Peggy’s Cove, NS

                                             

A couple of weekends ago we took a day trip to Peggy’s Cove and it was absolutely beautiful. I was only there once before and I don’t remember it being that impressive because we could basically only see what was in front of us due to fog. The weather was beautiful on this day and we could see forever, what a view! Make sure you check the weather before you go on this trip.

These are a few of the pictures I took of the lighthouse its self. So beautiful. 

 

The water is very powerful here and you can see that the undertow is going in two different directions and would bash a person into the rocks with immense force if you fell in or were knocked in by a wave. For people who have not grown up near the ocean, some waves that come in are small,  most are average size but every once in a while a huge wave comes by and crashes over the rocks with much more size and force. There are lots of signs posted for people to not go on the black rocks and there have been so many stories of people dying there but despite all these warnings I saw several people venture onto the black rocks to tempt their fate. Please don't do that - you can get much better pictures away from the water. I didn't get any real  good pictures of this, unfortunately my timing was always off.

The village is quaint and very photogenic as you can see. There are several little shops selling souvenirs, artwork, jewelry and food. When you first enter there is an information building where you can get a map and info on the area and there are bathrooms there as well but be warned they are of the outhouse variety, even though you would not think it to see the beautiful building. There are bathrooms at the restaurant as well but I never thought to check to see what type they were.

 

We thought about eating at the restaurant on site but found nothing we really wanted on the menu. It wasn’t the same as I had seen online before we left. There were quite a few things that weren’t as advertised online. Such as, we couldn’t find where you could send yourself a postcard from the lighthouse. Granted I did not ask staff because it was so busy on this particular day but I did have a look around and could not see where you would do this. We had also planned to go on the Peggy's Cove Boat Tour but after asking around we discovered there was some mystery about why this company was not running - they were supposed to open in May and hadn't. There was no indication of a late start up on their website. It was very disappointing and I got the feeling the owners were not very popular in the village. Below is a picture of the on site restaurant.

We ended up going down the road several coves over to eat at a place called the Finer Diner. There were a few options on the way but my husband is a big fan of the all-day breakfast (I had seen the menu online). It was a great choice for us. We sat out on the deck which was fully covered and we had an amazing view of the cove. Further out we could watch the sailboats drift by. The service was great, always a plus and the food was good and filling as well. We really enjoyed our meal there and it was worth the drive over. I did go inside to check out the dining room and washrooms. There were large windows overlooking the water and some comfortable looking booths. I would definitely recommend this diner and I would use their bathrooms over the ones found at the information center. This is a picture of the view from our table.

If travelling from the Halifax area you can travel in a loop and not backtrack or miss even a moment of the great view. We wanted to try out High Head Walking Trail in Prospect on the way and although we had directions from online and also talked to a gentleman at one of the information booths, we could not find this trail. I even asked some of the locals who were in the area and they did not know where it was either. I was very disappointed about this as it will be years before we will go back and the pictures I saw online looked amazing. We continued on enjoying the small towns, coves and water views that we came upon.  

Just before you get to Peggy’s Cove there is another walking trail which leads to the lesser known, Polley’s cove. There is a small parking area on the side of road where a few cars can park, if it is full go on to Peggy’s Cove and come back later if you wish. The trail is as wide as a four wheeler trail at the beginning, up to an old building foundation covered in graffiti. You can see the water from here but the better thing to do is to take one of the narrow walking paths that people have created over the years to either side. Even though it was a dry time of year, some spots were still wet and boggy but mostly it was fine. These trails are not marked in any way but are fairly easy to follow. This area has the same strewn boulder look with a great view of the ocean and the waves crashing in. If you want to get off the beaten path, this is a great place to check out.

Next stop Peggy’s Cove. After exploring this area we drove in the opposite direction and found more coves, towns and water views.  The drive back was more scenic and picturesque than the drive there. We stopped in several places to take pictures. It was a great day trip, one that we will reminisce about for a very long time. We had fantastic weather the day we went but it is known to be foggy and the temperature drops near the water so make sure you are prepared and wearing layers, no matter the temperature when you leave the house.