For those who love nature, I want to show you the natural beauty of Prince Edward Island beaches, away from the crowds.
One day in late June, 2008, I went for a walk from just north of the lighthouse to MacDonald’s Shore. Growing up, we called it Frank’s shore, but the government came along one day and put a sign up on the road, effectively renaming it. Either way, it is a beautiful, often solitary, walk.
I hope you enjoy the pictures. I lost the originals when a computer crashed, but I did manage to find these smaller files which were originally uploaded to FaceBook over dialup. If you click on the first one, you can scroll through them in order and join me on my walk.
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- Fence post and wild irises
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- Fence post and wild irises
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- Island red dirt road
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- Dune with merram grass and beach pea
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- Looking north, the direction of the walk
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- Untouched, natural beach
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- You can see the high tide mark.
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- Driftwood fills a hallow
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- Driftwood and open sky
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- Gulls up ahead
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- Gulls don’t want the company.
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- The sand builds into dunes; the weather erodes them away.
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- Young merram grass will hold the sand, rebuidling the dune.
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- Prevailing winds shape the trees.
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- Salt water makes it tough for trees to thrive.
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- A crow found something of interest.
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- Looking back south
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- Windmill in the distance
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- Camera zoom brings the windmill closer.
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- Rock crabs sometimes wash up on the beach.
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- Closer view of the rock crab
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- Some driftwood pieces can be quite large.
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- Another crab.
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- Some may prefer to stay on the beaches near to the lighthouse and harbour, as there is less “stuff” on the beach.
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- But if you explore these beaches, you will find sea glass, beautiful shells, and unique stones.
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- The beauty and solitude is well worth the walk.
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- If you do some searching online, you can find guidebooks which will help you identify the seaweeds on the beach.
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- Old dune
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- Old dune
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- Old dune
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- Driftwood being overtaken
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- Old dune
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- Driftwood
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- Someone built wind chimes out of lady slipper shells and left for others to find.
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- Gull just chillin’
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- Spruce and cedar have grown on the dunes, despite harsh conditions.
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- Crows exploring
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- Wind-shaped tree
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- Even as tree expire, they help to hold sand in place.
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- Spruce
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- Guess the crows didn’t want to stick around.
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- Watch the waves and listen to the seabirds.
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- Laminaria, or more commonly named, kelp
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- Another spruce
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- Prince Edward Island has beautiful clear skies, perfect for cloud watching.
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- Looking back, alone as far as the eye can see.
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- Cannot go any farther forward without getting into the water, as the capes start.
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- A perfect example of PEI sandstone.
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- Looking back to the beach through a piece of driftwood.
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- Field with wild blue irises.
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- The windmill that was seen in the distance is much closer now.
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- Walking up to the road.
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- Wooded area along the road.
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- Poplar tree overgrown.
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- Looking from the road back toward the beach, you can see the spruce that grow on the dune.
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- A private road to the fields.
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- Fields near the water
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- Fields near the water
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- Wild blue irises – the final image of the walk
If you go to the following YouTube video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Iei32AUJfc, at 2:20 you will see the beach shown north of the Lighthouse featured in the blog post.
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