The North East Film Archive is one of a network of regional film archives established to collect, preserve and show film made in, or about the North East of England. Our collections are non-fiction, and date from the early 1900s to the present day, providing a rich record of life in the region over the 20th century. Many of our films are available to watch, free of charge, on our website.
This film is part of Free
Time and Tide
The private face of a windswept island off the Northumbrian coast revealed by TV Mastermind presenter Magnus Magnusson.
From the collection of:
Overview
The wild and tranquil island of Lindisfarne reveals its private side, past and present, to Mastermind presenter Magnus Magnusson. Barefoot pilgrims still trek across sand and mud flats at low tide to the spiritual home of Celtic saints Aidan and Cuthbert, who is considered by some as England’s first ‘nature conservationist’. At times, the local ‘hunter-gatherer’ way of life here is decidedly at odds with the ecology and spirit of this Holy Island.
This is the first of a two-part Tyne Tees Television documentary, which was originally broadcast on the 29th December 1985. Amongst the island ruins pictured are Victorian lime kilns and upturned keelboats converted into sheds in keeping with Holy Island tradition. These are survivals from the ‘gold rush years’ of the herring fishing industry on Lindisfarne, which began to decline before World War One.