Two people and dog rescued after campervan caught by tide at Holy Island

Daniel Hall
·1-min read
The Holy Island causeway
-Credit: (Image: RNLI)


Two people and a dog have been rescued after their campervan was cut off by the tide at Holy Island.

The pair and their pet had been attempting to cross contrary to the displayed safe crossing times and warning signs less than an hour after high tide on the notorious road on Tuesday afternoon (July 2). At 1:15pm, Seahouses RNLI were called out by HM Coastguard, with volunteers launching the Inshore Lifeboat.

A shore-based Coastguard Rescue Team had meanwhile arrived at the Causeway and were able to bring the party to safety. The RNLI's inshore lifeboat was cancelled and returned to the station.

It was unsafe to cross the Holy Island Causeway today from 10:25am until 3:10pm, with high tide at 12:25pm. Dozens of cars are caught out on the mile-long section of the road each year, which connects Holy Island with Beal on the Northumberland mainland, eventually connecting to the A1.

Ian Clayton, of Seahouses RNLI, said: "Can we ask yet again that visitors to the island please heed the safe crossing times."

In May, two rescues were made on consecutive days, with four rescues over five days causing the Coastguard to remind people that they can't "outrun the sea".

Motorists can check crossing times online by visiting holyislandcrossingtimes.northumberland.gov.uk. Visitors are advised to leave half an hour extra around these times for their journey, to account for bad weather or unusually high tides.

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