Description
Holy Island
This walk takes us around Holy Island. It is intended to enable us to see all parts of the island as well as admire some of the amazing bird life.
Details
Hills: | No hills | |
Distance: | Medium distance | |
Grade: | Easy | |
Map: | ||
This walk is on map Explorer 340 – Holy Island and Bamburgh. Click on map image to buy this map. | ||
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The Start
We will meet at the information point in the car park following which we will walk down to the causeway itself to watch the tide come in before we are stranded on the island.
Our route will take us anti-clockwise around the island. Passing the Window on the Wild first. This is our first opportunity to watch some of the many birds we will see during the day.
Window on Wild
The Visitor Centre, built to highlight the island’s abundant bird life, has a large north-facing window providing views across the Site of Special Scientific Interest, while interpretation boards provide information about wildlife on the island. The bird-friendly structure has pockets built into the back-bedded stonework to encourage nesting, and the glazing is mesh-coated to reflect UV radiation and help prevent bird strike.
Lindisfarne Castle
We walk around the outskirts of Lindisfarne Castle. The castle recently underwent a £3 million restoration of Lindisfarne Castle During the restoration they discovered beautiful, intricate wall paintings that they believe are likely to date back to the mid – late 17th century.
Castle Point Lime Kilns
The lime kilns at Castle Point are a Scheduled Ancient Monument. They are some of the largest examples of their kind anywhere in the country and certainly the largest actively-conserved kilns in the area.
You can walk around the kilns and if you are brave you can squeeze through one of the openings and look upwards.
Gertrude Jekyll Garden
After following the path around the coastline our next area to visit will be the Gertrude Jekyll garden.
Gertrude Jekyll, the Arts and Crafts garden designer, writer and artist created this small walled garden in 1911 alongside Edwin Lutyen.
The Lough
Walking North along the old wagonway we encounter The Lough, part of the Nature Reserve, and we will see a new bird hide on the edge of it. The new hide provides stunning views of the Lough all year round. A good selection of wildfowl can be found on the freshwater all year round.
Emmanuel Head
Emmanuel Head is a white pyramid which is visible around the island. The pyramid was built around 1810 and is 45 foot in height. There are seats on 3 sides where you can sit and watch the birds from different directions.
Continuing on
We will follow the footpath and explore different parts of the coastline, including the Green Shiel and North Shore. It should even be possible to drop onto the beach for a short while.
We will walk through the dunes and if we are lucky we may see a roe deer. After walking through the dunes, we will drop back to the Pilgrim’s Causeway to see the tide in at its highest point. It is an incredible sight, especially if you have walked across the Causeway with us.
Once back on the island there will be time to grab food or go exploring to one of the many areas we will have shown you.
This is an interesting and varied walk.
We hope to see you there.
Julie and Martin x
Gallery – Holy Island
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