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October 6, 2006
Hello from Nova Scotia: Driving along the
Lighthouse Trail from Lunenburg via Mahone Bay to Peggy's Cove
My brief introduction to Lunenburg
was just enough to whet my appetite and to give me some ideas of
what to see next time I have a chance to visit this part of Nova
Scotia. After saying goodbye to the innkeepers at the Lunenburg
Inn I went back on the road to connect with the Lighthouse Trail.
Beautiful blue skies were greeting me, and the early autumn colours
were adorning the small country roads that snake in and out of the
indented shoreline of Nova Scotia’s South Shore.
Nova Scotia coastline
My first stopover happened in Mahone Bay, a very picturesque village
located right on the Lighthouse Route. The entire area boasts 365
islands, literally one island for every day of the year. Mahone
Bay is a popular weekend getaway destination, and watersport enthusiasts
love its protected bay-side location. I parked my car and took a
little stroll through town which was decked out in pre-Halloween
decorations. A wide variety of scare crows were adorning the village,
and one house was being rescued by a team of firefighters made up
entirely of stuffed straw puppets. Numerous eclectic shops, restaurants
and art stores line the main street of Mahone Bay, a town dating
back more than 250 years.
Fighting a scarecrow fire
It all started in 1754 when the town was first settled by the “foreign
protestant” pioneers, mostly German Lutheran immigrants, who
had been brought over by the British Crown in the mid to late 1700s.
Even the local Bayview Cemetery attests to this heritage: many of
the gravestones feature German inscriptions.
"Ocean Monsters" in Mahone Bay
The name “Mahone” itself stems from a French term for
a low-lying vessel that was mainly used by pirates. These were the
big days of privateering on the East coast, the days of government-authorized
pirate raids. Today, a kinder, gentler life is lived in Mahone Bay,
and this quaint little town attracts many artists, travelers and
nature lovers. Many people even consider relocating permanently
to Mahone Bay: Harrowsmith Magazine has rated Mahone Bay as one
of the top ten best small towns in Canada to live in. It is certainly
one of the most scenic.
Mr. and Mrs. Tin Man
The biggest landmarks in the town are found in the harbour area:
three churches, located side by side, come together to create one
of the most popular photo opportunities in Canada. Trinity United
Church, built in 1861, St. John’s Lutheran Church, in its
present version dating back to 1903, and the St. James Anglican
Church, constructed in 1887, form the famous trio of Canada’s
most photographed churches. Throughout the summer season the Three
Churches are the location of a concert series, and Mahone Bay itself
hosts a variety of festivals throughout the seasons.
The Three churches
After my quick ice-cream stop I continued my drive along the Lighthouse
Trail past picturesque inlets, islands and country vistas. I was
now on the homestretch of my drive to Halifax
and had to watch my time in order to make it into town for my evening
program in Nova Scotia’s capital.
Scare crows in Mahone Bay
But two more stops would be mandatory: the first one just outside
of famous Peggy’s Cove was the memorial for Swiss Air Flight
111 which crashed into St. Margaret’s Bay, about 8 km out
in the ocean, on September 2, 1998. Swiss Air 111 was on its way
from New York City to Geneva, Switzerland, when 229 men, women and
children perished off these shores on this early September day.
Swiss Air 111 Memorial
A stone memorial located about 1 km away from Peggy’s Cove
commemorates the victims. The three notches on the monument at Whalesback
represent the numerals 111. I personally still remember the news
of Swissair 111 crashing into Peggy’s Cove, and looking out
onto this peaceful stretch of ocean made me think that sometimes
life can just hang by a thread and everything can change in an instant.
Landscape surrounding Swiss Air 111 memorial
From a visual point of view, the St. Margaret’s Bay area is
very different from Mahone Bay. In contrast to the forest and field-covered
serene rounded hills of Mahone Bay, St. Margaret’s Bay is
much more rugged and barren. Geologically, large granite boulders
were left behind after the last ice age and dominate the scenery
around Peggy’s Cove. I went back to the car and drove the
last little bit to one of Nova Scotia’s most well-known destinations.
A view of Peggy's Cove from the Sou'Wester Restaurant
Peggy’s Cove is a tiny village: only about 120 residents
call it their permanent home. The town was founded in 1811 when
settlers of German descent were given land grants by the government
of Nova Scotia. These settlers mostly earned their living as fishermen,
but they also farmed areas that were fertile and pastured cattle.
The town saw its peak population in the early 1900s when about 300
people lived there. Today, Peggy’s Cove is one of Nova Scotia’s
favourite tourist destinations, and the main attraction, of course,
is the famous lighthouse. Tourism surpassed the fishing industry
as the main income source in this town after the Second World War,
but lobster fishing is still practiced here.
The famous lighthouse at Peggy's Cove
The surrounding region is known for its hiking trails, kayaking
adventures, bird-watching opportunities, and its pristine beaches.
Golfing is available and whale watching is one of the major tourist
offerings in this area. Restaurants, cafes, galleries and craft
shops are additional highlights in the area.
The name “Peggy’s Cove” is derived from a cove
of the same name. “Peggy” is a nickname for “Margaret”,
and the name may indeed be derived from St. Margaret’s Bay
although other local stories talk of an early settler named Peggy
while another legend refers to the only survivor of a schooner that
ran aground and sank in 1800. Of course, so the saying goes, this
woman’s name was Margaret and her home town became known as
Peggy’s Cove.
Peggy's Cove: a picturesque Nova Scotia fishing village
The first lighthouse, a wooden structure, was built in 1868 at
Peggy Cove which was followed by the current octagonal structure
in 1914. During World War II, the light house was used as a radio
station for the Royal Canadian Navy. The old dwellings of the lighthouse
keeper were located near the current lighthouse until they were
damaged by Hurricane Edna in 1954 and removed. The lighthouse was
finally automated in 1958.
An inlet at Peggy's Cove
Today’s lighthouse holds a Canada Post office on the lower
level which also serves as the village’s post office. Visitors
climb all over the rounded granite rocks that surround the famous
lighthouse. Unfortunately several visitors every year are swept
into the sea by the unpredictable surf, some of them even drown.
So it’s important to be careful around here.
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St. John's Church in Peggy's Cove
Just steps away from the lighthouse is the well-known Sou’wester
Restaurant, which also features a souvenir shop and beautiful views
over the coastline. I was definitely ready for a late lunch after
my exciting discoveries of Lunenburg
and the Lighthouse Trail, so I took a seat in the Sou’wester
and enjoyed a much needed soup and salad to keep me going for another
few hours of this road trip. After a brief refreshment it was time
to hit the road again to make it to my final destination of my Nova
Scotia trip: Halifax!
Useful
books about travel to Nova Scotia:
Related
articles:
My five whirlwind days in Nova Scotia
Acadian
history at the Grand Pré National Historic Site
400 years of history at Annapolis
Royal
Port-Royal, a French habitation from 1605
Dinner at the Garrison House
in Annapolis Royal
The Annapolis Royal
Graveyard Tour
The Garrison House Bed and Breakfast
Exploring the Evangeline Trail from
Annapolis Royal to Yarmouth
Learning about Mi'kmaq heritage at the
Bear River First Nation Heritage and Cultural Center
Victorian heritage in Yarmouth
The MacKinnon-Cann Inn: Where Home
and Garden Television meets the Travel Channel
Yarmouth explained - the Yarmouth
County Museum
My car is in the ditch in Chebogue
River
The Lighthouse Trail from Yarmouth
to Shelburne
The Lighthouse Trail from Shelburne
to Lunenburg
The Town of Lunenburg - a UNESCO World Heritage
Site
An interview with the owners of the
Lunenburg Inn
The Lighthouse Trail from Lunenburg to
Halifax via Mahone Bay and Peggy's Cove
Arrival in Halifax and a stunning
musical performance - DRUM!
A Halifax city tour, the city's
connection to the Titantic and the 1917 Halifax Explosion
Exploring the Halifax Harbourwalk and
Pier 21 - Canada's immigration museum
A ferry trip to Dartmouth and saying
goodbye to Halifax
An interview with Pier 21 -
Canada's immigration museum
Helpful
links for travel to Nova Scotia:
Tourism
Nova Scotia
Destination
South West Nova Scotia
Halifax Tourism
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