Steve Newman meets the people who call Lindisfarne home
As Easter approaches, Steve Newman catches up with some lucky locals who call the Holy Isle home.
ISOLATED twice a day when the tide floods its two-mile causeway, the island of Lindisfarne off the north Northumberland coast has always been a magical place. Its more common name, Holy Island, is derived from its association with monastic communities – the Irish monks from Iona who settled on the island around 635, and, later, the Benedictines who built an abbey in the 11th century.
In the summer months, tens of thousands of tourists visit here, but at other times, an aura of serenity and peace and being at one with nature permeates the air.
During those high tides the physical as well as the mystical nature of the island’s landscape seems to shift and change in the birthplace of the Lindisfarne Gospels, one of the treasures of early Christianity in these islands.
There is no doubt that there is a spiritual feeling in the air and there is a portion of the island’s population that is here simply because of this.
So, what must it be like to live in this place with your life governed by the tides and, more to the point, why would you want to live here anyway?
Sure, it’s a place of beauty, but the everyday “necessities” of modern life available for those living on the mainland are missing.
As we celebrate Easter this weekend, we hear the stories of some of those who choose to live on Lindisfarne. The Hosts
“We guess it was a calling, really,” Kevin and Lesley Downham told me. “We had been here on holiday and as we drove back across the causeway, Kevin just turned and said he wouldn’t be surprised if we didn’t live here one day.”
Kevin and Lesley run the Open Gate Retreat house on the island. Part of the wider community of St Aidan and St Hilda, the house has six bedrooms where people can come for retreat, spiritual guidance, study or simply to take bed and breakfast.
You cannot fail to be impressed with their commitment and hard work in making the house, with its aura of serenity, the success it is.
I breakfasted with a young couple from New Zealand, a priest from Tyneside, a salesman from Leeds and a German lady.
“Mind you, breakfast can go on a bit!” Kevin warns me. “The island influences people in so many ways and some of the conversations around this table can be amazing. It’s not unknown for breakfast to go on until two in the afternoon!”
Kevin and Lesley use the term “thin place” when describing the island; that is, a place where the veil between the spiritual world and our own physical world is thin.
“People tell us they have had life-changing experiences when they come here. The island does affect people in so many ways.”
The Photographer Yorkshire-born landscape and nature photographer Emma Rothera studied Graphic Design Communication at Leeds Metropolitan University, graduating with a BA First Class Honours, and spent the early part of her career working as a graphic designer, before progressing naturally into a photographic career.
Emma became so transfixed by natural light and landscape that she couldn’t stop taking pictures.
“Landscape and nature photography quite literally rocked my world,” she says. “A friend told me about this wonderful place called Holy Island which I must photograph and that I would love. I came to visit and knew straight away that this was the place I wanted to live.”
Teaching is a very important part of Emma’s career. For the last eight years she has run photography workshops on Lindisfarne.
They are designed for anyone who is interested in developing their photography skills by learning out in the fields and beaches of the island alongside a professional landscape photographer.
“I believe the only way to truly understand light is to be out in it, studying it and taking pictures whilst the wind, the rain and the spray from the sea don’t let you forget they’re there. Anyone is welcome, including beginners.
“Holy Island is a true theatre of light, a place of spiritual quality, of serenity and calm. I now live right in the heart of some of the UK’S greatest landscapes.
“I am continuously studying the light. Living in this mystical and stunning place has been a vital step in my progression as a landscape photographer, allowing me to continuously push my creative boundaries daily.”
The Artist
Mark and Mary Fleeson also came to Lindisfarne at first on holidays and have run the Lindisfarne Scriptorium found in the village’s main street since moving there in 1997.
Mary gained an honours degree at Birmingham City University in 3D Design and has a long abiding love for colour, texture and Celtic Knotwork.
“In the artwork and resources we create we take spiritual and visual inspiration from the work of the monks who produced wonderful books like the Lindisfarne Gospels.
“The calligraphy, illumination and illustration we offer is a merging of old skills with new materials and new techniques influenced by ancient sacred works.”
Mary met her husband Mark at an annual Easter event centred around the island held by Northumbria Community. They went on to become engaged on the island and honeymooned in the house they later purchased. So, as with others, the island had a life-changing effect.
Mary offers workshops to individuals and groups visiting the island, teaching how to create the freehand Celtic Knot using the techniques she uses in her artwork.
“We want to share an art form which draws people into an experience of prayer, meditation and blessing, where inspiration is drawn from the rich Celtic spirituality of Northumbria, the Christian faith and the beautiful environment of Holy Island.” n