Lower Five Islands, NS to Granville Ferry, NS

191 miles/306 Km

15 July 2007
Route Map
Local Map

Photo Gallery and Commentary

A gloomy start to the day… low clouds with the sun occasionally poking through. We were optimistic that it would get better although that optimism was tested as we drove to our next stop Granville Ferry/Annapolis Royal. At one point, the clouds really came down as we were climbing a series of hills (or we came up to the clouds) and the temperature dropped about 10 degrees. As we got closer to the campground, it improved dramatically. The sun came out and a strong breeze was blowing, but the temperature hit 85 degrees. This was the first “summer” day we had since the day we left home. We had the heat on in the trailer every night except our first night out. It would generally only come on in the morning and take the chill out of the air. I have a feeling we won’t be using our blankets this night.

The campground is located in Granville Ferry, across the Annapolis River from Annapolis Royal. We walked down to the beach and saw, just below the campground, the only tidal generating station in North America. This station harnesses the power of the incoming and outgoing tide to drive the generators. It provides 22,000 KW of power.

Annapolis Royal dates back to 1605, when it was a French settlement and fort, called Port Royal. The British attacked and held the fort several times until 1713 when France ceded Acadia to them. The British renamed the town as Annapolis Royal and the fort as Fort Anne, in honor of Queen Anne. It became the capital of Nova Scotia until Halifax was founded in 1749.

We walked through the historic district of Annapolis Royal and through Fort Anne. As you can see from the pictures there are some interesting old buildings in the district. The town is also famous for its “Historic Gardens.” We drove by the gardens and the residential area around them. We didn’t stop because parking was nearly impossible. The “Mad Hatters Tea Party” was underway and we saw a lot of women walking near the gardens with hats that had fancy floral designs. We will try again another day.
The teepees and gypsy wagon in the campground are available for campers who don't have their own equipment
Susie Gail says, "that's the trooth."
(a la Edith Ann - aka Lily Tomlin)
Tidal generating station

Annapolis Royal Scenes
Fort Anne viewed from the Flag Bastion (primary gun emplacement)
Flag Bastion guns covered the harbor
Left, a French Mortar at Fort Anne. Note the ornate figure cast into the weapon.

Above, Queens Wharf. The wooden pilings have rotted away and have not been restored.
Dikes original built by the French settlers to drain and cultivate the salt marshes. Many of these dikes are still maintained throughout Nova Scotia and New Brunswick
Lighthouse
The Public Library is very strict about lost books... the Annapolis Royal Police station occupies the back of the building.
The old Post Office and Customs House
Historic buildings along Lower St. George Street
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