Touring The Great North – Part 15 – Peggy’s Cove

Peggy’s Cove was our next stop in Nova Scotia. It is only 27 miles or 43 km from downtown Halifax. The first recorded name of the cove was Eastern Point Harbour or Peggs Harbour in 1766. The village is likely named after Saint Margaret’s Bay (Peggy being a nickname for Margaret), which Samuel de Champlain named after his mother Marguerite Le Roy.^[1] There has been much folklore created to explain the name. The village was founded in 1811 when the province of Nova Scotia issued a land grant of more than 800 acres (320 ha) to six families of German descent. The settlers relied on fishing as the mainstay of their economy but also farmed where the soil was fertile. They used surrounding lands to pasture cattle. In the early 1900s the population peaked at about 300. The community supported a schoolhouse, church, general store, lobster cannery and boats of all sizes that were nestled in the cove.

Peggy’s Cove is known for it’s famous lighthouse and its rugged, rocky landscape. It is also known as Mother Nature’s playground, with glaciers having shaped the land thousands of years ago, leaving behind large boulders that are a key part of its unique character. It is yet another seafaring town, where most of the industry revolves around fishing and lobsters. The sailors who sail these rough, cold waters are indeed very brave souls.

We found Peggy’s Cove to be very cute, quaint and charming. The seascapes were amazing.

The seascapes were definitely a site to behold, but the rest of the town was very charming too. The whole town looks like scenes found on postcards.

Doesn’t this just look idyllic?

After walking through town, we made it to the rocks and to the famous lighthouse at the water’s edge.

It was a beautiful day, albeit a bit breezy, so there were a lot of people walking around, being tourists just like we were.

We saw a man blowing his long Swiss horn. He even had some miniature toy farm animals around it too, like he was playing to his animals. He was having fun and enjoying himself. We did too.

As we were leaving Peggy’s Cove, we saw the dedication and tribute to all the sailors and fishermen lost at sea.

There was a little artists’ shop at the edge of town called The Hags On The Hill that Maureen and I just couldn’t resist. They had some very cute, creative pieces in there too, all from local artists. We looked and liked a lot of the things they were selling, but we were good. All we did was look.

The rain was coming and we left just in the nick of time. But as we were leaving, we saw a beautiful rainbow. It was the perfect way to say goodbye to Peggy’s Cove.