Not as romantic

A lovely day today and we decided to make the most of it by going onto Holy Island, a place we know well and love to visit. We knew, with it still being school holidays, it would be busy, but we had not realised it would be quite so busy. It is surprising though just how many people this little island can absorb and it is a great place for kids to run about in and explore. And, as we were intending walking round the island, we soon left most people behind.

We started off by climbing The Heugh, which gives great views across to St Cuthbert’s Island and down to the Priory ruins. Gordon detoured to do some geology exploration, whilst I walked past all the boats around the harbour (see extra) and joined lots of people heading for the Castle.
 
As you can see from this picture, the castle is not as picturesque as usual, as it is covered in scaffolding. Eighteen months of internal conservation work to manage the effects of battering sea, wind and rain that comes from sitting on top of a high crag, is almost at an end. The scaffolding itself is impressive and the workmen so high up are obviously fearless. There is a metal bridgeway to keep visitors away from the work in progress. All very well managed.

Although it is empty, it is possible now to go into the Castle and see Empty Spaces – the story of the repairs and conservation work, but we decided to leave them all to it and continue on the walk.

A delightful walk by the blue, sparkling sea, following the old wagonway. Lovely to hear the sea and watch the waves as you follow the grassy path. It was not so good as we eventually made our way back along Straight Lonning. It was very, very muddy and almost impassable in parts. Some fun and games, but we emerged unscathed, just a bit muddy. And coffee/hot chocolate and cake at the lovely Pilgrims Coffee House was a great end to the day. We now have a sea fret and can hardly see the sea from the house.