Saint Aidan (he made a stag invisible to protect it!)

One northern saint was St Aidan from Ireland (he spoke Gaelic), who had already lived as a monk on Isle of Iona in the Scottish Highlands. He died in Bamburgh on the Northumbrian coast. He is now known as the one who converted all the Northumbrian heathens to Christianity!

There is a lovely story about St Aidan, in that he made a stag invisible, so it would not been seen by hunters. Wouldn’t that be lovely if someone could do that today?

Another saint associated with this tiny island is St Eadberht (a bishop who is now buried in Durham cathedral).

The Holy Island of Lindisfarne

With just 200 residents, Lindisfarne is a small island off Northumberland’s coast, with a strong history of northern saints. It also is resident to many birds and seals, and 650,000 yearly tourists.

If you do visit, check the tide times, as it’s a causeway that gets cut off twice a day by the North Sea. People then have to be rescued. Avoid poor weather/dusk (most people use the bus!)