Point Pleasant Park
Located in the south end of Halifax, Point Pleasant Park was a gift from Queen Victoria in 1873 to the people of Halifax. Today, Point Pleasant Park is one of those parks where every non dog owner experiences dog envy. With paths crossing in and out of sheltered woods, beaches, rocky shorelines and old fortresses, a weekend is well wasted in this diverse park. Bring your bike, hiking shoes or four legged friends and enjoy the paths and many monuments, structures, and memorials.
Only a 10 minute walk from Saint Mary’s University, where I did my under grad, I spent many days in Point Pleasant Park writing poetry to the sound of the crashing waves or walking through the forest clearing my head of exams. Years later, I would spend many a Sunday with my husband meandering through this 186 acre park stopping to eat lunch on the rocks jetting out into the Atlantic and watching the sail boats come in.
On summer nights, we enjoyed the famous Halifax Shakespeare by the Sea productions. I will never forget the outstanding The Tempest performance on a chilly August eve, at the ruins of the Cambridge Battery. We sat cuddled up on blankets in the uneven grass with only the steps and ruins of a battery roof as a stage. The booming voice of Caliban echoed through the crumbled barracks where soldiers were housed over 150 years earlier. The play reached a climax as the clouds rolled in and the last lines were spoken just in time before the storm hit. As we rushed back to our cars in the rain we all agreed that’s the way Shakespeare is meant to be performed.
Shortly after we left Nova Scotia, in Sept 2003, a devastating storm, Hurricane Juan, hit Halifax and destroyed thousands of trees and ancient growth in Point Pleasant Park. An estimated 70 percent of the park's trees were downed or damaged by the storm. See photos from the storm here. Following months of intensive clean-up, and a number of dedicated staff and park patrons, the park is slowly getting back on its feet.
If you ever have the opportunity to visit the beautiful city of Halifax, spend a day getting lost in Point Pleasant Park - you won’t regret it.
Located: Point Pleasant Drive, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada
Find out more: http://www.pointpleasantpark.ca/
