Cambridge House - Cottage Number Two

Take friends or the family to this ground-floor home for a holiday with a difference. You’ll be based in one of the most famous locations in Great Britain, and on one of the cradles of early Christianity: the Holy Island of Lindisfarne, a tiny island located off the Northumberland coast.

Cradle or not, you’ll be wanting comfort, and Cottage Number Two provides that in spades. Inside, it contains an open-plan living space incorporating a long kitchen with inky dark navy cabinets, a four-person dining table circled by contemporary chairs, and a seating area whose chaise longue sofa and armchair face the wall-mounted Smart TV. With cream paintwork and richly hued furnishings, the interiors play with light and dark creating a modern, yet cosy atmosphere.

Doors behind that sofa lead to a lawned garden with a petite semi-circular patio surrounded by fragrant lavender. Here you can sit and take in the sun or share an outdoor meal. The garden is fully enclosed by high wooden fences making it a safe place for children – or dogs – to roam and explore.

Back inside, both bedrooms contain zip-and-link beds which can be configured as twins or a single super-king unit, both boast their own Smart TVs and en suite bathrooms. The first white-tiled bathroom contains a tub with a shower over; the second a commodious walk-in shower cubicle featuring a rainfall head.

Twice a day, for up to seven hours each time, Holy Island is cut off from mainland Northumberland when sea water submerges its sandy causeway. Yet that only adds to the magic of this two-square-mile speck, which has just 180 permanent residents.

Cottage Number Two is part of a row of stone buildings amid Lindisfarne village, where you’ll find one or two enticing cafes, pubs and shops. Close by is the ruined 11th-century Lindisfarne Priory, erected after Vikings attacked an original building where the likes of Saint Cuthbert were once based, and also the renovated castle, which hosts 1900s-style society rooms and is visible from miles away thanks to its position atop a small hill.

Holy Island is also home to the award-winning Gertrude Jekyll Garden and a pretty harbour whose characteristic upturned herring boats form sheds. Perhaps you’ll visit St Aidan’s Winery to sip some Lindisfarne Mead, long concocted from a secret recipe, or walk across to Hobthrush – a smaller tidal isle supposedly frequented by Cuthbert and now popular with seals.

While the priory and castle can swarm with tourists, other corners tend to be wonderfully deserted. Among them are some starkly beautiful white-sand beaches you can explore on foot or by horseback, and two obelisk-style lighthouses.

Shadowed by a pilgrim’s footpath, the causeway road is safe to cross long enough to easily enable drives to remarkable Bamburgh Castle or blustery Coast Path pub walks on days out – do keep an eye on the changing tides though to ensure you have ample time to return!

ADDITIONAL ACCOMMODATION

Cambridge House Cottage Number Two (sleeps 4) can be let in conjunction with Cambridge House (sleeps 8) and Cambridge House Cottage Number One (sleeps 2).