The Ship Inn - Holy Island of Lindisfarne

There has been a public house located on this part of the island for several hundred years. Formerly called the Northumberland Arms in 1995 the building was renamed as The Ship Inn, although the Islanders still affectionately refer to the pub as “The Tavern”.

Family run,the inn a “Free House” proudly maintain the high standards which have earned the business a 4 star rating. The inn offers a warm welcome with traditional ales, wines, spirits, good home cooked food and in recent years now has its own distillery where the sought after Holy Island Gin is manufactured.

Situated in the part of the village known as Marygate the inn is perfectly located for visiting Lindisfarne Castle, the Harbour and the Priory.

The Inn has a traditional bar area providing a warm ambience with wood panelled walls adorned with artifacts of life at sea with various photographs and paintings showing a history of island life from days past to the present day.

Leading off the bar is carpeted lounge area with exposed island stone and wood panelling in the evening the lounge is run as a restaurant where meals can be enjoyed in the pleasant and relaxing atmosphere.

At the rear of the inn, entered via the public bar is the lovely south facing landscaped beer garden which always proves a magnet when fair weather prevails. The garden sits in a very sheltered sunny position and with ample seating has become extremely popular in summer months enabling customers to enjoy the warmth of sun away from the sea breezes. Well-behaved dogs are welcome in our beer garden.

For those that want longer periods on the island the inn offers accommodation to a very high standard with en suite facilities in all bedrooms. However, dogs and other pets are not permitted in the guest rooms.

The Ship Inn has featured on a number of television programmes, namely ITV’s “Diary of An Island”, BBC 2 “Working Lunch”, BBC drama “Cold Feet”, and in many national newspaper reviews promoting the 100 Kilometre

St. Cuthbert’s walk starting from Melrose to Holy Island receiving a warm welcome at The Ship Inn.


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Opening Hours

10am - 10pm 7 days a week (Tide dependent)


Our current meal operating hours are:

Monday to Friday - Lunch 12-2pm Dinner 5-8pm
Saturday - Lunch 12-3pm Dinner 5-8pm
Sunday - Lunch 12-3pm Dinner 5-7.30pm


We look forward to welcoming you.