Lindisfarne Castle 22.10hrs on 12.06.09

That Dark Blue Sky makes the Castle look amazing :) Great Shot

fantastic photo

Brilliant!

I just love this place! :-)

~when you think of the monks writing out those beautifully decorated verses~
From the northeast history site

Lindisfarne's Norman priory stands on the site of an Anglo-Saxon monastery founded by St Aidan in A.D 635, on land granted by Oswald, King and Saint of Northumbria. Aidan is believed to have chosen the island site because of its isolation and proximity to the Northumbrian capital at Bamburgh. Aidan the first Bishop of Lindisfarne, a Scots-Celtic monk from the isle of Iona, travelled widely throughout Northumbria and with the help of King Oswald as interpreter, began the conversion of the pagan Northumbrians to Chrisatianity. The conversion of the Northumbrians to Christianity by Aidan and Oswald, cannot have been an easy task.

The Northumbrians were the descendants of a heathen race of people who were in many ways no more civilised than the Scandinavian Vikings, who invaded Britain centuries later. St Aidan's death in 651 A.D, is said to have been related in a vision to a young shepherd boy called Cuthbert who lived in the hills somewhere near the River Tweed. The vision convinced Cuthbert that he should take up the life of a monk and at the age of sixteen, he entered the Northumbrian monastery of Melrose in Tweeddale (now in the southern borders of Scotland).

In 654 Cuthbert came to Lindisfarne, where his reputed gift of healing and legendary ability to work miracles, achieved far reaching fame for the island. Cuthbert was elected Bishop of Hexham in 684 A.D but exchanged the see for Lindisfarne, to become the fifth successor to Bishop Aidan.When Cuthbert died in 687 A.D, he was burried in accordance with his wishes on the island of Lindisfarne, but eleven years after his death, his body was found to be in an incorrupt state by the astonished monks of the island. The monks were now convinced that Cuthbert was a saint and pilgrims continued to flock to Lindisfarne in numbers as great as during Cuthbert's lifetime.
Today the only feature of Holy island, that suggests any involvement with the violent border history of Northumberland, is Lindisfarne Catle. First built in 1550, it sits romantically on the highest point of the island, a whin stone hill called Beblowe. The Castle has never witnessed any major battle or Border siege although it was occupied by some Northumbrian Jacobites at the time of the 1715 Rising. Lindisfarne Castle was converted into a private residence by the well known British architect Sir Edwin Lutyens in 1903. A small but superbly rugged looking building, it has been a National Trust property since 1944.

Many,many Thanks for this Arlene!

Lindisfarne is thought to have been the first site of "Viking" invasion in Britain, and "masssacre" of monks.

Your inclusion of Sir Edward Lutyens brings this back to a gardening discussion - the famous Lutyens-style garden bench! :-)

~there is a whole lot more on this site about the Viking invasions, David but don't want to bore everyone!
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