Anne with an “e”

Of all the ports of call on this itinerary it was this one that actually sold the cruise to us. We had just finished watching the first series of “Anne with an e” on Netflix when the cruise was first advertised and with Sylvia besotted with the story and me perhaps liking it more than I cared to admit, we booked it. Prince Edward Island was the home of the author Lucy Maud Montgomery and the stories are all based on her childhood experiences here.

In order to get the best out of the day we booked a ship’s excursion entitled the Ultimate Anne of Green Gables experience, and it lived up to its name. The journey first took us across the island through rolling countryside that with its rich red soil reminded me of home in Herefordshire. The principal agriculture is either dairying or growing potatoes, with the island supplying in the region of 80% of Canada’s requirements. Though ironically King Edwards are not a main crop. Fishing is also important especially seafood such as mussels, oysters and lobsters.

The first stop on our trip was Silver Bush farm which is still owned by relatives of the author who showed us around the small museum. This featured many artefacts from Lucy even though she never actually lived here.This is the site of the Lake of Shining water which is featured in many of the books and the owners really made the trip special by laying on Matthew on his cart……

…..and a very authentic Anne to serve us some raspberry cordial.

This was made on the farm and was delicious and before you ask she did not mistake it for the alcoholic variety.

About half an hour further down the road is the settlement of Cavendish, the home of the Green Gables Heritage Place. This is actually the home of Lucy Maud’s grandparents cousins but was the farm on which Green Gables was based. Here I spotted a rather less authentic Anne.

The farmhouse has been decorated and furnished inline with the books with the dining room, kitchen and Matthew’s bedroom on the ground floor. Upstairs Anne’s bedroom is laid out with her day dresses on the bed and her posh frock with the puff sleeves hanging up.

The farmstead is part of the National Park and in addition to the buildings have many walks into such places as the Haunted Wood and Lover’s Lane, which are referred to in the books. Unfortunately the tail end of a recent hurricane has destroyed many of the trees and made some of the walks inaccessible.

The whole experience was so realistic that you kept having to remind yourself that Anne is a fictional person. A thoroughly enjoyable excursion.

Charlottetown itself is a charming town with a great deal of history as it was here in 1864 that delegates from all over the provinces gathered to discuss forming a federation. It was from this meeting that modern Canada was formed and Charlottetown quite rightly is referred to as the birthplace of Canada. Statues dotted around the town commemorate the occasion.

A farmers market closed off the Main Street and the town bustled both with cruise passengers and locals on what was a lovely sunny Sunday afternoon. The people here are so friendly and it was a really great stop.

We now have two sea days to recharge the batteries before arriving in “the city that never sleeps” on Wednesday. Meanwhile we have our memories of having raspberry cordial with Anne with an e.