COBOURG AND PORT HOPE, ONTARIO

We spent our last two days in the small lakeshore towns of Cobourg and Port Hope before heading to our uncle's in Toronto.

We could not find a place to stay the two nights in either place d/t graduations and weddings bringing in many guests from out-of-town. So we had to stay one night in each. Both Cobourg and Port Hope were settled by United Empire Loyalists and are delightful, present-day communities. They have some lovely old homes behind their main streets and large mature trees enhance the ambience.

Cobourg has a huge marina and a fair-sized beach. The marina is overlooked by modern condos with spectacular views, and the Coastguard has a search and rescue facility on the outer edge of the marina closer to the lake.

Victoria Hall (Wikipedia)

Victoria Hall is a vast building in the centre of Cobourg that now houses the town hall, art gallery, and a concert hall. It is grandiose for such a small town, but much touted. It was opened in 1860 by the future Edward VII. At the beginning of the 20th century, wealthy Americans built equally grandiose homes here, one of which resembles the White House and can be seen on the main road into town.

It's worth walking the downtown streets that are full of interesting small shops. The George Inn and the boardwalk to the west of the marina are also worth spending some time.

Photo: www.openbookontario.com

Port Hope, seven kilometres west of Cobourg, is a smaller town and most attractive. Originally a First Nations settlement, the loyalists arrived in the late 1700s. Wikipedia states, "... downtown is celebrated now as the best-preserved 19th century streetscape in Ontario," and so it is. Charming, well-kept, and filled with small stores and friendly cafés, etc. It's lovely.

There are also some good restos here but, as we'd eaten a very late and superb lunch at Marka's in Cobourg, we didn't try one. Instead we had a snack in our room at a B&B that was also a British Tea Shoppe. Summerhill B&B was a most hospitable place to stay, albeit crammed with Victoriana and over-the-top decor, especially in the tea room. However, breakfast was the best the British proprietor could possibly provide. Bangers, eggs and bacon, baked beans, toast, and grilled tomatoes.

After consuming this and before we drove to Toronto, we nipped down to the waterfront. Running down the river in Port Hope is a lovely park and town hall. The little harbour was lined with early fisherman with their rods and small boats. We turned left at the river mouth and found a small beach. The lake was calm and I could see the small light at the end of the mole.

Highway 401 was 12 lanes into Toronto, which was mildly terrifying. Mrs. GPS got me through without a hitch and we were welcomed by Uncle Andy with an exquisite four course lunch. 

We are going to the National Ballet tomorrow - Romeo and Juliet. Culture at last!!   Bliss!


IMAGES: © Photos by Pharos 2014, except where noted. All rights reserved

Also my thanks to Tourism Ontario and Ontario Waterway Cruises for making my adventures possible. Much appreciated....

DAY FIVE-SIX IN PRINCE EDWARD COUNTY

We had a quiet morning on my husband's last day in Prince Edward County. The night before had been a wild evening with trees down in a town about five kms away and power outages everywhere. We were lucky not to be affected by it all.

The day dawned overcast and we stayed in our hotel for most of the morning and then headed out to where we had had lunch the day before at Lake on the Mountain. We wanted to try the recently opened Miller House as they serve charcuterie and cheese platters from local producers.  As we arrived the sun broke through and we sat on the patio overlooking the Bay of Quinte.

The Miller House dates back to 1840 when the mill the miller worked for built him a house. The mill was 200 feet straight down the escarpment from the house and I've no idea how he got to and from work. I can only imagine he had to rappel down and climb up.

The menu was an impressive selection of platters influenced by France, Italy, Spain and Quebec. But we chose to have the local special. It turned out to be the best meal we've had since our adventures began at the end of May.

On our platter were heaping servings of local Genoan salami and Hunter sausage, a pile of Black River aged sharp cheddar, along with a home made baguette. But the surprise was their house bacon marmalade and stone-ground mustard. I've never tasted better anywhere. Sad to say, we couldn't buy any, they'd sold out....

..o0o..

I enjoyed a solo day in Picton for my last day here before I had to drive to Belleville to meet my hubby when he returned from Ottawa.

While I did the laundry at a laundromat, I also spent two hours at the Naval Marine Archive. I chose to do the latter as I didn't have a chance when I spoke there on Sunday, neither did I have the chance to talk to the executive director who is a character and has more knowledge at hand to find info than the National Archives in Ottawa. In the main area are a few displays including some artefacts related to Nelson and the submarine paintings celebrating the centenary this year. These are all stunning! Their library of books is at the back and they also offer books for sale.

But upstairs is where the real treasure lies hidden. This is the rare naval and marine book collection, and NMA has many volumes that are available nowhere else in Canada. One million dollars worth! I hungered to spend a day a two here, but had to leave.

After a quick lunch in an excellent local bistro, The Painted Peppercorn, I walked down both sides of the main street and enjoyed the cooling breezes at the marina before I headed to find some red barns to photograph and then drive into Belleville.

That's when the day fell apart. My husband was trapped in the closure of Highway 401 at Kingston. He sat in a car for three hours on the freeway and I sat in a hot car in Belleville for three hours at the rental car office. A semi had overturned and spilled tons of chicken feed over all westbound lanes!!

We didn't arrive in Cobourg until 8pm, weary and very thirsty. Luckily the Woodlawn Inn's kitchen was still open and we had a spectacular meal there. We also had a huge comfortable room and we fell into the big four-poster bed with relief. Original part of the mansion was built in the 1830s.

IMAGES: Photos by Pharos 2014

All rights reserved