TWICE every day Lindisfarne - or Holy Island as it is known - is cut off from the mainland as the North Sea engulfs the causeway linking it with the rest of Northumberland. Only the foolhardy make the journey without first checking the tide tables announcing times it is safe to cross. Today we made the trip just before the waters closed and spent an afternoon in splendid isolation - apart from a few other adventurous souls - to catch a snapshot of life today in the place that was once home to Saint Cuthbert, Northumberlands patron saint. With the holiday season all but over, and the tourist crowds gone, it is a great place to go for peace and quiet reflection. This weekend at Morpeth, there will be an opportunity to learn something of the dialect which is peculiar to this sainted isle when Dr Warren Maguire, of Edinburgh University, delivers the 2014 Roland Bibby Memorial Lecture at the annual event organised by the Northumbrian Language Society. It starts at 2pm on Saturday (doors open 1.30pm) at the Town Hall and entry is free.
Posted on: Tue, 07 Oct 2014 23:29:34 +0000