Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
back into the wild. A 2.5km trail through pine woods takes you past indigenous fauna
and natural enclosures with moose, caribou and cavorting river otters. There's an
inter-
pretive center
and touch displays for children. The park is on Rte 90, 12km south of the
junction with Hwy 1.
TOP OF CHAPTER
Conception Bay
Fishing villages stretch endlessly along Conception Bay's scenic western shore, a mere
80km from St John's. Highlights include Brigus, in all its Englishy, rock-walled glory
combined with North Pole history, and Cupids, a 1610 settlement complete with an ar-
chaeological dig to explore.
Brigus
Resting on the water and surrounded by rock bluffs is the heavenly village of
Brigus
(
www.brigus.net
)
. Its idyllic stone-walled streams meander slowly past old buildings and
colorful gardens before emptying into the serene Harbour Pond. During WWI, American
painter Rockwell Kent lived here, before his eccentric behavior got him deported on sus-
picion of spying for the Germans in 1915. The path toward his old cottage makes a great
walk.
Captain Robert Bartlett, the town's most famous son, is renowned as one of the fore-
most Arctic explorers of the 20th century. He made more than 20 Arctic expeditions, in-
cluding one in 1909, when he cleared a trail in the ice that enabled US commander
Robert Peary to make his celebrated dash to the North Pole. Bartlett's house,
Hawthorne
Cottage
(
709-528-4004;
www.pc.gc.ca/hawthornecottage
;
cnr Irishtown Rd & South St; adult/
child $5/4;
10am-6pm daily Jul & Aug, Wed-Sun Jun)
, is a national historic site and mu-
seum.
On the waterfront, below the church, is the
Brigus Tunnel
, which was cut through
rock in 1860 so Robert Bartlett could easily access his ship in the deep cove on the other
side.
Every perfect village needs a perfect eatery. At
North St Cafe
( 709-528-1350; 29
North St; light meals $6-9; 11am-6pm May-Oct)
, quiche, fishcakes, scones and afternoon
tea are all on order. Brigus has a couple of B&Bs, but we suggest sleeping down the road
in Cupids.
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