CHAPTER V 



'TwixT Samburgh and lindisfarne 



To those passing on their lawful occasions upon the sea, 

 as to those travelling by road or rail, the two ancient 

 — and now restored — castles of Bamburgh and Lindis- 

 farne are prominent landmarks. They look perhaps at their 

 best when seen in the clear light of early morniiig from the 

 high ground beyond the Scottish Border a few miles north 

 of Berwick-on-Tweed, Bamburgh, from its greater bulk, 

 appearing to be almost as close at hand as the lesser, though 

 nearer, castle of Lindisfarne. The stretch of coastline 

 adjoining these two castles is a wild and unfrequented one, 

 and, summer and winter, is the home of many birds. Here, 

 during the winter months, the tribe of the grey geese — the 

 grey lag, bean and pink-footed — have their home on the 

 grassy fields fringing the Ross Links, remaining here till 

 mid-April, when the north-flying impulse stirs them and they 

 start off on their journey to far Spitzbergen, or, perhaps, the 

 tundras of Siberia. But with their going, and with the 

 departure of the grey plover, knot, dunlin, and the like for 

 their summer quarters, there arrive other birds to take their 

 places, so that this stretch of coastline is always a district 

 abounding in life. 



One soft, cloudy morning of early April a companion and 

 I set out on the walk from Bamburgh to Lindisfarne. The 

 spring had been a very forward one, and the hedges of haw- 

 thorn fringing the road were already almost in full leaf. A 

 gentle breeze from the south-west just stirred the trees, and 

 seawards the air was very clear, so that the Fame Islands 

 stood out plainly as we reached the high ground above the 



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