The last couple of days have been a whirl wind tour of the Bruce Peninsula. Both my car and my legs have put in allot of miles. I continued to research both coastlines of the peninsula from the hamlet of Lion’s Head to the anchor of the Bruce Peninsula – Wiarton.. and then loop around to the other coastline to the beach community of Sable Beach.
Corran on the Spirit Rock Trail
But.. more than ever… I wanted to explore some of the key wilderness hiking trials in the region leading to some of the viewpoints.. and in particular I wanted to visit the ruins of the “Corran”. Corran is Gaelic meaning, “the point of land running into the sea”. The “Corran” is an 1882 stone castle sitting high above Colpoy’s Bay on the Niagra Escarpment. It was once a 17 room castle belonging to Alexander and Hester McNeill who originated from Northern Ireland.
I figured the first hike of the day (my wake up hike) should start with a bang. and in my world summits and cliff views are the bang while in Ontario. I love views where sight lines stretch out for miles and where horizons meet oceans. That gets my motor running.
The Lion’s Head Hiking Trial was going to be my morning fix. It promised cliffs and views of the Georgian By. The Lion’s Head Trial, from my access point, was 2 kilometres in and 2 km out. The trail was a single track route, mostly under the cover of trees.
Georgian Bay Views from Lions Head Lookout
No need for fancy foot work on this hike. The obstacles were few. If any, there were the exposed tree roots and, of course, spider webs. Along the route I was kept busy trying to keep tune with the orchestra of song birds surrounding me. Then, all of sudden , out of the blue, the trees pull away and the Georgian Bay falls at my feet. Wowwww.. there was a whole lot of blue in front of me
The views from the viewpoint looked like a Caribbean commercial.. aqua, green blue, see-through water. From high above I could make out the rocks and alvars. Lets just say the views woke me up very nicely thank you.
Like many of my research road trips I usually try to take the roads less traveled from one destination to the another. There are many reasons I do this. One, I am not big on traffic parties. Two, I like to observe my surroundings as I drive, so I may be driving slow. Three, I like to pull over with no pressure to take pictures at any time. Four, I do not like to be forced to travel 100 kilometres an hour zigging and zagging.. and weaving and breathing heavy while trying to make the next exit. Hence why I took the backroads to the community of Wiarton.
You have all heard of Wiarton. It is the home to Wiarton Willy. The most popular shadow, genie, hodini or whtever when it comes to spring time predictions. Yes, the most famous groundhog lives in Wiarton, Ontario. Our summer rests in the hands of this furry creature every year. No worries though, he is about as accurate as the farmer’s almanac.
In Wiarton, I visited the BlueWater Park, Bruce Caves and the Spirit Rock Trial. Most importantly I stopped in Wiarton and did my laundry. Getting low on supplies if you know what I mean. While doing my laundry I walked around downtown taking pictures of the old stone buildings. I found that during my visit to Ontario I have become more fascinated with the older buildings – the ones built of stone, filled with stories, towering above all others.
The “Corran” is good example. I like to save the best adventure for last when in an area turning over stones looking for tourism. And on this occasion, The Spirit Rock Trial leading to the “Corran” was my “cherry on the sundae” for the last couple days. I arrived in the parking lot and saw the trailhead at the end of the lot. I began my trek, up and down, all around, side stepping boulders. I kept thinking to myself, “I must be near the “Corran” by now. It seemed like the trail was going on forever. While it turns out it was. The “Corran” was hidden around the corner at the other end of the parking lot.
I just hiked the whole loop trail to reach the ruins when the ruins were right in front of my nose, literally. So I sauntered up to the historic site, sweating too much for my liking and shared some of my 2010 photogenic charm. (main BLOG photo)