Spooky!

The harbour at Crookhaven and Sullivan's Pub - a great pub!

Max and I used to spend a lot of time holidaying in the  west of  Ireland.   We love it there, great scenery, excellent food and really nice people.

After the first few trips we even found the perfect place to stay, a house which had been made from a row of very old cottages, perched right on the coast next to an old lighthouse.     The original cottages were tiny and had been home to the lighthouse keepers and their large families.

The Crookhaven Longhouse and Lighthouse - Magical, beautiful.

The whole of the top floor is a very modern construction of glass and steel, to maximise the views of the ever-changing seas.

The bedrooms were on the ground floor of the old cottages, with the one bathroom located right at the far end of the building, down a long corridor.

We would stay for three weeks at a time, just Max and I.

The best space and views, we loved it!

I would love to go back , but we would have to find somewhere else to stay, for I will never set foot in that place again.

Why?

Well, towards the end of what was to become our final stay, my sleep was disturbed by the sound of something being dropped onto the floorboards of the bedroom.    It sounded almost as though glass marbles were being dropped from a height.  At first I just lay there and listened, trying to work out what it could be.   It went on and on and, loud though the sound was, it didn't wake Max.

Eventually, I said out loud "Stop it!".    The noises did stop and I must have fallen asleep again.

When I woke up I needed to go to the bathroom.    I rarely put lights on, I'm quite happy wander around in the dark, and so I did that night.

I tottered down the long corridor to the bathroom, didn't bother to close the door for the short time I would be in there...   Shock, horror!   I could hear very heavy footsteps coming along the corridor - I presumed it was Max, so I called out that he should wait a moment.

When I got back to the bedroom Max was sound asleep and snoring softly.   I woke him and after his initial grumpiness at being woken from a deep sleep,  he told me that he hadn't been out of bed...

Well, that was the end of my sleep for the night.    We were alone in the house, no other house nearby, no road, nothing to explain away the footsteps.

Unfortunately that was the end of my love affair with Crookhaven Longhouse.    I was scared.

For the remaining few nights I made sure that I put on every light and Max stood guard outside the door during any nocturnal visit to the bathroom!

It hadn't happened on our previous visits and it will probably never happen again.   However, I am much too much of a scaredy-cat to find out.

I still miss those views though.


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Don't let my experience put you off visiting this place.   It is exceptional.   You will undoubtedly find details of it if you type in Crookhaven Lighthouse/Longhouse.      I would recommend it to anyone, just as I would also recommend O'Sullivan's pub.   They serve the best pub meals ever and the atmosphere is always as warm and welcoming as the pub fire.     During the summer months the harbour is full of sailing boats and lots of tourists.    We preferred off-season, we like peace and quiet.  I have been to some great places but Ireland is right up there at the top of the list.