Hello from Ontario: A Country Excursion
to the Victorian Town of Owen Sound, a Historic Walking Tour and
a Hike along the Niagara Escarpment
Late summer can be a very beautiful time in Ontario, and this year
we certainly have been having great weather. In addition to getting
out and about in the city, Toronto that is, every chance I get,
I have been meaning to do an excursion into the country for a while
now. So I touched base with my good friend Yolande and we started
making plans for a girls’ weekend getaway. We figured somewhere
along Georgian Bay might be a good idea, and as I checked the map
I Owen Sound caught my attention since I had never visited it before.
Boating, a popular pastime on Georgian Bay
So early this Saturday morning I picked up Yolande and on a gorgeous
sunny day we started our drive northwards. We headed west to Brampton,
left the highway and started driving northwards through country
scenery. Farmland and rolling hills accompanied us on our drive
until we reached the Town of Collingwood. Collingwood is located
right on Georgian Bay in close proximity to Blue Mountain, one of
the highest outcroppings on the Niagara Escarpment. Collingwood
is a popular four-season resort, offering a wide range of recreational
activities year-round, and Blue Mountain is Canada’s third
busiest ski resort (after Whistler-Blackcomb and Mont Tremblant).
Due to its broad recreational opportunities It has even become a
popular retirement location in recent years and many new full-time
residential developments dot the area.
Bridge in Meaford
We continued through the old town and kept going westwards along
Georgian Bay past local towns such as Craigleith and Thornbury.
We had absolutely gorgeous weather and as we were driving we caught
glimpses of the sparkling blue water of Georgian Bay. A little while
later we decided to stop in the historic town Meaford, and drove
into its picturesque harbour area. Meaford is a rather small place
with a population of about 4,000 people. It has a beautifully developed
harbour complex that includes a Visitors Centre, a Dockmaster’s
office, washroom and laundry facilities. Close by are a variety
of picnic shelters and next to the Visitors Centre there is a retired
Canadian Coast Guard search and rescue vessel on display.
A retired Coast Guard vessel in Meaford
It was time to shake our legs a little, so we embarked on a little
walk through town. We crossed a river whose bridge was adorned with
blooming flowerboxes which made a nice photo motif against a group
of blue-grey condominium buildings. In just a few minutes we had
reached the town’s main thoroughfare called Sykes Street,
and admired an imposing Victorian brick building with a large mural
that said “Paul’s Hotel”, obviously an earlier
incarnation of this building.
The former Paul's Hotel in Meaford
Sykes Street features a very intact Victorian streetscape with
numerous retail stores and various cafes. We turned around at the
Meaford Hall, an arts and cultural centre that regularly hosts live
entertainment, business events and social gatherings. Many of the
stores were already featuring scarecrows and other costumes for
Halloween.
Meaford's main street: an intact Victorian streetscape
As we needed to continue our trip we got back in the car and drove
west to our intended destination for the weekend: Owen Sound, located
right at the confluence of the Sydenham River and Georgian Bay.
We drove into the northern end of town, parked our car at the Harry
Lumley Bayshore Community Centre and stepped out for a brief walk.
Owen Sound is known for its many walking and bicycling trails, and
the Harbour walkway as well as Tom Thomson Trail provide scenic
walking opportunities right along the city’s waterfront.
View of the mouth of the Sydenham River in Owen Sound
We admired three young athletes in neoprene wetsuits who were just
embarking on a swim of the river’s estuary. The water looked
pretty chilly. Just a few minutes further north a children’s
race called the Kids of Steel Race was getting underway, all part
of the Subaru Triathlon Series. I watched as the starter began the
countdown and dozens of kids started to run southwards on the trail
along the water’s edge. It was definitely a perfect day for
a bit of exercise in the great outdoors.
Pleasure-boating on Georgian Bay
To get further information about this town we stopped by the Tourism
Office which is housed in the same building as the Marine &
Rail Musuem, unfortunately we had just dropped by during lunch hour
and the office was closed. We stepped out onto the harbour promenade,
read some of the historical plaques and asked some local fishermen
where to eat and they gave us some loose instructions of how to
get to the “Boot and Blade”, a very popular casual restaurant
whose lineups attested to its popularity. Some of the offerings
on the all-day breakfast menu sounded appealing and we started to
enjoy our late lunch.
Entrance to the Old Post Office in Owen Sound
Appropriately strengthened we were ready for our explorations of
the town and went back to the Tourism Office which was open right
now. A young man named Keith provided us with a variety of brochures
about Owen Sound and the surrounding area. In a two-minute interview
(accessible through the Youtube link below) he provided us with
a brief overview of Owen Sound, the tourist destination.
The old Market Building, from 1868
Owen Sound is a popular destination for art lovers and the city
was named Canadian Cultural Capital in 2002. One of the major attractions
in Owen Sound is the Tom Thomson Memorial Art Gallery, one of Canada’s
most famous artists who was closely associated with the famous Group
of Seven. The Billy Bishop Heritage Museum showcases the life and
times of the famous Canadian aviator Billy Bishop who grew up in
Owen Sound. The Summerfolk Festival, the Artists’ Co-op and
the Roxy Theatre are popular destinations for art lovers. A popular
book by John Villani, “The 100 Best Art Towns in America”,
lists Owen Sound as a great arts destination, one of only five in
Canada.
Bridge over the Sydenham River in Owen Sound
With a population of about 22,000 people, Owen Sound is a major
population centre in this area and can look back on a long history.
The area was first surveyed in 1815 and settled as early as 1841.
Owen Sound historically played an important role as a port city
that was often called “Chicago of the North” and “Gateway
to the West”. Throughout the 19th century Owen Sound was quite
a raunchy place since many of its entertainment establishments catered
to the sailors who travelled through this town. As a result of all
the associated vice activities, the city decided to ban all drinking
establishments for several decades.
Looking north on the Sydenham River in Owen Sound
Owen Sound’s history also includes a critical role in the
Underground Railroad, the informal network of safe houses and escape
routes that provided a path to liberty for thousands of African
Slaves during the 19th century. Our local expert Keith mentioned
that Owen Sound was the northern terminus of the Underground Railroad,
and since 2004 a Black History Cairn (a pattern of symbolic stone
tiles that included secret instructions for escaping slaves) located
in the town’s Harrison Park commemorates Owen Sound’s
role in the liberation of slaves. An Annual Emancipation Festival
features a picnic, music, art show, poetry and readings celebrates
black history in Owen Sound.
One of the bed and breakfasts in Owen Sound
Our local tourism expert Keith also explained that Owen Sound offers
a great variety of outdoor summer activities including golf, hiking,
biking and fishing, and in the winter travelers can enjoy snowmobiling,
cross country and downhill skiing nearby. Owen Sound has also become
a popular retirement destination that attracts many retirees from
Toronto and other urban centres. He also pointed out that this weekend
the 155th Owen Sound Fall Fair would offer special attractions such
as a tractor pull and a demolition derby. In addition to all the
relevant brochures he equipped us with a free parking pass that
would allow us to park at any parking meter free of charge –
definitely a nice, welcoming touch that many travellers will enjoy.
St. George's Anglican Church at Salvation Corners
The first thing we decided to do was to go on the Historic Walking
Tour through downtown. We decided to park our car next to “Salvation
Corner”, an intersection that is anchored by four limestone
churches. St. George’s Anglican Church to me was the most
impressive, and this building, dating back to 1881, was modeled
after St. Mary’s Church in Bristol, England.
Victorian row houses
We continued east and walked south on Fifth Avenue where we saw
several collections of late Victorian row houses, built in Gothic
Revival and Italianate styles. On the left hand side of the road
we were captured by the Butchart Estate, an imposing Queen Anne
Revival home that was built in 1880 by one of the pioneers of Canada’s
cement industry. Robert Pim Butchart and his wife moved to Vancouver
Island in 1904 where they created Butchart Gardens, one of the primary
tourist destinations on Vancouver Island.
The Butchart Estate, now a B&B
On our way west on 9th Street we admired a variety of Queen Ann
and Georgian style homes that were built between the late 1850s
and early 1900s. Our next major stop was the Old Post Office, an
imposing Beaux Arts style building dating back to 1910. Today the
building is used for commercial offices and apartments. Then we
headed south on 2nd Avenue, one of Owen Sound’s major streets
and the heart of the town’s commercial district. This strip
offers a very intact Victorian streetscape and most of the buildings
also date from the second half of the 19th century. A drugstore,
a hardware store, a stationery store as well as a former hotel provide
some of the highlights on this strip.
Intact Victorian architecture in Owen Sound
Our tour then took us west on 8th Street past the Waterworks /
Market Building. This building was originally built in 1868 as a
private waterworks building, was taken over by the town in 1890
and became the town’s farmers market in 1935. The surrounding
site has been used as a market continuously for more than 150 years.
We then crossed the bridge over the Sydenham River and were impressed
by the numerous flower boxes that adorned the railings and the scenic
views north and southwards along the river. On the other side of
the river we visited the Owen Sound & North Grey Union Public
Library which was built in 1911 with a grant from Andrew Carnegie.
The Owen Sound Library, donated by Andrew Carnegie
Back on the east side of the river again and on our way back to
our vehicle, we admired the Seldon House, a former hotel with 44
rooms that was built in 1887. This hotel also featured three parlours,
a bar, dining room and commercial sample rooms. We had only seen
a small portion of Owen Sound’s architectural heritage, but
I concluded that it is one of the most well-preserved Victorian
towns I had ever had a chance to visit.
The former Seldon House
From architecture we moved to nature exploration. We decided to
drive south along the Sydenham River to Harrison Park, an important
recreational area. This beautifully landscaped park straddles the
scenic Sydenham River and features walking paths, ponds, a campground,
picnic areas, tennis courts, paddleboats and many other recreational
activities.
Pedal-boating in Harrison Park
The Harrison Park Inn restaurant provides affordable family dining
and also has a take out window that offers 16 different ice cream
flavours. The park itself was donated by the family of sawmill owner
John Harrison who, during the late 1800s, had spent years improving
the area with bridges, buildings, benches and walking trails. After
his death his family decided to make the property available to the
residents of Owen Sound through a gift sale. Since 1912 Harrison
Park has been owned by the city and represents one of the most popular
recreation areas in the city. The Black History Cairn can also be
found in this park.
Bales of hay on top of the Niagara Escarpment
We started hiking along a side trail of the Bruce Trail on the
east side of the Sydenham River, and although the distance between
Harrison Park and the Inglis Falls Conservation Area, our destination,
was less than three kilometres, our walk up and down steep hills
through the forest was quite challenging. One of Owen Sound’s
major attractions is the Niagara Escarpment that runs right through
town, and the Bruce Trail, the continuous hiking trail that stretches
all the way from Queenston near Niagara Falls to Tobermory, some
ways north of Owen Sound, is an important natural feature of the
area.
Inglis Falls
After a 45 minute hike along the Bruce Trail we had reached Inglis
Falls, one of three waterfalls that surrounds the city of Owen Sound.
Inglis Falls consists of an 18 metre high cascade, where the Sydenham
River falls over the edge of the Niagara Escarpment. From the viewing
platform we caught a glimpse of the symmetrical waterfall that has
eroded a deep gorge at the base of the falls. On the viewing platform
we connected with some local hikers that took us down close to the
riverbed on the west side of the river past some imposing limestone
rock formations. We climbed around the rocks, stones and roots and
decided that if we wanted to get back to Owen Sound at a reasonable
time, we had better get back up from the river and hike back on
the road that runs parallel to the Sydenham River on its west side.
Although the exploration of the jagged limestone rocks was fascinating,
we needed to cover more ground to get back to our car and finally
check in at our bed and breakfast.
We came through this narrow gap in the rock...
Our walk back took us along Inglis Falls Road where we admired
many miniature waterfalls that were gushing forth from the surrounding
limestone bedrock. At a good pace we walked past forests, peaceful
country properties and a major cemetery before we finally arrived
back in Harrison Park, just in time to watch some wedding photo
shots that were being taken in some sunny spots in the park.
Another view of Harrison Park
This day-long exploration had made us a bit hungry and it was time
to locate our bed and breakfast. We continued south on Highway 6/10
to Chatsworth and then past the village of Williamsford. At the
last intersection in town we turned right and drove west to Concession
4 where we finally found our bed and breakfast, just three houses
south of the intersection.
The Garden House B&B, our destination for the night
Our hostess, Maria Sir,
welcomed us at the Garden House B&B and showed us around her
beautiful property. Maria is an extremely gifted gardener and gave
us the complete house tour. The main floor is very spacious with
an open-concept kitchen – living – dining room area.
Maria’s white walls are enhanced with her own framed watercolour
paintings and hanging plants that drape down from the loft space
upstairs. Maria filled us in on some of her decorating secrets and
said that she picked up many of her furniture items from the dump
and carefully and lovingly restored them. Obviously she is a gifted
interior and creative decorator that is a real expert on breathing
life into discarded items.
Living room of the Garden House B&B
With our growling stomachs we were in serious need of some dining
advice and Maria gave us a peek at the menu for the nearby Kettle’s
Restaurant. Equipped with driving directions we set off in search
of our dinner and just about 10 minutes later we arrived at Kettle’s
Restaurant whose slogan is “Back Home Cooking”. The
menu indeed featured many casual hearty dishes at extremely reasonable
prices. The place was full, and obviously a popular destination
with many of the older local residents. Yolande commented that her
salmon dinner was excellent and my chicken fingers were okay as
well. Our evening meal certainly hit the spot after a long and intense
day of explorations.
My bedroom
We headed back to the Garden House B&B and Maria showed us
the bathroom and we settled in nicely in our respective bedrooms.
Actually when I originally had made the booking, each room was priced
at C$80 per night. I had actually asked for a room with two single
beds, and since Maria’s rooms all have queen size beds, she
generously offered us two separate bedrooms for the price of one.
A very generous offer that we really appreciated.
A flower in the backyard of the Garden House B&B
Exhausted from our long day, we both took turns taking a bath in
the claw foot tub and rested up in our soft downy beds for another
day of adventures tomorrow, which would start with a hearty home-made
breakfast in the morning.
