40th Part 1 - Boats, Castles and Treehouses

Monday 29 October 2012
I had a birthday last week. Not just any old birthday but a special one starting with 4 and ending in 0. Tuesday 23rd October was my #OHNO40 or with a more positive spin my #OHYES40.  The celebrating went on for pretty much the whole week hence my lack of blogging as I was out partying.  I received lots of lovely treats and pressies from friends and family and on Monday spent the evening with parentals, husband, boy and girl with an overnight stay at Forth View Hotel in Aberdour. Unfortunately their own fantastic seafood restaurant Room with a View isn't open on a Monday but they recommended The Boat House Bistro just across the firth in South Queensferry.
Wow. What an amazing view from our table. Lovely food to match it. Obligatory champagne as an aperitif before we shared a variety of starters including bruschetta, calamari, haggis nuggets and a tapas sharing plate. For mains two of us opted for scallops, one ribeye steak and two the chef's fish of the day which was cod with coconut and cous cous. Girl was most happy with her chicken wrap which she requested sans salad.
Birthday breakfast at Forth View complete with candles in my poached eggs before we dumped the kids and parents and headed off to spend the night in The Treehouse Suite with dinner at  Fernie Castle Hotel.
I have always loved Treehouses although never had one as a child. Sob. Violins. The one at Alnwick Garden is amazing but you can't stay in it. When I discovered I could actually spend the night in one, in Scotland, and my 40th birthday was coming up I wasted no time in strongly suggesting that it would be wise of husband to take me there. I wasn't disappointed. Fernie Castle Treehouse was fabulous. 
There were plenty of nibbles in our treetop house and we got stuck straight away into the cheese plate and champagne. Dinner was served in the main castle. It was a wee bit disappointing as it was rather dated in style and the choice was somewhat limited. Pate to start, followed by Tomato and Herb Soup, Steak with Pepper Sauce and Caramelised Pineapple with Puff Candy Ice Cream. An American couple were our only fellow diners on a whistlestop tour of the UK to celebrate their 40th wedding anniversary. So we shared a double celebration (and some cake) with them.
A continental breakfast was available in our tree but there was also the option to head up to the Castle for the full Scottish.  As it was we opted to spend more time enjoying the treehouse space as we awoke to fantastic autumnal sunshine streaming in through the windows which made it even more magical.  All in all a fantastic experience and one more tick on my bucket list.
Part one over but still lots of birthday shenanigans to be blogged about including my cocktails and canapes party, birthday cheese cake and a host of fantastic foodie birthday pressies.  I've had a wonderful week and can highly recommend turning 40. Although my liver and waistline may disagree.

4 comments

  1. Awesome! What a fab birthday treat. Am somewhat jealous but consoling myself with the fact that I have a wee while to go before turning 40 myself ;)

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  2. Happy Birthday! The tree house looks just brilliant - like a happy daydream.

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  3. Oh my word fernie castle treehouse has been on my wish list for years! These photos make me want to go even more! It's my 30th next year, fingers crossed!

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