Day out in Peterborough - Biking

Not only a fabulous day, but a fabulous Place. We are in LOVE! Little Lake, where we parked beside the Fountain is a gorgeous place. It is the lake between two locks, but large enough for fishermen, skiers and boating in general. The homes around the lake shore are both old and new, and the park alongside the lake is stunning, with beautifully planted borders, lots of seats, playground and leading to the Marina.

 There is lots of outdoor artwork, biking trails, meandering parkway, café on the lake, and a busy small city atmosphere. We felt so at home, almost from the moment we stepped foot on land. Well, actually, we looked out from the boat and said...This looks like somewhere we could live!!! Don't get too excited....it wouldn't be during winter. This place gets C O L D!!! EVERYONE said so. Especially this past winter. We weren't surprised to hear that...everyone from South Carolina north has complained about it.

You can see how lovely the borders are...and the daylilies are stunning...everywhere!


Main Street Peterborough.

 Lots of park, bike trails, gardens, paving...so attractive. People out everywhere enjoying the stunning day and biking, skateboarding, walking etc.

I took a photo of a family emulating this Tug-O'War sculpture, later in the day.:)

 W actually biked down this way twice:)

 There is even a children's garden with a water feature they can play in...a dog thought is was ok to join in!

 This is the view from the highest part of the park, next door to the Café.

 The Garden Café.

 The bike trail alongside the Railway line. We went across the water to the other side and beyond...more on that..

It took us a while, and we did take a wrong turn...well, not wrong, but it took the LONG way around to get to the Lift Lock. We wanted to view the Lift Lock and photograph it before actually doing it! There might not be time to photograph the whole thing while we are inside the bath tubs.

 Among the things we loved about Peterborough are the recycling receptacles, bikes, walking everywhere, central shopping district, good cafes...yes, we even found a superb Latte! and the prices seemed reasonable to us.

We feel very at home in Canada. We find Canadians similar to Kiwis. We both come from Liberal countries, apart from the rest of the 'stuff'. We loved the variety in trees and plants, the lovely green spaces and parks etc etc. I could go on, but I wont. (I have three more blogs to write tonight, coz we finally have internet!)

We took the bikes off the boat and decided to bike our way around town, of course.
That is Canada Geese poop all over the dinghy dock!

 They fit in the dinghy very nicely, thank you!:)

We lathered up with sunscreen, fearing that we would get quite burnt, but we didn't appear to have gained any red, over the five hours we were out and about.

The main reason for getting out, today (we had planned to carry on through the locks, out of Peterborough), was that the city is so lovely, and we felt safe and comfortable here. Such an 'easy' feeling to the place. We thought it might be fun to explore, and we had seen a cemetery, not far away. We rather like the places for quiet contemplation and for discovering the roots of a place. The roots here are very Scottish/English!

Ok! THE Lift Lock at Peterborough is 100 yrs old and still functioning well. It is an engineering marvel, and one were are about to experience 1st hand. WOW!
We rode down the steep hill towards the lock...that's it, you are looking at. The hole the road goes through is two way, you just have to wait your turn!

 Yes, we went into the Visitor's Center to get the whole story. Too long to recount here, but you can look it all up on the internet if you are interested further.

 We climbed over a low wall (we are prone to doing these things) and looked through the Lock to the Bath Tub that is waiting at the bottom. It takes just 90 seconds to rise 60+feet. The tub on the left is up. That's the steel structure poking out, on the left. The one on this sidfe has the gate closed, so that no boats can go through. Nobody locked through while we were there taking photos and in an over and around the structure.

 Looking at it from the front.

Here's how it works...oops...description further down, in the photos.

 The Trent Severn Waterway, from far right at Trenton to Port Severn on the far left.

 Diagram of the Lock. A boat goes into the bath-tub when the gate is down (Submerged) as in the foreground tub. They tie up to the rails along the side. The gate goes up, to keep all the water in...see the background tub at the top. For more information, Copy the link here...http://www.pc.gc.ca/lhn-nhs/on/trentsevern/visit/visit6/lock21.aspx .

It is a fabulous machine, and we look forward to the experience tomorrow. Waz is going to video the whole thing for posterity. I might do the same, on my little camera.

From there we biked down to the first lock, #20, and chatted to the Staff about weekend travelling in the boat and how crazy it might be. We didn't really want to travel with a bunch of weekend House Boaters, but decided to take it in stride.
The worms were biting for some lunch, so we hopped back in the saddle and rode back to the park where the Café looked awfully inviting. We ordered, sat and enjoyed a quiche and salad for lunch, in the shade.
They made a mean Latte too!
Not only do we have to negotiate this little lock, in the morning, but there is a swing bridge too...the blue line in the distance! The lockmaster or staff gets this lock going, then hops on a bike and rides down to open the swing bridge. Very high tech! lol.

 Foooddddd!! The shade was lovely at the Café in the Park.

 Opposite where the boat is parked are these two slingshot sculptures. Waz thinks he is about to take off...(on my instructions, I have to admit!, lol)

 We got half way along the street to the cemetery and stopped to ask a fellow (out painting his house) what it costs to rent the house next door to his, which had a To Rent sign on it. He thought it might be about $1,300 per month. This has a gorgeous view of the lake, but it doesn't look too flash. Never mind...just checking!:) We got talking (as I do!) and we were invited inside to chat with Frank and his wife Mary. They have lived there for 35yrs, and built their lovely new home on the site that used to be one of the two rentals they owned. The home is lovely, and well thought out. We visited with them for a good 45 mins before taking our leave to sit quietly under a tree in the cemetery, marveling at al the Scots and English names. Not many other nationalities, I might add. WE drank the last of our two water bottles, and headed back to the boat. It was time for a cuppa!

 The lovely little church in the grounds, on the hill.

 Something nice about his disused rail line with the weeds and wildflowers growing between the sleepers. Wildflowers everywhere...such joy!

 The goose poop is really obnoxious...but little point cleaning this off, though the local firefighters might get a buzz from doing it!

They are EVERYWHERE!!!

We spent a lovely day in Peterborough, finished off with a dinghy ride into the marina, tying up to the wall outside the Holiday Inn, where there was live music (Friday night). We walked across the rail lines to the Supermarket and purchased our week's fruit and veg. Prices were excellent. It seems that fruit and veg are cheaper in this part of Canada.
We stood and watched/listened to the music for a bit, on our return, before loading the goodies into the dinghy and heading back to the boat just on dark. A bright orange sunset....lots of wildfires across Canada , right now, and we think this might be an influence.

It was a cool night, for which we were thankful. Temps here are generally a bit less...more like NZ, actually! Cool evening around 13/14C and daytime temps of around 24/26C Perfect!

We showered off the back deck (yay!) both nights here, and enjoyed every minute of it:)

More travelling tomorrow, but we are tired after a day filled with biking. We will not go too far, I predict.