We’ve visited again, and I won’t labour you with too much if you’ve read my previous review, but things have changed a little since 2019, and I thought it worth a dabble on the old keyboard to update those making plans to visit this special place.
Firstly, the island is open to visitors. So open in fact that in summer the crowds walking the road between the car park and the village are something to behold. My firm recommendation would be to stay overnight. Unlike other tourist honey-traps, day visitors to Holy Island are forced to leave when the tide comes in, and you get the entire island to yourself (and the few other fortunates who live there or stay the night).
Second, our firm favourite accommodation is still Belvue Guesthouse (see my review of them), but they are highly popular and get booked up, so if you are looking for accommodation on the island, the island has launched a new tourism site that includes all the options called “Visit Lindisfarne” (https://visitlindisfarne.com).
The Ship Inn pub, which we enjoyed last time now has a Spanish chef, so on top of the usual favourites they also serve tapas and paella, which was top quality. We also ate at the Crown & Anchor and the nosh was top notch.
Other than that the castle and priory still stand firm, as they had done for centuries, the fresh sea air and beautiful beaches are second to none, and I’d highly recommend the Holy Island of Lindisfarne for a visit.
