The blue sky is filled with clouds that resemble castles. The air has just a touch of briskness. Newtown has a temperate climate and, no matter what the temperature is in Lumsden, it’s never too hot here.
Gazing around, one is reminded of Jack and the Beanstalk, Jack meets the cat and other fairy tales. The Barbour site is where the past meets the present. Here you will find information on the once vibrant cod fishery and tour a sealing vessel to experience what it must have been like to prosecute the seal fishery to eke out a living.
You will experience a feeling of the wealth that was concentrated in the hands of a few people, much like it is today. The only difference is today there is a larger middle class, so the difference is not so noticeable.
To tell the truth, we wonder where are the television crews to document the energy of local volunteers from ages 4 to 84? The heritage industry has turned the shore upside down with social events and new business ventures.
There is so much to see and do; it takes a full day to complete the tour and dinner theatre but if you’re in a hurry, you can have a shortened version. You won’t be disappointed.
In the twenty years since the idea to develop heritage sites around the loop was first conceived, there has been a steady stream of visitors eager to find the peace and tranquillity that is lacking in the stagnant cities.
If one takes the time to communicate with tourists on site, one finds visitors from so many countries that it feels like a passport is needed to fit in. This year, because of the weather, early visitation was a bit slow but that changed when the weather changed.
The Loop, which will always be the Loop to us old folk, has been renamed the Road to the Shore. That is a mouthful for those of us who like to shorten every word. However, the designation is slowly sinking in and more local individuals are making reference to it in conversation.
“Let’s hope we don’t start a trend where it becomes fashionable not to be fashionable.” -
There is more to the adventure on the Road to the Shore than the Barbour Living Heritage Village. When one steps off the Trans Canada Highway there is Joey’s Lookout and Statue in Gambo commemorating Joseph R. Smallwood, the Last Father of Confederation. There is also a J. R. Smallwood Interpretation Centre as well as a Loggers’ Memorial Park.
As one wends one’s way down the Shore there is Dover, the town that was built on a fault. The European and African continents collided in Dover two hundred million years ago, as the story goes.
Then it is on to Greenspond which, at the turn of the last century, used to be an important island where justice was administered. The Greenspond Courthouse has been restored and can be toured daily.
In Wesleyville, the Bonavista North Museum is well worth a visit. The drive through the historic communities that make up New-Wes-Valley brings visions of wealth past and present. The drive is particularly scenic as one drives through Pound Cove to Templeman with the image of Newtown and the historic village looming in the distance.
On the Road to the Shore there are beaches galore. Cape Island Beach, where the Beothics used to spend their summers, is said to be one of the oldest Aboriginal sites in Canada. Cape Island is also the home of Random Passage. After Cape Freels there are the shipwreck beaches of Lumsden, which are beyond compare.
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