Well, in a manner you might say, I haven’t converted just yet nor am I fully in a state of ruin, just slightly dog-eared, which reminds me of a friend years ago who once said I had a face that ‘looks like it’s lived a bit…’.
Yeah, um, thanks...
What’s that Shakespearian line, better to have a lived-in face than no face at all?
Something like that.
Anyway, out on yesterday’s very short ride I headed up the coast a wee ways to the village of Heysham, just up along the coast from my Mum’s flat. The final destination was supposed to be Sunderland Point (where I’ll ride to later today) but I got waylaid at one of my favorite spots in the whole country, St. Patrick’s Chapel.
I will be making a Youtube video of this ride but I thought I’d share these images of the spot. The first set of images are from St Patrick’s Chapel, a set of ruins from a church dating back to the 8th century. Excavations have shown that this spot was inhabited since 12,000 years ago.
The tombs you can see are Christian-Viking graves. People still regularly lay flowers in remembrance!
The second set is St. Paul’s Chapel, a working church that has services throughout the week. The large carved stone is a Viking burial stone, and no one knows exactly how it got there.
It’s an amazing place and no matter how often I go there I always experience a similar set of emotions, the wonder of the history held in the place, the sadness of the small, thin graves that look so cold in winter, and the sheer beauty of the spot. Captivating.
Video coming soon!
St Patrick’s Chapel:
St Paul’s Chapel:
