On my journey from the eastern side of the island to the northwestern tip, I decided to take in Charlottetown, the provincial capital of Prince Edward Island.
As I left the eastern part of the island, I saw a couple of horse drawn coaches driving along the road. The first one was an open trap, the other was a proper black stagecoach; it looked like the sort of thing Dick Turpin would have held up! The people driving it were in period costume and gave me a polite wave when I slowed down as we passed so as not to frighten the horses. I couldn’t determine whether there was some sort of event or reenactment going on or whether there was an Amish community on the island and they were part of that. I subsequently discovered that there were Amish people on Prince Edward Island, a few had moved from Ontario to settle in a couple of communities on the eastern part of the island.
Despite Prince Edward Island being Canada’s smallest province, its capital is very important because Charlottetown was the birthplace of Canada. The Fathers of Confederation met at Province House National Historic Site in 1864 in Charlottetown to plot out the creation of Canada.
Today was Sunday and I hoped it would be quieter and easier to park than during the week. I parked down by the harbour and was able to leave my car there all afternoon as I explored the pocket size historic downtown area of Charlottetown. I spent a very pleasant afternoon following the recommended walking tour route and wandering around the shops.
There were quite a few statues around the historic district. Opposite the cathedral were the interesting statues of two men who arrived in Charlottetown on a political conference in the 1860s. Both of them were Conservatives, one was from Prince Edward Island and one was from New Brunswick. And both had exactly the same name, John Hamilton Gray. This was a very odd coincidence for the rather unusual combination of names.
I went in the Basilica of St Dunstan, Charlottetown’s Catholic cathedral to look inside. It was completed in 1919 after the previous cathedrals had been destroyed and is now a designated National Historic Site. The spires are the highest points in the city and the interior is famous for its stained glass windows.
I continued my walk around Charlottetown and walked past the city’s Anglican cathedral, St Peter’s, which predates the Catholic cathedral. This striking red stone building was founded in 1869 and is opposite the Provincial Parliament building.
I also wandered past an impressive hotel, the Historic Rodd Hotel dating from 1931. Originally called the Hotel Charlottetown and built by the Canadian National Railway, it was much more imposing than the understated, smaller hotels in the historic downtown area, such as the elegant Great George on a corner of Great George Street. Still referred to as the Hotel Charlottetown, this was a typical Canadian Railway hotel, large and opulent with a white pillared entrance. The Queen and Prince Philip stayed there in 1973 during the centennial confederation celebrations.
Before heading up to Victoria Park, I stopped into a music shop to buy a cup of Japanese green tea. Two Irish lads were working in the shop. They were on Prince Edward Island as part of their studies. They were studying Irish music in Limerick, but had come to Prince Edward Island for 6 months to study the Irish music traditions on the island and they would also be performing. Sadly, I didn’t have time to take in any musical events in Charlottetown, so I headed up the hill towards Victoria Park.
On Kent Street next to Victoria Park is the Beaconsfield Historic House an original Victorian house built in 1877 for a wealthy shipbuilder. It has been preserved and is now a museum, open to the public, but not on weekends in June. It was getting quite late by now and I still had the drive to Tignish which was going to take almost 2 hours.
I walked back down to the harbour and had a wander around the harbourside shops and then went to a burger van for my tea. I rarely eat fast food and it’s even rarer that I buy anything from a burger van. However, Prince Edward Island is famous for its potatoes and this was my chance to try chips made from potatoes grown on Prince Edward Island. I don’t eat chips very often either, but the lady running the burger van had nothing pre-cooked, she cooked it all on order. So she fried the chips in front of me when I ordered them and they were exceptionally good. They were the best chips I tasted during my whole time in Canada.
Charlottetown is like a lot of other historic towns in North America. The historic downtown district was similar to a lot of others I’d seen. However, its size makes it a very manageable place to walk around and you don’t have to park miles away from the historic centre. This pocket sized provincial capital had been a lovely way to spend an afternoon and I was pleased I hadn’t missed out on seeing the city.
Now it really was time for me to head to the northwestern tip of the island in readiness for doing my next epic provincial coastal drive, the North Cape Coastal Drive, around the wet and windy western third of Prince Edward Island.
I travelled around Atlantic Canada in June 2018.
Details about Charlottetown and maps of the city can be found on the Prince Edward Island and Charlottetown websites
Beaconsfield Historic House is open year round Monday to Friday and at weekends in July and August.
Charlottetown is a 50 minute drive from the Confederation Bridge, a 45 minute drive from Georgetown and a 1 hour drive from Summerside.
Read more posts on my adventures in Canada.
Points East Coastal Drive on Prince Edward Island
Canada: Cavendish and the Rotating House of North Rustico
Canada: Magnetic Hill and Fundy National Park
Canada: Quebec – Waterfalls, Via Ferrata and A Religious Theme Park
Canada: Saint John River Valley
Regina – Canada’s Medieval Castle
