Halifax and Peggy’s Cove, Nova Scotia

 

“Nova Scotia as a British colony also came into being as another result of these adventurous British expeditions to North America in the reign of James I.”

Harry Johnston

Halifax is a nice city with lots of history. It is the capitol in the largest municipality of the Canadian province of Nova Scotia. This city started because of the navy. That is because it is one of the largest and deepest ice-free natural harbours in the world which help to make Halifax one of the most important Canadian commercial ports on the Atlantic seaboard.

Our tour started with a brief drive around Halifax where she pointed out some of the historic sites. While in Halifax, you are never far from the ocean, nature parks, and protected wilderness areas.

Then our bus headed towards Peggy's Cove which was founded in 1811. It is a mere 45 minute drive from Halifax. Peggy’s Cove is located on the eastern shore of St. Margaret's Bay. On our way, we passed thick forests and tiny fishing villages. Today was a rainy day but the scenery we passed still looked beautiful.

The picturesque Peggy’s Cove was beautiful even in the rain. This lighthouse and small rural fishing village is just stunning. It is located in the Halifax Regional Municipality and is just lovely with many houses perched along the narrow inlet. It is still an active fishing village. The village was named after a sole survivor of a shipwreck just off the coast. Her name was Margaret but she was known as “Peggy” and she eventually settled in this cove. There are only 30 permanent residents here. There is a schoolhouse, church, general store, lobster cannery, and boats of all sizes.

The lighthouse is known as Peggy’s Cove Lighthouse or Peggy’s Point Lighthouse and was established in 1868 and built in 1915. It is one of the most photographed lighthouse in Nova Scotia. We got off the bus and walked around the rocks near the ocean. The ocean was wild with large waves crashing on the rocks and sometimes splashing over 30 feet in the sky.

When we got back to the port, we took a walk around the Halifax Waterfront. This is a busy area of the city with one of the world’s longest urban boardwalks spanning 2.5 miles. There are so great places to eat along the way and many fun stores to explore. There are beautiful views of the harbor and it was fun looking at all the statues.

We passed the CSS Acadia which was formerly a hydrographic surveying and oceanographic research ship. She was launched on May 8, 1913 and stayed in service until 1969. She is now preserved as a museum ship. Then there is the 130 foot schooner named Silva that offers tours of the Halifax harbor front.

We stopped and bought Poutine which is French fries covered with cheese curds and topped with gravy. It was wonderful. Now we know why so many people say it is so delicious and that we had to try it. After that we headed back to the ship.  We had a lovely day in Halifax and Peggy’s Cove.

Till next time. Bye for now.