This post goes out on Easter Monday, so I’m using this opportunity to tell you about my Easter weekend this year and to share with you a very special artwork.
St Cuthbert’s Island
The photo above is of a wooden cross on ‘Cuthbert’s Island’ – a small island just off the Holy Island of Lindisfarne. Holy Island is special to me for a number of reasons, not least because my maternal grandparents and my paternal grandparents used to holiday there in the 1930s – and that is how my parents met! This is a tidal island with a causeway which can be crossed safely during two periods in every 24 hours. At other times, the sea covers the road route to the island.
The Pilgrim’s Way
There is also a walking route, called the ‘Pilgrim’s Way’ which is, once again, only available when the tide is out. Tall poles stretch out one after another along the route.
Underfoot, it is alternately sandy and muddy. The only possible thing to do is take off your shoes.
It was misty as we walked across, with the sun gleaming behind the clouds and reflecting in the surface water. On the island itself, the castle – dramatic on its hill – was also shrouded in mist.
Statue by Fenwick Lawson
I have blogged before about visits to the island here. This was the first time I stepped inside the ruins of the Priory on the island. They are large and impressive. Inside the walls is a statue by Fenwick Lawson of Saint Cuthbert.
The saint is renowned for his relationship to wildlife and is depicted with an eider-duck at the base of his robes.
This statue is cast in metal, but the indentations on the side clearly indicate the carving of the original wood piece from which the cast was made.
Seals and Swans
Whilst Cuthbert was a monk on Lindisfarne, he chose to retreat to the smaller island pictured above in the first photo. It is said that the otters came to him, when he stood praying in the sea. I didn’t see otters this time, but around the island there were many seals and also a couple of swans preening themselves on the waves.
This was a lovely place to celebrate Easter.
Amanda Jane Textiles offers unique fabrics for sale here, quilt patterns here, classes here and quilts for sale here. However, please note that my two Etsy shops (Amanda Jane Textiles and Amanda Handmade Quilts) are on strike until 19th April. For more information about the reason why, see here
This is my own celebration of swans – the fabric is available from Spoonflower here
