6th September: "Fire of the North" an amazing success!

Well, what a truly fantastic event the first Fire of the North turned out to be!

The leader of the walk and talk, John Woodhurst, was delighted with the huge turnout for the walk on Wednesday, the biggest group the NNR team has led this year! In addition to Natural England's official walk on Holy Island, groups turned out at Seahouses, Bamburgh and other places along the North Northumberland Coast to view St Cuthbert's beacon being lit - local people would not be disappointed, as great views of the fire on the Inner Farne could be seen up and down the coast.

The local papers had full page spreads printed about the event and on Wednesday afternoon, John also recorded an interview with Anne Leuchars from BBC Radio Newcastle's Drivetime show - you can catch him on BBC iPlayer!

Beautiful evening with the silhouette of the Lookout on Wild Lindisfarne and Priory against the dusk sky 

John was mid-miracle when the shout was raised that the beacon was ablaze, to everyone's delight. The beacon - a large bonfire lit by David Steel, National Trust's Head Ranger of the Farne Islands NNR, and his wardens - was huge and was reflected off the side of the white lighthouse on Inner Farne, adding to the spectacle. 

Part of the group, listening intently to John's tales of Cuthbert, before the beacon was lit

The Beacon on Inner Farne, as seen from Seahouses. What an amazing view!

Everyone who attended the event was so pleased they did and absolutely loved the talk, with the amazing atmosphere on Lindisfarne NNR at dusk adding to the experience.

Thank you so much to John, whose endless enthusiasm for Cuthbert and the history of Lindisfarne keeps visitors enraptured. John is running a final St Cuthbert walk on Wednesday 11th September - details on our Events page. Please do come along to hear even more about this amazing Saint!

Special thanks also to David Steel and his National Trust team on the Farnes for the crucial lighting of the beacon and supplying the firewood.

4th September: Special event - now fully booked

Don’t forget, Reserve staff and volunteers are holding a spectacular new event tonight! The 'Fire of the North' is a unique joint venture between Natural England and the National Trust to celebrate the North East’s patron Saint, St Cuthbert.

St Cuthbert's Island, off Holy Island

Two National Nature Reserves (NNRs) are coming together on Wednesday September 4 to celebrate St Cuthbert, known as the “Fire of the North”, with a memorial beacon on the Inner Farne. With the Lindisfarne Gospels - dedicated to Cuthbert - currently on display in Durham, Natural England and the National Trust are celebrating their links with Northumberland’s very own Saint. Cuthbert spent much of his life on what is now Lindisfarne NNR and, as a hermit, retreated to the Farne Islands NNR.

Said Andrew Craggs, Senior Reserve Manager on Lindisfarne:

“Our volunteer warden John Woodhurst leads walks and talks for us on Cuthbert and his local links, and we like to stress Cuthbert the man and his strong attachment to the animal world and the natural environment. Chatting with John one day we came up with the idea of re-enacting the moment when monks on the Inner Farne announced the death of Cuthbert by signalling to monks on Lindisfarne.”

Sunset looking towards Holy Island - hopefully dusk tonight will be equally as stunning!

John, who is also a local historian, takes up the story:

“It seems strange “celebrating” a death but Cuthbert was probably bigger and more famous in death than life – we have only to think of the Lindisfarne Gospels and Durham Cathedral, both dedicated to Cuthbert. We missed the March date so we’re now going ahead with our event on September 4 which is another date in the calendar when Cuthbert is celebrated. It also ties in nicely with the Lindisfarne Gospels being in Durham”.

The event will see David Steel - Head Ranger on the Farne Islands - and his wardens lighting a fire on the Inner Farne on the evening of September 4. It is hoped the fire will be seen all along the North Northumbrian coast.

The Lindisfarne NNR team can announce that this event is now fully booked, however you can still look out for the beacon on the Inner Farne from all along the coast! Watch out for it between 8.30 - 9pm tonight.

14th July - St Cuthbert: Lindisfarne's first Nature Warden

Our volunteer warden and local historian John Woodhurst did the first of his three St Cuthbert walks and talks on Sunday. It was a glorious day and we certainly gained a different perspective on Lindisfarne's best loved saint.

John explaining the Anglo-Saxon roots of St. Mary's church and the inspiration for the 12th Century Lindisfarne Priory

John writes:

"I always enjoy talking to people about Cuthbert and making them realise that far from being just another saint with a halo to unpack, there's a real man behind all the miracle stories. Not only that but a genuinely likable man of many talents - at home both with kings and princesses and bishops and abbesses, AND with ordinary folk in the "mountainy villages" he might be out travelling in for weeks at a time. Dangerous places to be in those days with wild boar, wolves etc wandering about - no dragons though! Cuthbert was also a man who sailed with other monks often in severe weather and in primitive craft, not just (!) to the Farnes but as far afield as St Abbs, Coquet Island and even Pictland! When he became a hermit on the Farnes he insisted on building his own dwellings, and growing his own crops. So a very practical and strong man still best known for his love of the natural world and interaction with the animal kingdom. I gave as many examples of animal-related stories as possible - domestic animals (horses, sheep and cattle), wild animals (otters, eagles and salmon), and a range of birds (ravens, geese, the famous Cuddy's duck and cormorants) to show that in many ways Cuthbert was truly Lindisfarne's first Nature Reserve Warden. By the end of our walk I think everyone agreed I'd made a good case for this, and they went away feeling they'd got much closer to Cuthbert as a person and friend rather than a distant saint. I look forward to telling the tale again so if you missed this check our Events for other dates - hope to see you then."

Hearing about the history of St Cuthbert's Island, Cuthbert's famous bolthole just off Holy Island

John's walk was so informative, revealing a side to Cuthbert that is perhaps not as widely 'preached' as it should be! It was fascinating to hear the many stories of his encounters with wildlife, and how these stories may have originated and developed through time. It's inspiring to think that Cuthbert, not only one of the most well-known and loved saints in the area, laid down the first rules to protect Lindisfarne's beautiful landscape and wildlife, making it all the more important that we continue what Cuthbert began.

Please make sure you don't miss the next one, on Sunday 28th July - more details here (link)

Hearing about the Anglo-Saxon discoveries on the Heugh, near where the Lookout building sits today

17th June: Lost Buildings of Lindisfarne event a success

This Sunday local historian and our volunteer Reserve warden John Woodhurst gave the first of his walks/talks planned for this season. John writes:

"A warm bright sunny day and back on Lindisfarne telling people about the island's "lost buildings" for another year - great to be back! A good crowd out, this time with an international flavour thanks to Mr and Mrs Van der Graf, and I think all enjoyed hearing about a little known side of the island's history - 9th century Anglo-Saxon settlements, 19th century lime kilns and limestone quarries, not to mention an Edwardian 9-hole golf course!

Thanks to Laura our new full-time warden for assisting on the walk. I made a couple of new friends in Lowick and met an old pal's aunt - who said her nephew wanted to ask how my morris dancing was getting on - private joke - seriously I don't!

Another thing - whilst I'm at pains to point out on the walks that I do history and not flora and fauna I was really chuffed to identify northern marsh orchid, bird's foot trefoil and "wooly bears" as the caterpillar of the garden tiger moth for our audience - impressive for me!

Hope to see some of you on future walks."

Looking towards Snook House whilst hearing about the early settlements here

Thanks very much to John for such an informative and entertaining walk! It was a fantastic day and our group learned so much about the island's history and what life was life for the island community in the 19th and early 20th Centuries.

John telling the group about a very well preserved stone cottage, previously hidden in the sands

John's next walk is "St Cuthbert - Lindisfarne's First Nature Warden" on Wednesday 14th July, and if you missed it this time he will be doing the next "Lost Buildings" walk on Sunday 28th July. See the Events page for more details.