Prince Edward County ( PEC) aka "The County", Ontario
Nov 7, 2017 19:33:10 GMT
Post by lugg on Nov 7, 2017 19:33:10 GMT
When we were planning our holiday we knew that we wanted to find somewhere where we would be able to spend our last few days (5 days /4 nights ) relaxing and recovering from what we anticipated to be a hectic time in Toronto and Niagara. I am a beach lover and to be honest the most successful holidays for me are ones where I can combine walking on the beach, looking out to sea, swimming etc. with some sightseeing/ culture/ city My sister and niece were happy to let me choose as they like a nice beach too on occasion. Well of course a stay by the sea was out on this occasion but I figured that, as we were next to a huge lake, that there must be some beautiful beaches somewhere nearby. After some research I found that I really liked the look of Prince Edward County which ticked lots of boxes and the deal was sealed after I found some great accommodation for us through Air BnB.
We hired a car in Niagara Falls and drove to PEC – public transport was not an option particularly when on PEC. To be honest we were all dreading the drive on the wrong side of the road, in the umpteen lanes for which there seemed no logic to us as to which one to travel or which to overtake in and then there is the undertaking which is completely outside of our comfort zone. We knew that the traffic would be horrendous around Toronto and it was, but we survived with no incidents. We had a bit of a shaky start as the car hire firm had the sat-nav we had requested but no leads!! The hardest part was finding the right road out of NF –at one point we found ourselves on the road to border control to the USA which was completely the opposite direction we should have been travelling. Anyway, after stopping and finding my phone charger at the bottom of my suitcase, we were able to use trusty google maps and on our way we went. I think the drive was about 3.5hrs with a quick stop on the way, so not too bad. The traffic got lighter and lighter the further we got from Toronto and actually driving on PEC we found easy and straight forward.
Here is a map which shows where PEC is in relation to NF and Toronto.
We were based in Wellington which as you can see on the map below is in the heart of the wine making area. We soon learnt that locals just simplify the name of this “almost” island to “The County”
Wellington itself is a small town, population just over 1000 (but really I would class it as a large village) on the north shore of Lake Ontario. The whole of the county has just approx. 25,000 residents so you can imagine that generally it is a rural community. We arrived at the end of the season so it was really quiet but we were so lucky the weather was fantastic around 25/26 C on the days we were there, just perfect. It also meant that the summer crowds had left and it was quiet generally.
Our house was on a very picturesque road off the main street and although the house was not particularly attractive externally, it was really lovely inside, great living areas , lots of books , board games , well equipped kitchen etc. with heavenly comfortable beds and had 2 or 3 other advantages in the huge back garden .
We made very good use of the hot tub in particular. (Incidentally also of the BBQ just to the right.)
The building behind the pool was originally a barn and now housed table tennis and pool tables , indoor games area , huge store of balls , lilos etc. etc. – I guess that many children have loved their stay at this house over the years.
This weather vane gave a nod to the pool house’s past
On our way to the house we had stopped in at one of the local markets and a local vineyard and that together with the hot tub and a board game from the house was our first night sorted.
Next morning we went out on foot to explore Wellington itself. Here is a little of what we saw that day and on future explorations of the community. In a way, maybe it was the style of the buildings, it reminded me of some of the small communities in Cape Cod.
This huge bell had also made the journey from England ( as had Camilla and Charles earlier in the year I later discovered)
and to show the size of this beauty
We had a couple of meals out in Wellington during our stay, one at the expensive boutique hotel “The Drake” which was a bit of a let-down food wise, maybe because we had such high expectations re food quality …but what a great night we had after we had eaten. The local community were out in force filling the bar area for an open mic session. We saw two young men in particular who were just so talented. Great fun with some amazing cocktails which made up for the so -so food.
We also had a very reasonably priced lunch at a local pub which also had a spectacular setting.
And shared our second and final poutine, we really did not want to know how many calories were in this plate of yumminess.
This narrow stretch of water is all that separates Wellington from Sandbanks Provincial Park but unless you can kayak over, it is several miles by car
One afternoon we had a very brief wander around Picton which is the largest town in the county. We explored some great independent shops and bought some souvenirs.
Sir John McDonald was the first Canadian Prime Minister and this statue is in honour and recognition of the time he spent in PEC. Some info about the Edwardian theatre here ,
www.theregenttheatre.org/about-the-regent/
Anyway we did not stay long as we were heading out for supper and to see sunset at the Lake on The Mountain .
We stopped at a place recommended to us called The Miller’s barn part of the Lake on the Mountain resort and hands down had the best food of our whole stay in Ontario - simple and tasty.
lakeonthemountain.com/dining/the-miller-house/
The weather was beautiful again and we had a table in the garden overlooking the Bay of Quinte
We shared 2 different platters – pate , cheese and ham and sausages with various chutneys all with crispy bread and a Tarte Flambe. I was not driving so also had a lovely local white wine to wash it down
After supper we crossed the road to watch the sunset over the Lake On he Mountain or Onokenoga “Lake of the Gods”. A geological rarity it is now thought to be a collapsed doline or sinkhole but was sacred to Mohawks and mystical to early settlers. We pretty much had the place to ourselves.
Some info here about this
prince-edward-county.com/item/lake-on-the-mountain/
We spent part of a couple of days exploring the beaches and swimming in the lake in Sandbanks Provincial Park.
prince-edward-county.com/item/sandbanks-provincial-park/
We went to Outlet beach first which was pretty nice and the water was warm and shallow
The geese and gulls like it too
But the real diamond is the Dunes beach which apparently has the largest baymouth barrier dune formation in the world. It was absolutely stunning.
We headed out paddling along the edge of the lake to get a closer look at the dunes.
Is this a tide line, small but ?? I think the jury is out on whether the great lakes have tides
Met this little frog as we walked along totally unconcerned by us and intent on whatever he was doing
I headed up hill, hard work in the soft sand
Time for a swim and a lie in the sun with a good book
I had planned to show you a few photos taken in a couple of vineyards but I can’t find the SD card . I will add them when it turns up but that is all for now.
The owners of the house agreed that we could stay until late afternoon as we had a night flight home, this added to our total relaxation as we were able to swim pack in a leisurely way before we headed back straight to the airport to drop off the hire car and catch our flight home.
We were so glad we had chosen to spend a few days here it’s so lovely and interestingly we found as we were chatting to a shop owner in Picton that quite a few people from the UK had made it their home, not sure how many and I guess that even a small number would stand out. I can quite see the attraction of living here myself, although I guess life in Winter would be very different.
I cannot answer that qu other than to say "The sum of the parts is greater than the whole" or similar it was the whole experience that made it so great but if I did not have to worry about pleasing any others I personally would choose PEC -and include a visit to Ottawa and Thousand islands . If (or when ....hopefully) I go to Canada again next time it would be West coast, maybe Calgary and Banff or around those areas. I would love to be in Calgary for the stampede. 
K2 being from northern England I think gravy is essential on chips , poutine just adds another dimension to that. I am trying to persuade someone I know who is opening a casual restaurant locally to add it to their menu - I think it would be a certain success.