Signal Hill

There are many great things about living in St. John's but the weather isn't one of them, so everyone was shocked when we had beautiful weather for the Victoria Day long weekend. On Saturday, we went for a hike on Signal Hill. The entrance to St. John's harbour is known as The Narrows and Signal Hill sits on one side and Fort Amherst is on the other. Signal Hill was used as a citadel dating back to the Napoleonic Wars and was also the sight where Marconi received the first trans-Atlantic wireless signal from England. Today it's a National Historic Site and a great place to visit.

We parked at the top and worked our way down on the trails and many staircases built into the rock.

Here's a shot from the bottom looking back up at Cabot Tower. The hill is high enough that you can spot this castle like building from almost anywhere in St. John's.

Fort Amherst, on the other side of the narrows, was also used as a coastal defense battery during the Second World War.

We made our way along the rock face and they have installed chains for you to hold onto in the tighter spots.

Eventually we came to the area of the city known as The Battery, which has become prime real estate.

Most people consider Quebec City to be the most European City in Canada, but there are parts of St. John's that definitely feel European to me and this is one of them. Years ago, before she became a lawyer, Lori worked for Canada Post and she had to drive her mail truck down this road.

You get a great perspective of the city from here as well.

Once we made it through The Battery, we walked back up the road to the car. It took us about 2 1/2 hours to do the whole hike. Then we found a patio downtown to rest our weary legs and quench our thirst.



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