Newfoundland – Ferryland

Colony of Avalon

As we pulled into the parking lot for Colony of Avalon in the town of Ferryland a nice, apologetic employee informed us that the interpretation center was closed due to water damage discovered that morning. Bummer. We couldn’t see the video and exhibits, but she said we could still take their tour which started from a separate building. So we headed for the tour.

The Colony of Avalon is a place that preserves and interprets the archaeological remains of an early British settlement in North America that existed from 1621 until the French evicted the British and burned the village in the 1690s. The tour took us past the remains of the village and explained the history of the area as well as the archeological process which only began in the early 1990s. The history was pieced together by what they found several feet underground and in letters written to England.

The original cobblestone street

A reproduction garden

The tour ended with some living history in a reproduced 17^th century kitchen. They aimed for an authentic look except the room was larger - even using furniture with pegs instead of nails. A woman dressed in period clothes explained the items and cooking in that era.

We even got to try some food.

We were stumped when she handed this around – a reproduction of an artifact found on site – and asked us how you drink from it.

Ferryland Lighthouse

Another popular tourist destination is the Ferryland Picnic where one can order a picnic lunch when visiting the lighthouse. We happened to bring our own lunch, but thought the idea of a nice lunch by the lighthouse sounded pretty cool.

It really is a delightful place for a picnic on a beautiful day. We walked ¾ of a mile to the lighthouse, had our lunch, and then walked around the peninsula a bit. 

East Coast Trail

Afterward we planned to pick up an easy stretch of the East Coast Trail.

As we were hiking we ran into a local guy who recommended going up the mountain above Ferryland. He explained how to get to the viewpoint and then said “Take the bike path down to the inside.” What does he mean by inside? We hope he means that’s the way back. Well we had a great view and his instructions got us right back to our car.

Ferryland Peninsula with Colony of Avalon & the lighthouse

When we got back to our car we saw the restoration company truck in front of the Colony of Avalon Visitor Center and a pile of wet ceiling tiles. Hope they can restore things soon.