Shall we take another look at Newfoundland? On a rare sunny day we visited Cape Spear, site of the oldest surviving lighthouse in Newfoundland and Labrador. Built in the 1830s, the square building stands on a rocky cliff overlooking the vast Atlantic Ocean. I was mesmerized by the deep rich blues of the water and the whiteness of the waves breaking on the shore.
Lighthouses here on the west coast tend to have houses built alongside or adjacent to the lighthouse towers. Here, the lighthouse tower is in the center of the house, easily accessible in any weather. A round tower in the midst of a square building makes for some interestingly shaped rooms.
Red and yellow paint shades were most common as the ochre used to create the colour was mined locally, and mixed with cod liver oil or seal oil. Can you imagine the smell of the paint? I wonder how long it lingered indoors?
Damp sea air combined with days of rain meant that drying clothes was often finished in front of the fire.
I was surprised at how large the house was, with a good-sized living room, an office, dining room, several bedrooms upstairs, and the downstairs bedroom shown above for the assistant lighthouse keeper.
When I posed the question about wanting to be a lighthouse keeper several days ago, Granny Marigold said she would like to experience the life for about a week. I'm in agreement. A week of isolation would be lovely, months would not.
I'm attempting to include a video taken at Cape Spear. We sat and watched the waves crescendo and fall for a long while. How small the sea makes us feel.
A lonely existence, I think. I would need a huge pile of books¬
ReplyDeleteBeautiful pictures of the sea. Your comment about drying clothes in front of the fire made me chuckle. We often leave the clothes horse in front of ours when we head up to bed :) B x
ReplyDeleteMy mother often stayed in that lighthouse as a young girl. The lighthouse keeper was a friend of mom’s family.
ReplyDeleteNice video, you captured the swell just right. With the people walking on the rocks, it makes the size of the ocean even larger!
ReplyDeleteBeautiful colors, the smell of seal? I guess you get use to it before it fades away.
Thank you for sharing these charming photos of the lighthouse interior. There is something fascinating about lighthouses and their keepers, although I am sure (like Granny Marigold and like you) that I would not enjoy the life of isolation for very long.
ReplyDeleteIf one is going to be isolated, then having adequate living accommodations is much needed. Looks like a cozy place. It certainly would have been interesting times back in the day.
ReplyDeleteIt's so easy to forget that these were and many still are also living quarters. I loved seeing the interior. And that blue sky!
ReplyDeleteWith your video on full screen I felt as if I were there, Lorrie! Felt that fluttering in my stomach I always feel on heights when I spotted a tiny figure walking far below you near the shore. What is there about the rooms of a house like this that makes me think about packing away half the things I own? And there's something about a dresser of crockery that makes me examine every piece and picture its usefulness to the owner's life. Because surely its all used?
ReplyDeleteThat is a big house, and how interesting to have the lighthouse tower in the middle of the house. I love the interior, the beautiful colors that were used to paint the walls and the furniture. It certainly wasn't an easy life, but a week in this kind of isolation sounds tempting.
ReplyDeleteInteresting sight! The house, with the lighthouse tower in its center - standing on a cliff overlooking the ocean
ReplyDeleteNice downstairs bedroom!!
I'm guessing that you and hubby tread on ground few people have in the world of travel.
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