I led a beautiful walk through green pastures, dotted with baby lambs, and fragrant yellow gorse as I made my way with a group following in the footsteps of St Oswald.
The route
The walk started early from Holy Island (Lindisfarne) to the mainland following in the footsteps of the original pilgrims via the pilgrims crossing, laid out by the tall weathered wooden poles. Going barefoot as the pilgrims did was somewhat of a challenge for modern ‘tootsies’ , but it all added to the thrill of the walk across cold but firm sand! Having told them that in the day St Cuthbert stood in the North Sea praying for up to 17 hours per day, put it all into perspective.
The Cheviots
Back inland the beautiful Northumberland landscape did not disappoint , with views of The Cheviots to the West, fields filled of oilseed rape and coastal views dipping in and out to the east, it was a beautiful peaceful walk. We took in the Spindlestone Ducket, a mill or a dovecote, either way a magnificent stone structure . Then down to the former water mills of Spindlestone and Waren, where for over 200 years the various owners, ground and exported out flour, barley and oats. I told them about the legend that is The Laidley Worm, a beautiful Northumbrian princess turned into a dragon by her wicked and jealous mother in law, but as with all good stories, her brother returns to find the dragon and discovering it is his sister, breaks the spell and she is returned to her former self. The wicked mother in law is dealt her punishment by being turned into a loathsome toad, forever roaming the land…watch out for her on your travels.
Bamburgh Castle
The picnic stop took in the magnificence that is the red sandstone structure of Bamburgh castle, looking down and caring over the timeless village nestling below. This was once the seat of the ancient kingdom of Northumbria, and in Victorian times the former home of the great industrialist Lord Armstrong. The castle today is privately owned by the same family. It is a ‘homely’ castle, and boasts great collections inside the building, in addition to the Armstrong aviation museum and archeological excavations on the outside. We also visited the
RNLI’s museum dedicated to the story of a lighthouse keepers daughter , Grace Darling, who with her father rowed out to the Big Harcar rock to save stricken souls clinging on following the running aground of the steamship SS Forfarshire en-route to Dundee on the night of 7th September 1838. It’s a gem of a museum filled with documents, memorabilia and even the very rowing boat that she and her father went out in on that fateful night.
Across the road is the quaint and historical church of St Aidan’s, steeped in history , don’t miss out on the Ossuary.