Where in the UK is the Holy Island of Lindisfarne located?

The Holy Island of Lindisfarne, commonly known as either Holy Island or Lindisfarne is situated off the Northumberland coast in the northeast of England, just a few miles south of the border with Scotland. The island is linked to the mainland by a causeway which twice a day is covered by the tide. It is one of the most important centres of early English Christianity.

Holy Island has a recorded history from the 6th century AD. St. Aidan, an Irish monk, came there from Iona, the centre of Christianity in Scotland. St Aidan converted Northumbria to Christianity at the invitation of its king, Oswald, and founded Lindisfarne Monastery on Holy Island in 635, becoming its first Abbot and Bishop.

In the early 700s, monks of the community produced the famous illuminated manuscript known as the Lindisfarne Gospels, an illustrated Latin copy of the Gospels of Mark, Luke, Matthew and John. In the 900s a monk named Eadfrith added an Anglo-Saxon gloss to the Latin text, producing one of the earliest Old English copies of the Gospels. The Gospels are illustrated in a Celtic style. Viking raids in 793 sacked the monastery, killed many of the community, and forced the monks to flee. The Lindisfarne Gospels now reside in the British Library in London.

Lindisfarne was mainly a fishing community. Tourism grew steadily throughout the twentieth century. Lindisfarne has become a popular retreat center, as well as a holiday destination.