After breakfast and checking out of my hotel in Charlottetown, I walked the block and a half to the Confederation Centre of the Arts to catch the bus to Mount Stewart. The buses that go to the more rural areas are smaller and only cost $2 per trip. You need to book the trip in advance online (or over the phone) but can pay in person (or online). There are also monthly passes if you’ll be taking them often. I became a huge fan of Transit PEI and would recommend using them if you don’t want to rent a car. It takes a bit of planning of course, but you can’t beat the price. I took Transit PEI five times in total on my trip for a grand total of $10! Just make sure you carry a toonie or two.
After arriving at the bus stop in Mount Stewart, the next stop of my trip, I walked the remaining 2 1/2 km along Route 2, to Bishop’s Rest, the B&B I was staying at that night. The walk along the road was fine, it’s fairly busy but there was a big shoulder so relatively safe if you walk facing traffic.
Bishop’s Rest is a former parochial house and sits beside a church with tons of history. There are several info boards surrounding the church yard, so I wandered around reading them all before checking in as I was a bit early. Apparently, it’s the only church “to go to town and back” as it was taken down the river (when it was frozen) to Charlottetown years ago to be repurposed as a school and then was brought back more recently to be restored as a church again. History is fascinating. I also never realized how very Catholic PEI was. I recommend taking a few moments and wandering around reading about it if you have time.
After checking in, I walked down one of the nearby red dirt roads as people were asked to stay off the Confederation trail while they cleared it. I’m not nearly as good at walking long distances unless I have a destination, which is why I love long distance trails, but still got a decent number of kilometers in. Even better, I got to see some random countryside and another glimpse of the coast. I also wandered down the short path to the Confederation Trail just to take a peek at it.
After returning to the B&B, I washed up before coming down to the dining room for a delicious seafood chowder and salad. The chowder was delicious!
I love the loft room I stayed in at Bishop’s Rest. The bed was super comfortable, and I loved having a couch and tub, I even took a bath as the tub was huge so it seemed sacrilegious not to use it. The loft room was quite private because it’s the only room in the top floor and I’d highly recommend booking it if you’re staying at the Bishop’s Rest. Breakfast was self-serve continental, a normal spread. As mentioned, the seafood chowder was also delicious.
Unfortunately, as mentioned above, the Confederation Trail was closed from the hurricane Fiona damage so that’s why my walk consisted of randomly wandering down red dirt roads which meant I got to see different parts of PEI that I would have otherwise but I do wish that the Confederation Trail wasn’t closed. That being said, I knew it would be before I arrived and had made adjustments but hope springs eternal…
Rambles and Walks 