The present Cathedral has stood on this spot as a place of prayer and pilgrimage for over 900 years. it contains the remains of Cuthbert, the saintly seventh-century bishop of Lindisfarne; it also holds the tomb of Bede, the chronicler of Cuthbert's life and the first English historian. It is one of the most beautiful buildings in England (Bill Bryson called it 'the best Cathedral on planet Earth'), and part of a World Heritage Site.