Lindisfarne

St Aiden travelled to Lindisfarne from Iona in ad 635 at the invitation of King Oswald, to bring Christianity to a heathen land. He founded a monastery on the island, little more than a simple wooden chapel surrounded by a few crude huts, from which he and his followers took their ministry into the surrounding countryside. When Aiden died at Bamburgh in 651, a young lad tending sheep in the nearby hills saw a vision of his soul passing to heaven and was so moved that he journeyed to Melrose Abbey, seeking admittance as a monk. Called Cuthbert, he too eventually came to Lindisfarne, first as its prior and later, reluctantly, its bishop. Well known for his preaching, Cuthbert developed healing powers and attracted people wherever he went. But his vocation increasingly drew him to prayer and meditation and, in his later years, he withdrew, first to the offshore island here, and then to Inner Farne, where he ended his days.

Cuthbert's body was brought back to Lindisfarne for burial and a cult developed around his memory. Eleven years later, when his body was exhumed to enshrine his bones, the remains were discovered completely undecayed 'as if he were just asleep'. It was to commemorate Cuthbert's elevation to sainthood that the famous Lindisfarne Gospels were written, by a monk called Eadfrith, who later also became bishop. The miracles of St Cuthbert drew increasing numbers of pilgrims and the monastery grew both in wealth and influence. However, it also attracted unwelcome visitors, the Vikings, and in 875 the monks were forced to abandon the island, taking with them the relics, gospels and even wood from Aiden's original chapel, in search of a new home, which they eventually found at Durham.

In the 11th century, monks from Durham, by then a Benedictine community, returned to Lindisfarne and refounded the priory, building a church on the site of the chapel where Cuthbert had been buried. About the same time, the parish church was erected and the place became known as Holy Island. At first the monastery prospered, but increasing border hostility at the end of the 13th century ruined the lands upon which it depended. By the Dissolution in 1537, perhaps only a prior and a couple of monks remained here.

The island was first fortified in the 1540s to serve as a landing for raids upon Scotland. It never saw significant action, but remained garrisoned until 1819. In 1901, the publisher Edward Hudson bought the castle and employed Edwin Lutyens in the task of transforming it into a worthy residence. Out of an uninspiring and utilitarian bastion, the architect wrought this intriguing medieval pocket mansion, a fascinating example of the inventiveness and harmony that Lutyens brought to his work.

While you're there

As well as the castle and priory, visit the Lindisfarne Heritage Centre in Marygate. Displays describe the island's wildlife and man's history since the Stone Age. The highlight, though, is a vivid exhibition of the Lindisfarne Gospels.

What to look for

Offshore rocks are often the haunt of basking grey seals, the larger of the two species that inhabit Britain's coasts. You'll also see countless birds, in particular the eider, or 'Cuddy's' duck, named after St Cuthbert, who offered them protection on Farne. Take a bird guidebook along.