1862.] - TUK PLANTS OF HOLY ISLAND. 11 



flat, for the only conspicuous eminence is the BeblowCj on which 

 the Castle sits like a crown. The Heugh is a rocky elevation 

 along the southern shore, overlooking the town, and the Links 

 (about nine hundred acres) heave up with rounded knolls of 

 sand." 



There is a small lake (the Lough) near its eastern shore, occu- 

 pying about five or six acres ; but it appears to be gradually 

 diminishing in size, or filling up with decayed vegetation. If 

 such is the case, several interesting plants will disappear with it, 

 and render the island less attractive to the botanist. 



About six hundred acres of the island are under cultivation ; 

 the remainder is occupied by the " Links," which are mostly flat, 

 but Avith a few round hills here and there, and are entirely com- 

 posed of sand, interwoven with the Sea-Bent, Arundo arenaria, 

 etc., whereby the loose soil is consolidated. Off" the south- 

 western extremity there is a small rocky islet, called St. Cuth- 

 bert's Isle : at high-water it is entirely insulated, but at low-water 

 it is accessible by a low ridge of rock covered with seaweed. 



To the mere pleasure-seeker, Holy Island offers but little 

 attraction, but to the antiquary it yields interesting objects, in 

 its old ruined Monastery, which was one of the most celebrated 

 in the North, and in its picturesque, weather-beaten Castle, which 

 is yet in a good state of preservation. 



The naturalist, especially the botanist, here finds a rich, though 

 limited field for research, and enough of the beauties of Nature 

 to give him the most heartfelt satisfaction, when he has dili- 

 gently contemplated the various objects that are scattered round 

 him on every side. " To the eye thus at freedom, Lindisfarne 

 becomes the greenest spot in our prospect, and the most inter- 

 esting field for the naturalist's researches. It was the mother 

 of our Churches in the north, the nurse of our religion, and of 

 much of our civilization ; and you may wander amidst its ruins 

 with the same reverential feelings that moved and agitated 

 Samuel Johnson at Icolmkill." 



At low tide the water between the island and the mainland is 

 so shallow, though it is never quite dry, that people are in the 

 habit of crossing on horseback, and also by wading. The road 

 across the sands is six miles in length, and leads to the northern 

 extremity of the island. Further south a point of land juts out, 

 approaching to within two miles of the island. A passage can 



