My visit to Prince Edward Island in July 1993 did not start very well - a 3-hour wait for the ferry from Caribou, Nova Scotia, to the Woods Islands terminal on a hot, sunny afternoon is not my idea of fun and the fact that a large, new ferry was due to come into service shortly didn't help me! However, once on the island and through Charlottetown, the capital, on the way to Cavendish on the north coast, the charm of the place took over and as a bonus there was a glorious sunset.
With only a few days on PEI, Cavendish proved to be a very good centre for exploring
the National Park. Next day, the first stop was the excellent, information centre
to pick up some maps and leaflets about trails, wildlife and events in the Park and watch
some short videos.
Then it was on to take a look at Cavendish Main Beach which is very popular with families.
However, on windy days the Park Authorities have a continual battle
to remove the sand that blows onto the Gulf Shore Parkway from the dunes.
Going eastwards along the Parkway there are several spectacular viewpoints of the
soft, red sandstone cliffs and the Gulf of St Lawrence. The erosion warning signs seem
very necessary...
Further along the coast in the easternmost section of the National Park there are various nature trails including the short "Reeds and Rushes Trail" (above) which is just behind the sand dunes and takes you on boardwalks to viewing areas with informative signboards - just be sure to use plenty of insect repellent before you set off!
Preserved within the National Park is the house that inspired the title of L M Montgomery's book "Anne of Green Gables". Further information is on my Land of Anne page.
If you like circular tours this one that takes in Charlottetown, Cavendish, and the central part of the north and south coasts of PEI may be for you. It was well-signposted with blue heron symbols but at 120 miles (190 km) long, I think you would miss a lot if you tried to do it all in one day.
In July there were masses of lupins growing along the roadside
in places along the Drive...
Cabot Beach Provincial Park just off the route made a good spot for a lunchtime picnic.
Malpeque Gardens at Kensington were very colourful and well worth a visit. There were various distinct gardens including one containing a model of "Green Gables" and devoted to cottage garden flowers.
To round off the day, there are a number of places where you can get a lobster supper, including Fisherman's Wharf at North Rustico fishing village. Even with seating for 500 (!) it can get crowded but the fresh lobster in the shell was delicious and the plastic bib stopped me getting too messy.
If you now think you would like to find out more, there is lots of detailed information on the tourist information pages of Prince Edward Island Government. There are various webcam pictures showing traffic on the Confederation Bridge.
I was not able to find any pages about the island by people who live there when I was originally putting this page together but
If there is anything you think I should include on this page, please let me know. You can contact me at: keg@greenhse.netkonect.co.uk
Where next? On to the next island or back to my home page or somewhere else on The Rail's Whistle Stop tour?
This page was last modified on 5 June 1997 (links last upated on 18 September 2006)