AS THE English depend on the weather for their small talk, and the Inuit have been mythologised as possessing innumerable words for snow, so Croatians occupying the Adriatic coast speak a language blustery with wind. The bura, maestral, jugo and levant are the stuff of everyday conversation, with the burin, grbin, lebic, and tramontana not far behind, to say nothing of the profusion of local and regional monikers.

To occupy one of the 50 lighthouses along this craggy coastline is to find yourself at the centre of an actual and linguistic storm. Additional resources must also be marshalled to describe the distant sound of thunder on an otherwise glorious morning, the percussive pelt of rain against pane, and that particular quality of light that precedes the mother of all Mother Nature meltdowns.

Veli Rat, my lighthouse, lies on the western promontory of Dalmatia's Dugi Otok (“Long Island”). The island's population is said to be 1,800. I make it 20 max, including the lighthouse-keeper Zvonimir Skvorcevic, whom I had wanted to be a gnarled, salty old sea dog in the manner of Captain Cat in Under Milk Wood. In fact, at 44 Skvorcevic is the spitting image of Andrew Ridgeley of Wham! complete with hot pants. It's a look that works for him, since he is as fit as a flea in the wake of six years bounding up Veli Rat's 183-step spiral staircase at 10pm and 3pm.

Veli Rat is the highest and most beautiful of 11, largely 19th-century, lighthouses scattered along the coast that have been playing host to tourists since 2000. They range in isolation from Sveti Petar, 20 minutes' stroll from the tourist haunt of Makarska, to Struga, which requires a 4hr45min ferry journey, or Susac and Palagruza on the open sea.

All come equipped with local legend. The oldest, Savudrija, is reputed to have been built by Count Metternich for a beguiling noblewoman who perished the very day it was completed. Elsewhere, toothless fishermen's wives are magically re-equipped with gnashers, offspring are spawned in rowboats, and giant lobster abound.

Veli Rat occupies a middle ground regarding remoteness. The lighthouse is reached via a three-times-a-day, 75-minute ferry ride from Zadar. Dugi Otok enjoys a fleeting high season in August, but otherwise the occupants of each ferry appear to vanish into the landscape. Food is best bought in Zadar, being neither easy nor cheap to get hold of, although there is a grocery shop in the port of Bozava, and the odd restaurant catering to nautical trade - chiefly the Oleandar.

Elsewhere, the “Long Island Cocktail Bar” turned out to be an abandoned shack, while Sali, the island's largest village, was so inhospitable of a Sunday lunchtime that we would happily have consumed the horse in this one-horse town. Youths mooched listlessly on scooters, adults lobbed berries at each other by way of entertainment, while a handful of expiring tourists cast ravenous eyes upon their offspring. We were saved by the hearty Restaurant Roko up the road.

The post of keeper at Veli Rat is hotly coveted, as are its lodgings, with guests unperturbed by prohibitions against torch signals, open blinds by night, the combing of hair on rocks, etc. Visitors can climb the 40m (131ft) tower with permission of the keeper. The view is hypnotic. Back on terra firma, the lighthouse's two guest flats are spotless, if spartan. On the upside, it is the one location I have stayed in that lacked a Gideon Bible.

The Skvorcevics are friendly without being overfriendly, and such is the sense of isolation that it is a jolt to see the occasional tourist. Too many destinations are sold on the false promise of relaxation, but this is the real McCoy, with a calming effect superior to any spa. Within hours, my accomplice and I were speaking in hushed tones, or pottering in companionable silence against the crash of breakers.

Nearby Zadar may be Croatia's fifth-largest city, but it presents little to undermine this sense of repose. The 3,000-year-old “Golden City” is regarded as one of Croatia's most underrated destinations - perfect for a lazy weekend or to top and tail a lighthouse excursion.

The city's somewhat perilous marble streets are ideal for amblers, eager to take in its Roman Forum and abundance of Romanesque churches. The famous gold and silver of Zadar is housed in the Benedictine nunnery of St Mary, hidden from Nazi invaders by stalwart nuns. As elsewhere, the Italian influence is marked at the Arsenal, an arts/crafts/deli/bar, and the nearby Restaurant Kornat. Croatians can still smoke in restaurants and do with gusto.

Zadar is near several national parks and is also one of the sunniest spots in the Mediterranean, the lack of rainfall a source of local pride. Naturally, an exception was made for our visit. We took refuge in Niko, a four-star family-run affair. It is rightfully famed as having one of the finest restaurants in the region. We swooned our way through a seafood feast of lobster accompanied by the choicest pasta, white fish, southern Dalmatian olive oil, wind-dried ham, salty pag cheese, posip wines, and maraschino liqueur. At this positively Mr Creosotean moment, the proprietor decided we hadn't had quite enough and raced off on his boat to bag still more.

Between an establishment of this calibre and another of such earthy, unearthly beauty, the lure to return is strong. Like Arnie in The Terminator, I'll be back.

Need to know

Hannah Betts travelled with the Croatian National Tourist Office (020-8563 7979, www.croatia.hr).

Getting there Ryanair (0871 246 0000, www.ryanair.com) flies from Stansted to Zadar from £20 return. National Car Rental (0870 400 4533, www.nationalcar.co.uk) from £172 for seven days. Car ferry (00 385 51 666 111, www.jadrolinija. hr) from Zadar to Brbinj, Dugi Otok, from £28.20 return.

Staying Veli Rat Lighthouse (00 385 21 390609, www.lighthouses-croatia.com) from £480 a week for a two-to-three person apartment. Niko, Zadar (00 385 23 337 880, www.hotel-niko.hr), B&B doubles from £75.

Eating Oleandar (00 385 23 377 703) Bozava; Roko (00 385 23 377 182, www.pansion-roko.hr) Zaglav 28, Sali; Arsenal, Trg Tri Bunara 1, Zadar (00 385 23 253 833, www.arsenalzadar.com); Kornat, Liburnska Obala 6, Zadar (00 385 23 254 501).

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