Lady’s Well, near the village of Holystone in Northumbria, is a very special place. It is reached by a rather muddy uphill path through a field, but is itself a calm and peaceful place. At one end is a small pool with a Celtic Cross in the middle. It was here that St Paulinus baptised 3,000 people in 6th Century and his statue stands at one end. A gentle slope leads up to a small stone Altar, and tall trees are on either side. With the sunlight coming through them, the whole area becomes God’s own natural cathedral.

It was here that we went on the Saturday of our visit to Holy Island. William arranged his small altar set and lit the candles but the wind blew them out as we had no need of lights with the natural light of the sun.

We started our service by going down to the pool, where we renewed our Baptism vows and each knelt to let the water run through our fingers and to pour some on our foreheads. Standing round the altar in the open air we then had our Communion Service. It was a great experience.

We walked down to Holystone and went in the little Church which had been in that place for 1400 years.

We went on then to Cuthbert’s Cave, a very large cave set in the hillside, where it is said that the monks who were carrying Cuthbert’s coffin from Holy Island to Durham, stopped for the night. Again, this was an amazing place.

Photos of these places can be seen on the Parish Photo Gallery.