Thursday 19 September 2013

Peggy's Cove, NS

I flew to Halifax today ... I'm staying with Sister Sarah and she and I are hooking up with a couple friends I went to university with tomorrow.

Sister Sarah wasn't going to be home 'til 5ish so I had some time to kill ... I wanted to be outside and near the water (I love being by the water!) so I headed to Peggy's Cove (about a half hour from Halifax).  It's been a couple years since I've been there.


The first recorded name of the cove was Eastern Point Harbour or Peggs Harbour in 1766. The village is likely named after Saint Margaret's Bay (Peggy being the nickname for Margaret), which Samuel de Champlain named after his mother Margarite.  There has been much folklore created to explain the name. One story suggests the village may have been named after the wife of an early settler. The popular legend claims that the name came from the sole survivor of a shipwreck at Halibut Rock near the cove. Artist and resident William deGarthe said she was a young woman while others claim she was a little girl too young to remember her name and the family who adopted her called her Peggy. The young shipwreck survivor married a resident of the cove in 1800 and became known as "Peggy of the Cove" attracting visitors from around the bay who eventually named the village, Peggy's Cove, after her nickname.

The village was formally founded in 1811 when the Province of Nova Scotia issued a land grant of more than 800 acres (320 ha) to six families of German descent. The settlers relied on fishing as the mainstay of their economy but also farmed where the soil was fertile. They used surrounding lands to pasture cattle. In the early 1900s the population peaked at about 300. The community supported a schoolhouse, church, general store, lobster cannery and boats of all sizes that were nestled in the Cove. 

Just before you get to the Sou'Wester Restaurant and the lighthouse, you come across this gorgeous view ...


There's the lighthouse after I left the restaurant ... I headed towards it.


Be careful!
There was a bagpiper ... I love the bagpipes!
I sat on a rock and watched him for a while.

Then I started roaming around the rocks.  It was fairly busy at the Cove ... there were about 20 tour buses in the parking lot.

A selfy!

One last view from the parking lot ...


It was a beautiful day to be at the Cove ... warm and sunny!  I sat on the rocks for a long time soaking it all in.

7 comments:

Swordsman said...

I'm surprised there were so many people there on a Thursday!

Isabel said...

looks like a beautiful day!

Masshole Mommy said...

That's really pretty place for a visit.

Teena in Toronto said...

There were tons of bus tours, Gord ... still warm enough for the tourists. There were some cruise ships in Halifax yesterday.

Teena in Toronto said...

It was a gorgeous day!

Fizzgig said...

looks amazing! it reminds me of a stephen king novel though....just because they are always based in towns that I think in my head would look like this!! hopefully...no creepy things go on there like in his books!

Kat said...

I've heard great things about Peggy's Cove. It looks beautiful! Definitely something on my bucket list. I bet the seafood in the East Coast is delish.