On another unseasonably hot day (I sure can pick 'em), I thought it would be nice to visit our own Centre Island, with my friend Susan. We had been there a few years ago, and had an enjoyable walk, but I hadn't been back since, and figured it was about time.
We took the ferry to Hanlan's Point, and walked along Lakeshore Avenue to the sight I really wanted to see, the lighthouse at Gibraltar Point:
It's the second-oldest lighthouse in Canada, originally built around 1808, complete with a whale-oil lamp. More height was added later, and an electric light was installed around the turn of the 20th century.
You can see the bottom and top small openings that would have given ventilation to the spiral staircase inside.
In this closer view, you can see how the openings go around the building, following the path of the spiral staircase.
You can also see some of the weathering of the painted wood under the balcony near the top.
I feel pretty sure this may be the original door of the lighthouse, with the simple long iron hinges, keyhole, and ring handle.
I was interested by the elongated keystone in the Roman arch above the door, and how they cut a notch out of the door frame to accommodate it; I wondered why they couldn't have just chipped away the bottom of the keystone, and thus been able to set the door frame in intact!
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| They found human remains in here in the early 20th century, and some believe the lighthouse is haunted! |
Moving east along Lakeshore Ave., we came to one of the larger beaches on the Islands (safe for swimming!), complete with this lovely long pier:
I wanted to get a shot from both ends of the pier, and this is the view looking south, out to the lake.
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| (Susan is standing in the shadow of the tree at right - she's shy.) |
At the south end of the pier are these directional signs, which I thought were pretty cool:
At the end of the west arm of this Y-shaped pier...
...and looking north from the centre, where you can see the CN Tower in the distance - this is one of the few places in the city where you're actually south of it!
Looking out to Lake Ontario, there was this group of small sailboats, along with kayaks and motorboats. I didn't know why there was such a cluster of sailboats in such a small area.
The land in the distance is the Leslie St. Spit, aka Tom Thompson Park. I've been out there, too, and one day, I'll bring a camera along, and perhaps share some pics of that amazing place on this blog.
And here is the view from the west arm of the pier:
Many, many names and dates are carved or written on the rails of the pier, including this one from, it appears, a Japanese tourist. I share Takumi-san's sentiments!
Here is something that took me completely by surprise: The Avenue of the Island, a tree-lined walkway that goes north from the pier. It looked so much like something that you'd see in a European city, with sculptured hedges, flower beds, and a fountain at the far end, that I was quite thrilled by it.
Here's a better view of the west side of the Avenue, showing the geometric shapes of the hedges, lush grass, flower beds and shrubs:
And, the closest I could get to a higher view, standing on one of the tree planters, I got this shot from the southeast corner.
It made me think of the Tuileries in Paris, though, of course, it's not nearly on the same scale. It is lovely, though, I must say.
Continuing east, we came to the long, long boardwalk along the south shore of the Islands. This takes you all the way to Ward's Island, at the opposite end of where we started out, at Hanlan's Point.
The boards are a little uneven, so it behooves you to watch your step!
We stopped for while at the Island Cafe for a welcome sit-down and a cold drink (also welcome).
Finally, along the north shore of Ward's Island, I had to stop and get a shot of Toronto's ever-changing skyline
Back in the city, it was still hot and humid, and it made me appreciate all the more that we have an easily accessible place like this, with pleasant scenery and fresh air, to escape to in the summer.
I don't know what it's like in winter, though, but it is still accessible by ferry, as the lake almost never freezes over in this area. Perhaps one day, if I'm brave enough, that'll be the subject of another entry!
