Let's Twirl Our Umbrellas and Sing Songs About Rain

A post from Tuesday, the 10th!

In our excursion to Lindisfarne and Bamburgh we had our first day of dreary English rain. Our excitement was not dampened, however, as many of us had been looking forward to visiting Lindisfarne for some time.

Lindisfarne, also called Holy Island, is where the renowned hermit St. Cuthbert founded a monastery and the religious center of medieval Northumbria. It was built on one of the Farne Islands, and, like Mont-Saint-Michelle in France, it is only accessible at certain times of the day because of the tide. Our tour was delayed because of lightning and thunder, but the incoming tide was encroaching upon our schedule so we decided to brave the storm in order to have as much time at the ruins as possible. The view from the heugh (meaning "high point," pronounced "yuff") was beautiful. We could see Lindisfarne Castle, the harbor of anchored sailboats, as well as Inner Farne, the island where St. Cuthbert originally began his hermitage and also where he died. We descended back down into the ruins of the monastery, where Dr. Lomas directed our attention to a well that was probably built before the church by St. Helen, the mother of the emperor Constantine.

A rainy day in the ruins of Lindisfarne!

While Lindisfarne was the ecclesiastical center of Northumberland, Bamburgh was the political capital. Dr. Lomas led us to the top of a sand dune by the North Sea with direct views of Inner Farne to the right and Lindisfarne to the left. Directly behind us was a giant rocky cliff upon which stands Bamburgh Castle. Much of it was constructed later, but the original castle keep date back to the 12th century. A long time ago, nothing stood on that cliff except for perhaps a primitive wooden wall built by the native Celts. As the Roman Empire began collapsing, however, the Angle ruler Ida invaded what is now Bamburgh from the North Sea and stormed the cliff. For the most part, Christianity disintegrated with the Roman Empire, but Irish missionaries came to Northumbria and converted pagans and faulty Christians to the true faith.

Bamburgh Castle in the storm clouds.

A huge storm followed us around all day and when we excited urged Dr. Lomas to take us up to the castle gate, the heavens opened. It was fun, and a great bonding experience, but after our little hike we were all so soaked through that we may as well have all jumped in the North Sea. Needless to say, our three and a half hour drive home in sticky wet clothes was hardly comfortable. All was fixed with a hot shower and a glass of wine!