Over a month ago we completed part 1 of our PEI lighthouse tour which was a lot of fun for both of us and Bella. In total, that day we saw 27 lighthouses in just over 12 hours. It was a spectacular day that saw us cover much of the western and central coastline of PEI. After doing part 1 of the lighthouse tour, we could barely wait to start part 2 which would see us driving all over the eastern part of PEI. We were lucky enough to get another fantastic day to do the tour in terms of weather. How did we do on our tour? Pretty well, I think.
Getting Started
We started out at 8 am, slowly dragging ourselves out of bed with the anticipation of the big adventure. This time, unlike the last lighthouse tour, we decided to use the power of GPS to help guide us along. Guess how well that worked for us. We actually missed the first three lighthouses that are in the Rocky Point area because we were distracted by who knows what. So, 0 for 3 to start the day. Not good but we were determined to catch up and still see over 20 lighthouses throughout the day.
Arguing About Music
We continued on to Stratford to catch a glimpse of the two Haszard lighthouses. On our way, we got into a musical debate. From time to time, a song will come on my iPod that Kate used to like and sing-a-long to but for some reason has now soured on. In this instance, it was the Red Hot Chili Peppers song Otherside. One of my favourites of theirs. “I hate this song,” she says. I sigh and changed the song. This started a whole debate about whether we should torture each other with songs that the other doesn’t like. I argued that I have to listen to crappy 80’s Robert Plant music and that I should be able to listen to the odd song she no longer likes. She told me to put it back on but I was a tad stubborn. Eventually, we cranked it.
New Friends
We continued on slowly along the coast from Stratford, hitting up lighthouses near Orwell, Pt. Prim and more. At Cape Bear, we met a fun couple from California. They were having their lunch at the lighthouse and we got to share a nice conversation with them before we both went our own ways. They had been travelling for 70 days in their travel van and PEI was their final destination before heading back to the Golden State. They were super nice and even gave us some Oreo’s. If you know either of us, Oreo’s are an instant way to acquiring our friendship.
Lunch Time!
After we left Cape Bear it was already approaching mid afternoon and we still had an incredibly long trek ahead of us. Naturally, even though we had some Oreo’s, we were starting to get hungry. We stopped at this cool cafe in Murray Harbour called the Number 5 Cafe. I don’t believe this place was open when we last lived on PEI but we sure were glad to stop in their for lunch. Kate grabbed us some sandwiches and some pastries for the drive. The sandwiches were spectacular tasting. They featured a delicious chutney which made them super flavourful. The shortbread quickly reminded us of the shortbread we enjoyed on our trip to Scotland. The Number 5 Cafe definitely gets our recommendation if you’re in the Murray Harbour area.
In Over Our Heads?
After eating and because of the constant driving, we both were getting a touch on the sleepy side. Bella was out cold of course. I’m certain both of us were wondering that perhaps we were a little in over our heads on this day. We still had a good chunk of the south-eastern shoreline to cover til we would reach East Point. At that point, we would travel back down the north-eastern shore. Although we were tired, we persisted. We hit up the East Point Lighthouse where Bella was awarded her tip-to-tip certificate after successfully getting her other half on our last trip.
After East Point, the journey home began. We still had a handful of lighthouses to see but we were certain we could cover them quickly. It’s funny though because at every lighthouse we still got out of the car to enjoy the air and the sights even though we were tired and just wanted to go home. Our final lighthouse of the day was the Covehead Lighthouse which is one of my personal favourites on the Island. After that, we stopped for some Mexican food in Charlottetown before making the long-awaited journey home.
PEI is Beautiful
One thing you’ll certainly learn when driving the eastern shoreline of PEI is that it is absolutely gorgeous, especially on a bright, sunny day. The trees and flowers had fully bloomed and the foxes were running about hunting almost everywhere we went. In St. Peters Harbour a beautiful fox allowed me to get close to snap its picture while it had a rodent hanging out of its mouth. At one point it slowly pranced towards me, almost like it was going to offer me a bite. Such a great experience.
Final Tally
In total, we saw 25 lighthouses on the day. Combined with the 27 we previously saw on our first tour, we have now seen 52 of the Islands 63 lighthouses. Some of the remaining 11 lighthouses are no longer actual lighthouses and have been built into private homes. Others proved too difficult to find…and in some cases, we just were too distracted and forgot where we were and drove right by them. 52 lighthouses I think is pretty good. It was a unique experience for both of us and we totally recommend that you try something similar some time – whether you’re vacationing here for a week or you call PEI home. You’ll be able to see parts of the Island that most tourists (or even Islanders) don’t see which is highly satisfying.
Below we’ve included pictures of all the lighthouses we visited along with the locations for when you want to visit any one of the lighthouses.
Brighton Beach Range Rear
Location: Charlottetown Built: 1968 Status: Active
Fun Fact: This light range is one of two concrete lighthouses in PEI and is the only Island lighthouse with the “apple core” hexagonal structure.
Brighton Beach Front Range
Location: Charlottetown Built: 1889 Status: Active
Fun Fact: The red lantern of the lighthouse is decorated with maple leaves.
Haszard Point Back Range Light
Location: Stratford Built: 1889 Status: Active
Fun Fact: This lighthouse along with the front light, were originally on the farm property of the Honorable Francis L. Haszard who served as Premier of Prince Edward Island from 1908 to 1911.
Haszard Point Front Range
Location: Stratford Built: 1889 Status: Active
Fun Fact: This lighthouse was moved in 1902 and 1936 due to erosion and may need to be moved again soon due to constant erosion.
Brush Wharf Front Range
Location: Orwell Cove Built: 1879 Status: Decommissioned
Fun Fact: The lighthouse has seen better days and currently has surrounding trees and brush growing through it.
Point Prim Lighthouse
Location: Point Prim Built: 1845 Status: Active
Fun Fact: The Point Prim Lighthouse was PEI’s first lighthouse, originally built to help guide mariners into the Charlottetown harbour.
Wood Islands Lighthouse
Location: Wood Islands Built: 1875 Status: Active
Fun Fact: After the Point Prim Lighthouse, the Wood Islands Lighthouse was the second lighthouse built on PEI.
Wood Islands Front Range Light
Location: Wood Islands Built: 1902 Status: Decommissioned
Fun Fact: Even though Wood Islands already had a lighthouse, this light was originally constructed to offer further support for mariners who were entering the Wood Islands harbour.
Wood Islands Back Range Light
Location: Wood Islands Built: 1902 Status: Decommissioned
Fun Fact: The range light was first moved in 1940 when construction of the Wood Islands ferry terminal began. The range light now sits closely to the Wood Islands Lighthouse and the front range light.
Cape Bear Lighthouse
Location: Guernsey Cove Built: 1881 Status: Decommissioned
Fun Fact: This lighthouse is a tad famous as it was the first place in Canada to receive a distress signal from the Titanic as it was sinking.
Murray Harbour Front Range Light
Location: Beach Point Built: 1878 Status: Active
Fun Fact: After a power storm surge in 2010, the range light was badly damaged and was at risk of not being repaired. Locals got together and petitioned resulting in the range light being repaired.
Murray Harbour Back Range Light
Location: Beach Point Built: 1878 Status: Active
Fun Fact: Aside from three years (1875-78) all of the lighthouse keepers of the back range were members of the Penny family.
Douse Point Front Range Light
Location: Murray River Built: 1899 Status: Decommissioned
Fun Fact: The front range light was decommissioned in 1984 at which point it was purchased by the Buell family who moved it to it’s current location in Murray River.
Panmure Island Lighthouse
Location: Panmure Island Built: 1853 Status: Active
Fun Fact: The Panmure Island Lighthouse was the first wooden lighthouse built on PEI.
Georgetown Back Range Light
Location: Lower Montague Built: 1890 Status: Active
Fun Fact: When World War II broke out, even though he was in his forties at the time, light keeper Eli George Vatcher enlisted vacating his light keeper duties. Once the war was over, he returned home and once again became light keeper.
Former Georgetown Front Range Light
Location: Lower Montague Built: 1895 Status: Decommissioned
Fun Fact: This range light was originally built to replace the St. Andrew’s Lighthouse which was destroyed due to fire in 1894. It is now a private guest home.
Former Cardigan River Range Light
Location: Georgetown Built: 1883 Status: Decommissioned
Fun Fact: After it was decommissioned, the lighthouse was purchased by the Batchilder family who still maintain the lighthouse in its current location.
Annandale Front Range Light
Location: Annadale Built: 1990 Status: Active
Fun Fact: This light has always been electrified and therefore never had a light keeper.
Annandale Back Range Light
Location: Annadale Built: 1901 Status: Active
Fun Fact: In 1900, the original back range light was toppled by a bad storm. The following year this light was constructed to replace it.
Souris East Lighthouse
Location: Souris Built: 1880 Status: Active
Fun Fact: This is one of three Island lighthouses (North Cape/Cape Egmont) that are equipped with telecommunications devices to direct air and sea travel in the Gulf of St. Lawrence.
East Point Lighthouse
Location: East Point Built: 1866 Status: Active
Fun Fact: This was a highly important lighthouse (and still is) that would help guide mariners from the Canso Strait to the Gulf of St. Lawrence.
Shipwreck Point Lighthouse
Location: Naufrage Built: 1967 Status: Active
Fun Fact: This lighthouse was built to replace the original Shipwreck Point Lighthouse. It’s automated and never has had a keeper.
St. Peter’s Harbour Lighthouse
Location: St. Peter’s Harbour Built: 1876 Status: Decommissioned
Fun Fact: This is one of 16 lighthouses that were already built when PEI joined Confederation in 1873.
Covehead Harbour Lighthouse
Location: Stanhope Built: 1975 Status: Active
Fun Fact: This is one of the smallest lighthouses on the Island standing at only 26 feet.
For more on PEI’s lighthouses visit: www.peilighthousesociety.ca and www.lighthousefriends.com
Which one of the above lighthouses do you like the most? How many of PEI’s lighthouses do you think you could see in one day? Comment Below.
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1 comment
I love lighthouses and visiting them. I have always lived on the coast, first in Europe and now in California, so I have always been able to spot them. Amazing pictures!