should stop in the small village on the south side. Although the population is around 160 people they have a nice village to explore on foot. We would recommend going in off or shoulder season because we had the island to ourselves with only a handful of cars that crossed over with us. We suspect they were service people and locals though. On the other hand, be prepared to deal with a lot of people since this small island sees over 650,000 visitors each year.  

You can’t camp on the island but there are about 40 rooms to rent within the community. There are also many places to stay in the surrounding area. But, Holy Island doesn’t have professional or medical services so plan ahead if you’re staying. In fact, when residents need supplies or groceries they drive to Berwick-Upon-Tweed. And yes, they need to check the tide charts before they go. 

 

Points Of Interest On Holy Island

 

Lindisfarne Castle is the most popular attraction and stands out since it overlooks the whole island. When the castle was built in 1550 the primary purpose was to defend the harbor from the Scots and Vikings. Sometimes you can tour this small castle but check ahead of time to make sure it is open.  

Holy Island also has the Lindisfarne Priory. Although the ruins you see aren’t the original from the 7th century, you can tour the ruins from the 11th century. Consequently, the Vikings raided the original in 793.

Another fun place to visit is The Old Lifeboat Station Museum. You can view the coast and watch for seals on the outside viewing platform, but while inside see its history before becoming a museum.  

In Summer watch for seals between Cuthbert’s Island and the coastline on the sandbar and also at Guile Point.  

You might also like the Heritage Center, Gospel Garden, St. Aidan’s Winery, St. Mary’s Church, The Gertrude Jekyll Garden and watching for birds at the Lindisfarne National Nature Reserve.

You will even notice some rather unusual sheds while on Holy Island. Local herring fishermen used their old wood boats as sheds. After they turned them upside down they finished converting them into sheds to store their nets and equipment.  

Also, a very nice and clean public restroom is across from the Post Office.  

 

Thanks for reading about Historic Holy Island of Lindisfarne and its unusual disappearing road. Let us know what you think in the comment box below!

 

Tom and Kristi