Charlotte's Shore
Just before Victoria is
Victoria
Park where you can stop and have a picnic overlooking the
strait. If you turn around, you can admire
the
view of the farmland on the other side of the inlet.
Victoria is a small fishing village named after Queen Victoria.
The
small
harbour is home to 25 fishing boats during the season. The
village is also home to many small art galleries, pottery studios,
craft shops, restaurants and a shop which makes wonderful hand-made
chocolates. It is also home to the studio of
Sylvia Ridgeway,
the artist whose work is used for the graphic at the top of this
page. Take a moment to enjoy this
aerial
view of Victoria
Near Victoria, are these trees
perched on a hilltop. You can see them from the road. The
four trees reminded me of the four trees on our provincial flag
and coat of arms. One large tree next to a grouping of three
smaller trees and the latin phrase, parva sub ingenti,
which means the small under the protection of the great. The
phrase refers to Great Britain (the great) being the protector
of the three counties which make up Prince Edward Island (the
small). The trees on our flag are oaks, the trees on the hillside
aren't.
After you leave Victoria, the road rejoins the main highway
and goes through Crapaud. The French named the area rivière
aux Crapauds or river of toads.
At Tryon turn left off the highway onto route 10. Be careful,
the turn is on a curve to the right and as you go left you go
over the crest of the road onto the side road. Go down the hill
turn left, go a short distance and turn right onto the small bridge
spanning the Tryon River. The
Tryon
River marsh is a great place to watch birds. During the fall,
many hundreds of geese rest here on their way south and from
high
in the sky you can see why it looks attractive.
You are now entering the heart of potato country. The potato
fields here seem to go on forever.
Near Cape Traverse is the first good place to view the Confederation
Bridge.
Continuing on route 10 you pass by Borden which is where the
bridge begins. The Community of Borden is busy with new developments
and the Borden Area Development Corporation is actively promoting
business opportunities in the area. Then at North Carleton, stop
in at
St.
Peter's Church. They have a little picnic area to the side
of the church and it is one of the best places to
view
the bridge. From here you get a good idea of its scale as
it reaches across the strait.
Turn left onto route 112 at
Searltown.
You can take a detour here to
Seacow
Head. Then return and follow the road until you turn right
onto route 171 at Bedeque. On the edge of the Bedeque Bay, the
locales of Lower Bedeque, Bedeque,
Central
Bedeque and
North
Bedeque overlook the Dunk River which flows into the bay.
As you leave Central Bedeque, turn onto the highway 1A and head
toward Summerside.
As you approach Summerside, you cross the
Wilmot River which also hosts hundreds of geese and other birds
during the fall migrations.
This is the junction of highway 1A and the main street into the
Town of Summerside.
It is also the end of this tour. We thank you for coming along
and
invite your
comments. From here other tours will take you to the north
shore of the Island and west through Prince County.
