Staying in a Lighthouse!

The third of four unique lodgings I booked was a lighthouse.  I’ve always wanted to stay in one.  There are several great opportunities in Scotland.  Of those I decided to stay in the Buchan Ness lighthouse at Boddam near Peterhead.  It has 2 cottages that have been beautifully restored.  We stayed in Skerry Cottage as it has a deck overlooking the sea.  

It was built in 1827 and was tended by lighthouse keepers until 1988 when it was automated. 

The beacon is interesting.  Instead of a double beam rotating, there are about 6 beams shining out to the sea.  When you look up it is like the rays of a star.  The back of the lantern room has the windows covered so it is not shining out at the town.  (It would definitely be annoying to have a light flashing in your windows all night long!) 

The cozy living room of Skerry Cottage.  The fireplace is functional and was set for use if we wanted a fire.  Behind me was a loveseat and a comfortable chair.

I was delighted when I walked into the kitchen.  Everything I needed to cook up our supper.  Shelia has thought of just about everything a cook needs.  And it is CUTE too! 

Main bedroom with a king size bed. 

And the twin room.  Even had a chocolate on our towels and a bowlful of hard candy (rock) on the dresser. 

Shelia offers a wonderful personal touch to your stay.  A nearby deli offers a platter of local cheeses, which Shelia will pick up and stow in the refrigerator for your arrival.  They were greatly enjoyed!

So good!  We had “Gruth Dhu Crowdie with Black Pepper”, “Wookey Hole Cheddar”, “Smoked Deeside from Deverick Dairies”, Abbots Gold Cheddar with caramelized onions”, “Badertoy Blue from Deverick Dairies”, Lairig Ghru Tasty Mountain Cheese from Deeside”, “Biesse Bleu soft French Blue”, and “Duddleswell Matwe Sheeps Cheese” (and a couple others I didn’t get the labels of).  

I enjoyed some cheeses, and then left them to the guys as I headed into the kitchen to cook supper.  I had missed being able to cook so this was a treat for me! 

Remember the lobster and crabs given to us earlier by Fisherman Terry? 

Meet the lobster! 

Look at the size of that claw!

And here are the two brown crabs.  I would guess they were about 4 pounds each.  

From here, life got kind of interesting in the kitchen.  At least for a while.  I couldn’t find any sort of mallet to crack open the hard shell.  

Hmmmmm… what to do?  

Then I saw that heavy rolling pin.  Eureka!  Now I was ready for those crustaceans!!!  

I broke down the first crab into sections and gave the knuckle joint a good whack.  And nothing happened.  Gave it a better whack… still nothing.  One more whack and it was still just sitting there.  In frustration I hauled off and brought that rolling pin down… POW!  

Crab pieces went EVERYWHERE!!!!!  

At the sound of BAM!!! and a rude word… Himself called anxiously from the living room “Everything OK?”  ( I would have loved to have known what the guys were saying in there!  LOL) 

Now I was giggling as I assured him all was fine and hurriedly cleaned up the mess.  Thankfully it was only a small joint section and not one of the claws!  

The rest of the cracking went with no problem; tho I did cover the beasties with a paper towel – just in case…

Here is our meal for the evening.  Lobster and crab, with melted butter.  Salad and potatoes from the produce at the honor veggie stand.  Ham and mushroom quiche (loved the browned cheese top!).  Served with tall glasses of icy cold milk (which Himself was pouring as I took this photo).  There was so much food we three couldn’t eat it all.  

We spent the rest of the evening relaxing.

And we were greeted with this view then next morning.  Oh how I would love to stay a week here!

Breakfast was prepared by Himself and me.  French toast and ham steaks (gammon steaks).  I love his French toast!

After a bit of looking around the grounds, we headed off for another day of exploring.