The Holy Island of Lindisfarne is one of the most spiritual places I have visited. The seals singing on the sands between the island, this quiet atmosphere with just the sounds of nature is a place of quiet contemplation. The posts that mark St Cuthbert's Way lead you to and from this magical island.
Kath Mannion
Having read this recommendation, I thought I would find out more I have never visited Lindisfarne, perhaps you have other inspiring places you can place on Dao, or you may have visited Lindisfarne and can tell us more about it. Personally, for me the 2 most memorable places I have visited in the UK was the Isle of Skye where I ate the most delicious porridge and smoked kippers for breakfast overlooking the rugged, misty seascape of the Island - a breakfast which I will remember always, and a visit to Derek Jarman's Garden at Dungeoness - an extraordinary place(where we met and talked with Derek Jarman about his amazing garden and he gave me some Kale seeds to plant).
Anyhow, back to Lindisfarne.
The Holy Island can only be reached at low tide across a causeway several miles long. Check the tide timetables at the notice board by the crossing before you cross - each year there are some who don't and get caught by the incoming tide. This is a 'must see' location, a mixture of castle, priory, beautiful dunes and enchanting village life.
This Holy Island depends on tourism but there are reminders of older industries - upturned hulls of old herring boats from a time when there was a thriving fishing industry.
Today, Lindisfarne Limited produce a mead, a drink once made on the island by the medieval monks which can be sampled at their St Aidan's winery.
The mud-flats and dunes are home to a wide variety of birds and flora
The small village and harbour make an idyllic setting and remind of a bygone age.
Until the metalled road was opened in 1954 the only access was by way of the 'Pilgrim's Causeway' across the sands.
The Lindisfarne Gospels
This legacy of an artist monk living in Northumbria in the early eighth century is a precious testament to the tenacity of Christian belief during one of the most turbulent periods of British history. Costly in time and materials, superb in design, the manuscript is among one of the greatest artistic and religious treasures. It was made and used at Lindisfarne Priory on Holy Island, a major religious community that housed the shrine of St Cuthbert, who died in 687.
For, with the ebb and flow, its style
Varies from continent to isle.
Twice o'er its sands, dry-shod, each day
the weary pilgrims find their way,
and twice each day the waves efface
of stave and sandal every trace.
5 comments:
I do not have a particular spiritual place to add. I find any place is spiritual if the only sounds I can hear are those of nature. As I live by Exmoor it is easy to find places where this can be achieved just by heading off the main road and down a country lane that doesnt lead to anywhere else! Then I stop and turn off the engine and let the birdsong and the wind sounds wash over me. Places that have been designed to use this natural background such as old country churches and monasteries feel spiritual because they let nature in without interference. At the monastery, the abbot took great care to make places where the birds could feed so that we werre always surrounded by their songs. When I feel low or drained I try to get to a green secluded place and it recharges my batteries wonderfully.
The other aspect in which I am fortunate is living by the sea. I open my bedroom window and listen to the waves washing the beach not 30 feet below me. The sea means so much to me spiritually. I used to counter the negative effects of being unemployed by walking each day on the wide sands of Blue Anchor Beach which was better than counselling for me. I wrote this poem in thanks to that beach:
Crunchy pink pebbles pile up in thick ripples
And endlessly drift above sandy wet mud.
Wooden groynes bask, exposing their shoulders
To be buried to their necks at the full of the flood.
Beach houses silent, in need of repainting,
Are sucking corrosion from out of the sky.
The sea laps the mirrored sands just like a cat and
A gull flaps away leaving only its cry.
Black seaweed, twisted like liquorice rope,
Lies abandoned and hopes for its lover's return.
Crumbling cliffs will be bludgeoned to pebbles
And end up as sand swept away by the turn.
I too will decay and return to the ocean
Of eternal becoming. Not til, I beseech,
I have skimmed a few pebbles and shed a few tears,
To leave my poor mark on Blue Anchor Beach.
So hopefully you can see how indebted I feel to that beach for seeing me through.
I hope you tell us of your secret places, that have meant something to you and your life.
Yes you are so right Bruv. You can feel spiritually aroused and at one with nature anywhere there is peace and tranquility. The beach outside your window is beautiful as it is rugged, untouched (except for me taking large stones home!) and as you say sits right outside your window - how nice.
Its funny that you have recounted this poem, as I recently got out the pamphlet of poems where your poems were published and re-read yours - it now sits on the bookshelf in our toilet - in pride of place. This is a lovely one, and I now know the sentiment behind it.
I wanted to tell you about Dungeonness. If you have not been there, it is an extraordinary place. It is quiet, but not tranquil, in fact, to me it is forboding. All the houses are single storey and many sit on the shingly beach. There are some lovely old boats sitting on the beach, with names that obvously meant something to someone once, but are long since neglected. As a backdrop to the beach and the houses there is the large, modern, metallic nuclear power station which dominates the background. Just in front of the power station is the old lighthouse, which you can still climb.
In the foreground of the lighthouse is the old steam railway, where the steam trains run to dymchurch and Romney Marsh. Next to that is a very unusual white naval building which is wired up to keep trespassers out.
Derek Jarman's old house is very simple, made of dark wood with yellow paint. His garden, as you may have in photographsor in his film The Garden is comprised of many wild and wonderful sea kales, hardy plants, heathers, and wooden sculptures.
Manny and I were walking past his house admiring the garden when he came out. He was wearing some dark brown overalls and had a lovely weathered brown face - he was a very handsome man. We asked him where to find cuttings or seeds of the sea kales he was growing in the garden and he told us to wait a moment while he brought us some. He gave us a brown bag with some seeds and told us the right soil to grow it in. I was quite taken aback when he asked where we lived and he told us that the Islington area had clay soil , which meant the the Sea Kale probably would not grow there.
There is something about Dungeonness which both Manny and I felt. A deep feeling of spirituality there. Something in the air. Something which cannot be described. Something also which can send shivers down the spine.
You may be interested to know that Dungeness was featured yesterday on the Heaven and Earth Show as a spiritual place! It is spooky but has a strange beauty. I have seen the Derek Jarman film of his garden and he was a gentle man.
That's really spooky Bruv, cos I often look on the heaven and Earth's show's web site as I used to really like the programme and this is where I saw the info on Lindisfarne.
I'll have to look up what they said about Dungeonness!
Thanks
Swanx
I visited dungeoness myself and it is very wonderful in a strange humming way! yolanda and Sam loved going there when they were kids, and I have some great Pix of them by derek jarmans cottage!
I too love the sea, and spent a magical day with swann and her family in Britanny last year, having a picnic on the beach....heaven!
i love to paint the landscape and find it a deeply spirital thing to do....connecting with the space..will put up am image if I can....i want to visit all the spiritual places in the world....when I have done in the past,so I feel so connected to all mankind.
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