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St Andrews
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ST ANDREWS
was once a busy fishing port and trading centre but is now a leafy resort with a laid-back, low-key air that makes for a restful place to spend a night. The town is at its prettiest amongst the antique clapboard houses flanking King Street - which leads up the hill from the busy little pier - while Water Street, the main drag, tracks along the waterfront lined with cafes and craft shops. The only sights as such are the
Horticultural Garden
on the crest of King Street and the squat, minuscule
St Andrews blockhouse
, a replica of the original wooden fort built in 1813 to protect the area from the Americans. It's at the west end of Water Street, and at low tide you can scramble around the reefs and rock pools just below. The pier is packed with boat-tour companies. Amongst several, Quoddy Link Marine (tel 529-2600 or 1-877/688-2600) operate first-class
whale-watching
cruises (late May to Sept; 3hr; $45), each of which has a naturalist on board; and Seascape runs regular
kayak
trips from $55 per half-day (same months tel 529-4866).
Of particular interest also are the guided tours of
Minister's Island
(June to mid-Oct 1-2 daily; 2hr; $5; tel 529-5081), whose undulating farmland is reached by car along a tidal causeway. The island was once the property of William Van Horne, a Victorian railway baron, who built a grand stone mansion here as well as a clutter of farm buildings. Highlights of the two-hour tour include a romp round the dilapidated mansion and inspection of the windmill, with its kerosene-powered reserve engines. You also get to check out the tidal bathhouse down on the seashore and the magnificent, state-of-the-art livestock barn, where Horne pampered his horses and cattle - treating them, according to local legend, rather better than he did his workforce. Other useful information
for tourists (each section contains more specific sub-sections): |
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Canada,
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