A Drive Through Dildo

Day Eighty Five

Today we headed to the town of Placentia by Placentia Bay to explore Castle Hill National Park. The park is the home of a military fort located on the hills overlooking Placentia Bay. The place was built and named Fort Royal by the French in 1687, later to be taken over by the British in 1713 with the Treaty of Utrecht, renaming the fort Castle Hill. There is not much left of the fort except for the lower section of the outer walls, and a little foundation of the buildings. There is a small museum in the park depicting what it was like to live in the area during that time, and the hardships they had to endure. 

After the fort, we headed Northeast towards the town of Hearts Content. Along our journey, we explored little villages and enjoyed the ocean scenery, stopping occasionally for quick photo shoots. Halfway to our destination we travelled through the small town of Dildo, of course this warranted a stop. The town had a micro brewery and a few gift stores we checked out before moving on to Hearts Content. 

In 1866, Hearts Content was chosen to be the eastern side of the transatlantic Telegraph cable, bringing an influx of employment and services to the village until the station closed in 1965. On the Cape the Heats Content lighthouse stands. It was built with of a basic design from cast-iron to resemble the "crows nest" lookout structures found on the upper part of ship masts, its spiraling red and white paint pattern have made it another highly photographed lighthouse on the island. 

After the ABL, we headed to Harbor Grace where many aviation pioneers in the 1920’ and 1930’s such as Amelia Earhart and Thor Solberg choose to make their Atlantic crossing from the local airfield. In the harbor, the shipwreck of the S.S Kyle is visible. The S.S Kyle was primarily used as a transport ship, and later used for sealing due to the bow of the steamer built as an icebreaker. During a bad storm that hit Harbor Grace, the S.S Kyle broke free from its moorings, carrying it to the mussel bank in Riverhead, where it has remained ever since. 

Model of the French fortress overlooking the town of Placentia and Bay.

Military life in the fortress was hard, but often better than being homeless back in France and Britain. 

Original fort built by the French.

Modifications made by the British after they captured it. 

The fort today. 

View of the town below. 

The trail in the centre runs from the town to the fort, and has existed since the fort was constructed.

The beach in the town was prime real estate for drying cod.

The beach was so critical to the drying process of the cod, violent fights would break out between the seasonal fishermen from France (left) when they would try and make space from the locals (right) on the beach. The locals normally won as the seasonal fishers were poorer and I’ll equipped.  

Dildo harbour. 

Hearts Content Lighthouse.