The end of the road

We drove up to Berwick-upon-Tweed today, and on the way back I stopped off at the causeway to the Holy Island of Lindisfarne (half an hour from our home) as it is a great place for photographs. That is the North Sea out there, tens of thousands of pounds have been spent this year alone rescuing foolish motorists who attempt to beat the tide on Holy Island and get stuck, and they lose their cars and risk their lives! Your insurance will NOT pay out if you ignore posted warning signs!!
Holy Island is also a Nature Reserve and a very spiritual place. The poles mark the 1500 year old Pilgrim Path where many thousands each year still walk in pilgrimage across at low tide. That is where I get my wordpress blog?s title from - pilgrimpath.net
I was fascinated by the way the North Sea coming around both ends of the Island met here, just in-between where I was standing on the road and the refuge. It is that cross current that catches motorists out as it causes your tyres to aquaplane and once one wheel is in the sand you are stuck.
Obviously today was a 'low' high tide, but there is a reason why that refuge is built so high - some tides cover the steps up to it! A friend who lives on the Island just had to pay over £3000 for replacement parts for his van, the sea water corrodes everything. He so often drives over when there is just an inch or so of water on the 3 mile road. The road crosses the river bridge (by the refuge) then when it reaches the dunes it turns right and follows the dunes for nearly 2 miles. This is all under water at high tide.
Even at a 'low' high tide like today it is still risky as you can't judge the depth of the water on either side of the river bridge. Many careless motorists owe their lives to that refuge.

We love being on the Island when the tide is in as there is such a tranquil feel as you can?t rush off anywhere even if you want to!
Mind you, during last winter?s 3 weeks of -10 temperatures which froze solid our original 3 feet of snow and caused the sea to freeze in waves over the causeway, it was not so great for those who live on Lindisfarne.