Former Government advisor Dominic Cummings has bought a cottage on Holy Island which he is now renovating, according to reports.
The ex-senior aide to Boris Johnson, whose infamous trip to Barnard Castle in County Durham made headlines during lockdown, has purchased a £161,000 home on the Lindisfarne beauty spot which is said to have sparked anger and even "outrage" amongst its 147 inhabitants.
According to The Mirror, the welcome has been less than warm for the former Downing Street strategist, with one resident saying they were "outraged" and another that 50-year-old Cummings had a "supercilious" air about him.
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They said: “You know when people go to the pub and they just cross their legs and turn away from everyone else. He’s like that.” The island, off the Northumberland coast, is seen as a rural idyll and becomes a tourist hotspot in summer months.
Originally the settlement of monks, and famously said to be the birthplace of Christianity in England, the island is where the world-famous treaure Lindisfarne Gospels - currently on show in Newcastle - was created in the 8th century. A version of the mead made by the monks is still sold on the island.
The monks fled Holy Island in 875AD from Viking raiders but returned around 1150 AD to build Lindisfarne Priory which now draws huge crowds of visitors. Dominic Cummings’ son, Cedd, is said to be named after St Cedd, an Anglo-Saxon saint who was trained at the Priory.
Modern attractions on the small island - which is accessible only when the causeway is clear of the twice-daily tides - include pubs, a hotel and gift shops. The Sunday Mirror understands that Cummings bought his cottage there during the summer.
One resident said: “He’s here all the time but he’s not moved in yet because he’s still gutting the place.” Locals think he will use the cottage as a holiday home rather than become a permanent resident.
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