The boats of Lindisfarne

A recent trip to Northumbria took us to Lindisfarne, an island joined to the mainland at low tide by a narrow causeway. On the beach of this remote and barren place was an extraordinary sight. The edge of the harbour was lined with large whale-like structures.

They were overturned fishing boats that had been cut in half, doors added across the flattened ends and repurposed as sheds. The graceful shape of the boats was accentuated by evenly spaced wooden struts that ran their entire length, making them look even more like beached whales. More photographs of Lindesfarne can be found here.