Walking Confederation in Charlottetown

Charlottetown is the birth place of Confederation. It is the capital city on the province of Prince Edward Island, Canada. It is the centre of commerce, transportation and government for the island. And it is about to get the once over by EH Tourism. I packed up, geared up and was ready to go in.

My plan.. hmmm… I was sort of operating on a whim on this day since I was not hop-skipping from campground to campground anymore but working from the Eberlee House. First stop was the main information centre for a city map and any information they could offer. Collecting tourism information from around the country has taught us many goods and bads of tourism practices – and the disconnect.

Confederation Guide on Waterfront Promenade

After downloading all the info into my mental storage units (my name for my brain) I decided to leave the jeep in the parking lot and explore the city of Charlottetown on foot.

I figured I could walk the waterfront boardwalk (sightseeing promenade walkway) to Victoria Park (main city park) and then zig zag my way back through the downtown core exploring old architecture, churches, boutiques and shops. All the time clicking, clicking and clicking pictures.

One end of the waterfront boardwalk begins near Peak’s Quay and the other end in Victoria Park.

My starting point was at Peak’s Quay. From there the boardwalk continued along the shoreline of the Hillsborough River, once in awhile detouring onto some side streets, before reconnecting to the boardwalk trail in Victoria Park. It is a good sightseeing route for river views and community buildings.

Marina - Peak's Quay

In Peak’s Quay, where I started my walking adventure, is a marina and a little wharf community of brightly colored shops and restaurants dressed in pastels. It was tourist central on my visit.

There were shops with PEI trinkets hanging out windows, blocking entrances and clinging to metal racks. The air was filled with languages. There was a picnic area and viewing benches for, what looked like, people watching and munching lunching.

I too,  made like a tourist, and scratched and sniffed  in and out of, shops. A shopping experience were I almost  bought myself a fleece.. but sadly I declined.

After the rainbow of pastel shops I walked mostly along some side streets until I connected again with the boardwalk trail. The side streets were lined with history. It was a step back in time with stone mansions and brick homes, one after the other. Each home with a story to tell I am sure.

Stone House

The two attractions on my route, which local tourism pushes, were the Beaconsfield Home and the Armoury Museum. The Beaconsfield House was nice. It is an 1877 Charlottetown historic building which was first owned by James and Edith Peaks – local big wigs at the time. But what I found more interesting was the house of stone located just up the street. It made for a photo moment in honour of architecture.

Next was Victoria Park. It is THE park in Charlottetown and probably home to the best part of the boardwalk path for views. From the promenade walkway there are great views of the Hillsborough River, marine activity and the skyline of the city. The path passes by the Governor General’s home, gardens, canon parks and a playground. The boardwalk is lined with viewing benches and picnic areas. On sunny days people search for shade and pitch chairs, set out blankets preparing to sit back and relax – seemingly mesmerized – searching the horizon. I imagine many are there for people watching too. Mesmerized or not, my visit was on a hot sunny day so the views of blues stretched on forever.

Victoria Park

From water views in Victoria Park I went to the pavement of the city streets in downtown. I roamed up and down Kent, Grafton and Queen Street. I walked, passed some of the attraction destinations like City Hall, the Art Gallery, cathedral, Founders Hall and Providence House. I wandered down, pedestrian friendly, Victoria Row pass the outdoor patios of restaurants, bars and coffee shops. I hunted down the old buildings for some photo moments and made note of the newer buildings hosting businesses and franchises. My loop route of downtown led me back to the parking lot – to my jeep.

Finishing my day I took a quick trip out to Memorial Forest Park before I headed back to base camp. I hiked some of the trails. I walked into endless spider webs. And took some pictures of war memorials. Other than that I called it a day. Charlottetown and me had done with bonding for this day.