Summerside is the second largest city in
the Province and is the economic hub of Prince County. We're
not going into town on this trip, instead we're off to the north
shore of the Island. The north shore is known as
Anne's Land
and is famous for that reason as well as the many kilometres
of sandy beaches. Follow along and enjoy. If you don't have
a visitor's guide and map you can
order
visitor information online or send us an
e-mail
and we�ll have them mailed to you.
About 1.6 kms (1 mile) up the road is
the junction with route 2 where we'll turn right toward Kensington.
At New Annan, among
the
fields are some of the largest potato processing plants in
the Maritimes. They even have a factory outlet! More than 100,000
acres of potatoes are grown on the Island and many of them are
processed at these and other plants. Just down a side road is
Webber Cove and Webber
Point (45k) where you can see some of the farms near the shore.
The area was possibly named in 1765 for Rear Admiral Charles Webber.
At the traffic lights in Kensington turn left onto route 20.
Here in Kensington, they have turned the
old
railway station into a museum, library and shop. A
locomotive sits
out front and a building in behind houses the weekend farmers
market. With the closing of the railway, the lands are being turned
into an Island-wide series of trails which when complete will
be about 340 kms (212 miles) long. Kensington is a small town
and it is not long before you are back out into
farming
country.
Turn left onto route 104 and head toward Indian River. Here
at Indian River is the
St.
Mary's Church. A local landmark, it is said to have the best
acoustics on the Island. For that reason it often plays host to
concerts. This is farming country where many of the local residents
are of the
bovine
persuasion and
fields
of grain are everywhere.
Wherever you drive in this area, you are never far from the
water. As you pass through the Hamilton
area (45k) enjoy the views of Malpeque Bay and the small
cove called March
Water. The name Hamilton was chosen at a public meeting
in 1869 for a school to replace Oyster Cove and Shipyard. Malpeque
is derived from the MicMac word "Makpaak" which means "big bay".
Turn right onto route 20 again and follow
it along the north shore.
At Malpeque, turn right to stay on route 20. You can go straight
ahead to Cabot Provincial Park where you can enjoy the views of
the Bay and Gulf of St. Lawrence. Just inland from here is
Spring
Valley where you can see the farms strung out along the road.
Just after the corner you will pass the
Darnley
Basin which was named in 1765 for Charles Lennox, Duke of
Richmond, Earl of Darnley. Formerly known as "Third Pond" the
next area is now called
Seaview
The Anne of Green Gables Museum is housed in the home that Lucy
Maud Montgomery called
Silver
Bush. The property borders the south part of
Lake
of Shining Waters. The north portion of
the
Lake is across the road. This
aerial
view of the area shows the Lake of Shining Waters, Silver
Bush and the shops by the shore.
This area is called Park
Corner and from the hilltop you can see the Lake
of Shining Waters and the fields
running down to the shore.
Sheltered in a channel off New London bay and behind
Cape
Tryon, the small fishing port of
French
River is one of the prettiest places on the Island. The harbour
and
farms perched
above the Gulf make this a must-see during your visit to the Island.
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