Holy Island …

… Tortoiseshell butterfly.

As we were planning a day on Holy Island and to get there you have to cross the causeway at low tide we were up and out of the cottage relatively early.  There is only a small window of opportunity to cross during low tide or you are stuck on the island for longer than we wanted to be!

And at the risk of offending anyone … I have to say this wasn’t my favorite day of the vacation.  We had a nice time but weren’t really all that impressed with Lindisfarne Castle itself.  I’ve added into Extras a collage of some of my pictures on the island.  My main is a beautiful tortoiseshell butterfly that I saw in the castle gardens.  I’ve only posted one other tortoiseshell butterfly before … way back in 2016!

One of the pictures in the extra collage is of the steps leading up into the castle.  Yikes!  I got half way up and had a panic attack … I didn’t think I would be able to continue nor did I want to turn around midway up.  But I stopped for a few minutes, took a few deep breaths and continued up.  I was dreading coming back down after we toured the castle but surprisingly the trip down the steps was much easier than going up.  I stayed to the walled side of the steps and took my time.  Also on the island is an old priory and church.  Some of the stained glass windows can be seen in the collage.  As well as some boats seen at low tide. 

We left Holy Island in plenty of time to get back over the causeway before the tide came in.  On the way back to our cottage we stopped at Chillingham Castle … reportedly one of the most haunted castles in the UK.  Sorry to say this was a waste of time and money! Oh well.

We got back to the cottage shortly after 3:00pm so that we could pack up our things.  We are leaving here a day early and returning to Newcastle for the next two nights.  We are staying at a hotel right at airport so as to be close by on Saturday morning. 


More adventures tomorrow …