Thursday, 13 July 2006

Trinity, Newfoundland

It was still clear and chilly in the morning as I got up and cycled into Trinity to take some photos while it was calm and quiet. I had plenty of time to kill before the Dock Marina opened for breakfast at 9 am. It's such a beautiful area with hiking and historic sites that I was spoiled for choice for things to do. In the end I decided to talk the guided historic walking tour of Trinity which took up the rest of the morning - two and a half hours that I found really interesting. It was lead by Kevin Toope, a local man who is now a schoolteacher in St. John's but who runs the walking tours in the summer. (http://www.wordplay.com/trinity/)

Trinity is designated as an 'historic area' for two-thirds of the town so building and renovation have to be done in an appropriate manner. The town was originally a fishing port to rival St. John's (they're very different now) but soon came to be controlled by merchants rather than fishermen. The town gets it's name from the three arms that make up the harbour.

In the afternoon it started to cloud over, and the wind was chilly all day, but I cycled around to East Trinity to walk the Skerwink Trail. I read somewhere that it was voted one of the top ten best walks in North America. It's only 5.3 km long and does have some fine views of the cliffs and across the bay to Trinity. Maybe if you hiked it on a sunny day with whales and icebergs drifting by... Walking at a leisurely pace with photo stops and a lunch stop, I was around the loop in 2 hours. Twinflowers were in bloom everywhere in the forested parts of the walk.

On this mornings tour I was told that a railway had been planned for Trinity but had never opened. The start of the Skerwink trail in East trinity on the other side of the bay is on an old rail bed - and on the cycle round I'd seen a rough track below the road - so I took a chance and followed the old rail track. It did go all the way back around the bay to Trinity. It was a rough, tough ride, but just about manageable on a mountain bike without too much luggage, although it did take me nearly an hour to get back to the campsite - about 9 km.

After I made myself some dinner (for a change) I went back into Trinity, to the library until they booted me out at closing time, 9 pm. I'd found out from Kevin Toope after the tour where the Whitlocks lived. (Obviously he knows everyone in town) I'd met James and Carol at breakfast one morning in St. John's when they'd overheard me talking about the outports on the south coast and they came over to talk to me as they were interested in visiting them too. They'd asked me to call in on them if I ever made it to Trinity. So I finished the evening with some pleasant company and a couple of beers.

Distance: 31.5 km
Cycling time: 2:26
Total distance: 3659.0 km