We had two days to chill out in Halifax at the end of the drive before we were due to fly back to London so Wendy, as usual, put her investigative hat on and started looking at all the places we could see and high on the list was the place where Canada was founded at the beginning of the 17th century, Prince Edward Island.
PEI is situated off the coast of New Brunswick and Nova Scotia. Up to 1997 the only way to get to the island was by ferry, then the island was linked to the mainland by the Confederation Bridge.
You can also get to the island by ferry from Caribou, Nova Scotia. We decided to do a round trip using the ferry and then returning by the bridge. So, we made the decision to get up early and drive to the ferry terminal at Caribou on the north-eastern end of the Nova Scotia peninsular. The weather, fair at the start, turned progressively more ominous with high winds and showers. The drive to the ferry was about 150 kms and took just under two hours. When we drove into the terminal the wind was blowing a gale and I wondered if the sailing might be delayed. The ferry in this shot was not the one we took, which arrived about 30 minutes later.
My fears were unfounded as we loaded on to the ferry and we departed right on time.
Heading out into the Northumberland Straits.
The crossing was about 75 minutes and, contrary to my fears, was relatively smooth. Arriving on PEI.
As we started the drive to the capital, Charlottetown, a distance of about 50 kms, we were both struck by the incredible greenness of the countryside. It was almost unreal!
PEI is famous for its potatoes and the contrast of the red earth of the ploughed fields was quite something.
The colour of the earth was incredible and some of the ploughing had to be seen to be believed.
We reached Charlottetown and stopped for a quick look at the centre and had a good snack lunch at a small restaurant. Here is the main street.
We parked next to the 'obligatory' war memorial to the fallen in the two World Wars and the Korean War.
Whilst we were driving around the town we came to this military museum and its tank parked outside.
We then drove to the north shore of the island to Cavendish to visit the house written about by L.M.Montgomery in Anne of Green Gables. The site is now owned by the Province and has been immaculately restored and furnished in the late 19th century style. The house was owned by her grandmother's cousin and she lived nearby.
Inside the house.
Her grave is in a cemetery close to the house.
Our drive then took us across the island to the amazing Confederation Bridge. The bridge is 12.9 kms long and is claimed to be the longest bridge in the world over ice covered water! It reminded us of the Chesapeake Bay and Key West Bridges. A wonderful feat of engineering.
When we reached the end of the bridge we stopped at the visitor centre and climbed their viewing tower and looked back at the bridge.
We headed south once more, this time along the coast through some truly wonderful New Brunswick countryside with small villages and a beautiful coastline looking east to PEI.
We then came to the most wonderful road, Highway 4. For over 50 kms we drove on this wide, three lane road, with almost no traffic at all. We never came up behind a single vehicle and the number of cars coming the other way could be counted on the fingers of one hand! Oh, how I'll miss these roads when we return to the UK!
On our own. Not a car to be seen!
We then rejoined the main highway into Halifax for the remaining 100kms of a 600 kms day. It had been a long drive but another one to remember.
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