Lindisfarne National Nature Reserve — Attraction in Kyloe

The northern coast line here that borders the nature reserve is one of the well kept secrets and less trodden places on Holy Island. Most people, when visiting, make a bee line for the official car park. From there, masses trundle towards the village - proceeding on to Lindisfarne Castle at the southern most tip of the island.. and it is too easy to be herded along with the crowds. While the "nature reserve" itself seemed nothing spectacular but lends itself to a vast spread of grassland amongst some low rolling hills, the hidden beach beyond that is truly a gem. Miles of clean sandy beach with crystal clear waters when the tide is out: a breath taking site to behold on a sunny day.

I can partly understand why this beach does not draw crowds in large numbers. Accessing the island can only be done in low tide, and a winding road that leads up to the village can only be safely used when tides are out. Most people therefore prefer to cross it while its safe, and make a bee line for the safety of the loftily located car park near the village. Unfortunately, getting to the northern beach requires one to park on the winding road - which leaves vehicles at the mercy of any incoming tides...

But fear not: Tide timetables are updated and displayed prominently in many locations. They can also be found on Northumberland County...

Followed the Pilgrims route across to the Island. Easy to follow the tall wooden stakes. Myself in bare feet, my husband in wellies. It was so much fun. Prepare to get a little wet. 1 section is thick stinky black slippery mud but you quickly get across it and get clean again in the sea. I needed to hold onto my husband so not to slip and end up in the mud. It took us just over 1 hour and we left the car parked at a parking area near the start of the causeway. We saw seabirds and could see/hear seals in the distance. When we arrived on the Island it was very busy, car park was packed. We felt like we deserved to be there having walked in pilgrims footsteps. We wandered around the Island which is very pretty. Disappointed we couldn't get to try the mead due to Covid. Decided to walk back via Causeway as I didn't want to go back through the mud. It was v. windy by this point (head wind) and the causeway seems to go on forever + you have to dodge the traffic, some of which doesn't slow down! If it's good weather and the tide is right I'd say go back through the mud. Beware of the wind as when I opened the car door my mask blew out and we couldn't catch it. I HATE rubbish and some poor seal somewhere will have my mask😤 so annoyed with myself. Enjoy the Pilgrims route but do your homework 1st and check...

Breathtakingly beautiful. Disappointing that bottom end of beach closed off for an ever increasing period of time over summer because of breeding birds . Whilst I appreciate the need to protect them it seems the breeding season has extended incrementally. Will it eventually become the whole of April to October that the end part is closed to access? This exclusion zone is at the very time that the public is most likely to want access. The last couple of years having a warden leap out on everybody as they arrive is particularly unpleasant. Instead use the warden to prevent those with dogs going further along and to keep an eye on users and walkers who are being cautious and walking in the water/waterline away from breeding area. Surely you could trust those who walk the three miles along to be responsible adults to tread carefully? We have seen people ignore the warden/ notice at entrance and go past the cone further along every time we have visited this year. While we do object to the long period of exclusion we have still remained outside the cordoned /coned area . Many don’t bother. Such restrictions can have the reverse effect of protecting things when people are...