Tidbits of info. transcribed by The Telegram, about Towns, Villages, it's location and history of the "Avalon Region", Island portion of our Province, "Newfoundland and Labrador". ENJOY! The Path Of Our Ancestors: Argentia-St. John's Route 100 to Route 1 131 km 81 mi St. John's-Bay Roberts Route 1 to Route 70 104 km 65 mi St. John's-Cape St. Mary's Route 1 to Route 100 151 km 94 mi St. John's-Bay Bulls Route 10 25 km 16 mi Bay Bulls-Trepassey Route 10 117 km 73 mi Trepassey-Holyrood Route 10 to Route 13 to Route 62 123 km 76 mi Whitbourne-Heart's Content Route 80 61 km 38 mi Heart's Content-Carbonear Route 74 14 km 9 mi Bay Roberts-Port de Grave Route 72 12 km 7 mi Osprey Trail Avalon. The name evokes the legends of King Arthur, misty lakes and mystery. Heading east on Route 1 from Goobies, you'll soon see why this peninsula's name is so apt. From the forested regions of eastern Newfoundland, you enter a boulder-strewn tundra dotted, especially on the Isthmus of Avalon, with shallow lakes that seem, on a foggy day, to have been transplanted directly from Somerset in England. Avalon was, in the legend, the land where King Arthur went when he died. The Isthmus is a narrow neck of land stubborn enough to have survived the heavy glaciation which cut the two deep bays, Placentia and Trinity, that you can see on either side. To the left is Sunnyside. To the right of the highway, travelling east, are the communities of Come By Chance, Arnold's Cove, Southern Harbour, Little Harbour and Fairhaven. From Route 1 you can see the cold, deep waters of Placentia Bay with its scattering of 365 islands Further east, take the intersection with Route 201 to the Osprey Trail, which skirts the southern coast of Trinity Bay. Sea hawks, as ospreys are known here, are plentiful in summer. This is a popular area for summer cottages, and nearby is Bellevue Beach Park. Relax and swim on the freshwater side or comb the pebble beach and watch the seabirds that inhabit the shoreline. Along the shore you will notice many attractive seashells washed up by the tide and coloured stones that were deposited by volcanic action and polished to their present smooth, round shape by the ebb and flow of the Atlantic. Sometime between late June and early August, depending on water temperatures, beaches in the Avalon area are the sites of the annual capelin scull. Billions of these small smelt-like fish spawn in the shallow waters and are carried right up on the shore by the high tides. Crowds of men, women and children scoop them up in nets, buckets or any other available receptacle. The scull is by far the easiest fishing you will ever undertake, and these small fish make a lovely meal when they are fried to a crispy, golden brown. Route 201 loops back to Route 1, where you'll notice the stunted forest that borders the highway. The winds that blow steadily across this area for most of the year are responsible for the small size of the trees and the fantastic, twisted shapes that they take on. Many of the ponds and lakes are inhabited by pan-size trout. They provide lively sport for anyone with a little angling skill and patience. The Cape Shore Home to Gannets and the French Heritage of Placentia Bay This tour takes you to the Cape St. Mary's Ecological Reserve seabird sanctuary, one of the most incredible wildlife spectacles in the world, and into an area of Placentia Bay that played an exciting part in the history of North America during its early days when England fought France for control of the colony and the continent. Start at the intersection of Route 1 and take Route 100 south. An interesting side trip on Route 102 takes you to Ship Harbour. A conference between U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt and British Prime Minister Winston S. Churchill, held at sea off Ship Harbour in 1941, resulted in the Atlantic Charter, which laid out a vision for the postwar world during a very dark period. A monument marking this meeting, which is sometimes referred to as the 'First Summit,' has been erected at the end of an unpaved road off Route 102 amid the splendid scenery of Placentia Bay The next stop is Placentia. The town has recently expanded its boundaries to take in Dunville, Jerseyside and Southeast Placentia. Past Dunville, a paved highway leads to Argentia, the terminus for the Nova Scotia ferry which operates between Argentia and North Sydney, Nova Scotia, during the summer. In 1940, the United States military began construction of a naval base and air station which served the American and other Allied forces during the war years. Argentia's importance lay in its strategic position near the shipping lanes of the northwest Atlantic and ice-free harbour. The base closed about 10 years ago. Placentia is built on a large beach near a coastal forest area. In the early days of the seventeenth century this was the French capital of Newfoundland. Colonial French land and sea forces, aware of its strategic position, established a fortified base on a summit overlooking the ocean arms of Plaisance, as the French called it, in 1662. On the commanding site of what is now Castle Hill National Historic Site, the French erected a fortification called Le Gaillardin in 1692, a year of intensive English campaigns. The following year Fort Royal was begun as the main defence against the English attacks by sea. The areas adjacent to the park, at the northern point of Placentia Gut and east of the town, were previously defended by Fort Louis and Fort Le Vieux, both of which have long since surrendered to the elements. From their fortified position at Placentia, the French attacked the English capital at St. John's three times. Each time, they were forced to retreat, but only after! they had captured the main fort twice and burnt the city down. The British moved into Placentia after the Treaty of Utrecht in 1713. During the Seven Years' War its defences were upgraded to aid in the recapture of St. John's, which just months previously had been taken by the French. With British supremacy assured, Placentia was soon outranked by St. John's which became the capital of the colony. Today, visitors can stroll along the stabilized ruins on Castle Hill and enjoy the spectacular view of Placentia Bay, and take in ongoing archaeological digs around the town. In keeping with the military nature of the site, the Interpretation Centre is built into the hill like a bunker. The displays inside tell the stories of the ordinary soldiers and fishermen who toiled here in times past. The hiking trails at the site pass through stands of evergreen trees that fill the air with a rich scent. In the town of Placentia, you find the community museum in O'Reilly Heritage House on the waterfront. This grand old house has a fine collection of period furniture and some unusual woodwork. The town also features an old church with a stone presbytery, and a government services building and its fine clock from earlier this century. South of Placentia is Gooseberry Cove Provincial Park where you can watch the waves roll onto a long, sandy beach or take a walk among the unusual purple rock formations that frame the cove. The grassy backshore is an ideal place for a picnic before you go on to explore Little Barasway and Great Barasway, which take their names from the Newfoundland term for barachois - a sandy isthmus providing shelter for exposed harbours. Angels Cove has great swimming at Angels Cove Falls. This stretch of the Cape Shore was settled in the early 1800s by Irish settlers working for the Placentia merchant firm of Sweetman's. Angels Cove is unusual in that it is one of the few communities in Newfoundland originally established as a farming venture. Next up is St. Bride's. Irish roots are strong here and traditional song, dance and recitation have survived. Exciting traditional performers from the Cape Shore, as this stretch of coast is known, now take their music to folk festivals throughout the province. St. Bride's is the nearest community to the Cape St. Mary's Ecological Reserve, the star of the shore and one of the great natural wonders in Newfoundland and Labrador. The 13.4-kilometre paved road from Route 100 leads to a view immortalized in the Newfoundland folk song "Let Me Fish off Cape St. Mary's." The vantage point, a 15-30 minutes walk from the interpretation centre, overlooks Bird Rock, the third largest nesting site for gannets in North America, and offers a spectacular opportunity to photograph these gorgeous, golden-headed birds with the two- metre wing span from only 15 metres (50 feet) away. This is also a nursery for thousands of murres and kittiwakes. During the summer months the cliffs are alive with seabirds. The waters here are a great place to see whales. To be continued: