Historic Avalon & The Baccalieu Trail

Begin at St. John's and drive out Topsail Road, Route 60, a highway loop that takes you through Topsail for an unsurpassed view of Bell Island, Little Bell Island and Kellys Island in Conception Bay. Then it continues on through Conception Bay South, an amalgamation of small towns. At Manuels you can search for trilobite fossils along the banks of the Manuels River. At Long Pond is the Royal Newfoundland Yacht Club. Kelligrews is the site celebrated in the folk song "The Kelligrews Soiree." Then it's west through Upper Gullies and Seal Cove to Holyrood, a favorite area for sailing enthusiasts. Before continuing your tour, you may want to take a dip in the swimming pool at Holyrood's Municipal Park.

The Baccalieu Trail

Mouse Hole, Burnt Point

This travel route is named for Baccalieu Island, which is at the trail's midpoint at the northern end of the Bay de Verde Peninsula. Baccalieu is Portuguese for salted cod fish.

Continue along Route 60, or take Route 1 west to Route 70. If you take Route 60, continue past Lakeview, through a tiny sheltered harbour and continue on to Avondale where you can picnic near the site of an old sawmill on an access road that joins Rout 60 to Route 1. Continue north along the narrow winding coastal highway to the picturesque harbour community of Middle Arm. If you explore a little youmay find the old beached whaler in an adjacent arm of the sea. Nearby Conception Harbour and Colliers are attractive little communities which are typical of the area's beautiful coastal scenery. Just off the main route is Brigus with its charming Old World atmosphere. Its scenic appeal prompted the famous American artist Rockwell Kent to establish a summer residence and studio there in the early part of this century.

Brigus is the birthplace of Captain Bob Bartlett, born in 1875 and considered an outstanding pioneer of navigation in the Far North. Captain Bartlett accompanied Commodore Peary as far as his last relay point on the 1909 expedition to the North Pole. His former home, Hawthorne Cottage, still stands in Brigus and has been designated an Historic Site. Brigus also hosts a Blueberry Festival each August.

When you return to the Conception Bay Highway, Route 60, continue on to Cupids, the site of the first official attempt to colonize Newfoundland. In 1610, John Guy from Bristol, England made an ambitious effort to establish a plantation at what was then known as Cuper's Cove. His colony was not a success, but it helped to lead the way for the later and more permanent settlement of the area.

Rejoin Route 60 and continue on to South River, taking Route 70 to Clarke's Beach and a side trip via Route 72 to the Port de Grave Peninsula where you can visit and photograph some of the striking coastal scenery and fishing villages along the way. At Hibbs Cove there is a Fisherman's Museum with furniture, pictures and artifacts depicting the village lifestyle of years ago. Next to the museum is a one-room schoolhouse and the Porter House, which gives a taste of the lifestyle of an ordinary fisherman from earlier this century. Nearby is the anchor from the PLM 27, one of the ore carriers sunk by a German U-Boat off Bell Island in 1942.

Return via Route 72 to Route 70 and continue to Bay Roberts, a fishing community that received its name from Jersey fishermen who came here from the Channel Islands several centuries ago. Now it's a major service and shopping centre. Next on the route is Spaniard's Bay, a community whose name reflects an era when Spanish fishermen frequented Newfoundland waters. Spanish influence in Newfoundland ended with defeat of the Spanish Armada in far-away Europe in 1558. From here we go to Harbour Grace, a community which derives its name from "Havre de Grace" - a name the French bestwed on it in the early 1500's, probably after the French fishing port LeHavre.

Harbour Grace was once the headquarters of Peter Easton, a famous pirate of the early seventeenth century. His pirate fort was on the site of the old Customs House in the eastern section of the town. The building is now a Community Museum with three floors of fascinating exhibits that tell of this town's long and illustrious past, including its important role in the history of aviation.

Among the museum's many highlights is a collection of furniture made by William Winter during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Inspired by the Arts and Crafts movement, the quality and design of the pieces places him among the leading furniture designers of his day. An unusual element in the museum's collection is a group of family portraits painted by an unknown artist in the early 19th century. Photographers will be thrilled by the collection of glass plate negatives.

Beginning in 1919, Harbour Grace was used as the departure point for many early attempts to fly the Atlantic. The first successful flight from the community was piloted by William Brock and Edward Schlee of Croyden, England in august 1927, the same year the first civilian airport in North America was opened here. In 1932, Amelia Earhart left Harbour Grace to become the first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic. Still a thriving community, Harbour Grace was once the second largest town in Newfoundland and seemed destined to become its second city. Then a series of seven major fires between 1814 and 1944 drastically impeded the growth and progress of the town. Fortunately many of its historic buildings and fine residences survived. One of the most interesting of these is St. Paul's Anglican Church. It was erected in 1835 and is the oldest stone church in Newfoundland.

The Intriguing Waters of Newfoundland by David Walsh

From Harbour Grace, continue on to Carbonear, another town with a fascinating history. In 1696, it was burned to the ground by the French, but the inhabitants retreated to a small fortified island in the harbour and successfully defended it against capture. Carbonear Island has been designated a National Historic Site to mark its colourful military past. You can take a tour boat to the island.

There is also a romantic side to the town's past. During the reign of Queen Elizabeth I, Gilbert Pike, a former member of the Peter Easton's pirate band, fell in love with Sheila Na Geira, an Irish princess whom he had rescued from a Dutch warship, where she was being held prisoner. The couple married and decided to make a new home for themselves in the New World. They settled in Bristol's Hope, where their descendants still live. To the day she died, Sheila was known as "The Carbonear Princess."

Carbonear also is the home of the Annual Conception Bay Folk Festival. Every summer people come from all over to celebrate the music, song and dance of the communities of the North Shore of Conception Bay. If you are in the area during the festival you can take a day to enjoy this good time which has its traditional roots in the West Country of England.

If you are interested in a more modern era, you should visit Victoria where the Hydro Electric Development is a registered Historic Site. The plant came on stream in 1904, making it the second major hydro electric project in Newfoundland. The Victoria station is now a museum that displays some of the earliest equipment in Canada. It is open daily during July and August - and it still produces electricity.

A few kilometres up the coast from Victoria on Route 70 is Salmon Cove Sands Provincial Park, a sheltered beach with a grassy picnic area. The park has several distinctive large rocks in the cove and a variety of beach birds which make ideal photographic subjects. There are extensive stretches of water shallow enough for children to wade and play in safely.

Northern Bay Sands
Continuing northward on Route 70, takes you through a series of attractive little communities, including Blackhead where the first Methodist church in Canada (newfoundland) was erected in 1769. The plaque marking this Historic Site is near an ancient cemetery which is well worth a visit by people interested in the early history of the province and in the establishment of Methodism in Canada. Nearby Western Bay is the birthplace of one of Canada's most widely respected poets, E.J. Pratt. This is a National Historic Site with a plaque that commemorates his life and work.

A few kilometres along is Northern Bay Sands Provincial Park, an ideal seaside vacation spot within easy access of a number of colourful settlements on the peninsula. The park has camp and trailer sites for extended stays. At one end of the sandy beach, a river flows into the Atlantic, its rocky banks forming a natural freshwater pool. This is a great place for beachcombing or taking it easy.

Some of the most beautiful scenery is found just beyond here in Lower Island Cove and surrounding communities. The hilly gardens of this area and the towering cliffs along the shores of Conception Bay provide ideal subjects for photographs.

As you travel inland again, you will come to the junction of Route 70 and Route 80 at Old Perlican. Continue on Route 70 to Bay de Verde. THis once isolated community was originally settled by planters, colonists who were trying to avoid French raiders in the 1600's. This rugged area is a mere 70 kilometres from St. John's by sea. Just above the town, at Bears Cove, you can take the short hiking trail to the scenic lookout that offers a spectacular view of the surrounding seascape.

Offshore Baccalieu Island bears witness to the potential menace of the North atlantic. The wrecks of more than a dozen ships lie under the waters that surround the island. Baccalieu Island is a wildlife reserve with 11 species of seabirds nesting there, making it the most diverse seabird colony in the province. The island hosts 3.3 million pairs of Leach's storm petrels, plus thousands of puffins and black-legged kittiwakes and other birds each summer. The foxes that share the island with the birds and the lighthouse keepers rarely go hungry. You can get a close-up view of the island's birds by taking a boat tour of the area.

Job's Cove

Connect with Route 80 from Route 70 and travel down the Trinity Bay shoreline in the direction of beautiful New Melbourne, a tiny community located on a forested part of the moody seacoast. Once called Russell's Cove, it was renamed for Viscount Melbourne in the 1800's. At New Chelsea you may want to relax on the beach in this peaceful valley setting.

As you drive through this area of rolling hills and forests, you pass through a number of picturesque fishing communities such as Winterton. On the outskirts of this settlement there is a municipal park bordering a freshwater lake. Along this entire route, the small outports retain an ageless look. Near the road, ponies graze in grassy meadows which still contain sod-covered root cellars. Be sure to drop in at the one time pirate haunt of Turks Cove just before Heart's Content, where the first successful transatlantic telegraph cable was landed in 1866. The community served as a major cable relay station for over a century. Visit the old Cable Station, which has been preserved and is now open to the public during the summer months as a Provincial Historic Site.

The Cable Station is a special hit with people interested in communications. It seems like all you have to do is turn on the equipment and begin sending and receiving messages. There are informative displays on the various cables, the changes in technology during the life of the station and some of the people involved in developing long-distance telegraphy.

The entire area has a preoccupation with the "heart" for just beyond Heart's Content lie Heart's Desire and Heart's Delight. Backside Pond Provincial Park, 25km from Heart's Content, has a saltwater pond and beach that makes it a grand spot for a refreshing swim. A hiking trail within the park boundaries gives you a chance to investigate the area.

Along Route 80, in the southern reaches of Trinity Bay, you pass through New Harbour and Dildo. Whaling and mink-ranching were once lucrative industries in this area, and there's a whaling and sealing museum in South Dildo. A few kilometres beyond Dildo South and Blaketown, the Baccalieu Trail ends where Route 80 meets Route 1 about 80 kilometres west of St. John's.

Special Thanks to Jack & Marilyn Woodfine for the great pictures of the Baccalieu Trail.

To Scenic Tours: Avalon Region