Taste!

If you’re a seafood lover, you’ve come to the right place. Lobster season varies from year to year and by area, but May to early July are usually great times to score some lobster directly from the local fishermen in both Whiteway and Heart’s Delight-Islington. Lobster pots and tools can be provided upon request at all of our cottages.

If you’re the type that likes to ‘cook their catch’, you might like to participate in Newfoundland’s ‘recreational food fishery’. Again, summer and fall dates vary by year, but we can help hook you up with local fishermen if your dates of your visit line up with this year’s season!

If the last thing you want to do is cook on your vacation, no worries. Our Whiteway cottages are just a few steps away from Brown’s Restaurant, and their newly opened The Flake Lounge & Eatery. Try their fish and chips or pan fried cod – you won’t be disappointed. They also feature live local entertainment and are a favoured local watering hole.

Not far away in scenic Dildo, one of our favourite spots is Dildo Dory Grill. A casual pub-style restaurant situated right on the fisherman’s wharf. Enjoy great views, fresh-caught seafood and friendly service from the Waterfront deck or dining room. Featuring hand-cut homemade fries and the BEST fish & chips in the Avalon!

While in Dildo, sample a ‘beer flight’ at Dildo Brewing Company & Museum, a recently opened craft beer pub with good beer and great views, indoors and out.

In nearby Green’s Harbour, romantics and foodies rave about their experiences at Secret Garden Restaurant at The Doctor’s House. Reservations recommended, and while there, say hello to the sheep, goats, and Newfoundland ponies for us!

Also in Green’s Harbour, Jigs and Reels is another great place to rub elbows with the locals and see some great local music.

Every cottage is outfitted with a Guest Info. Binder with all kinds of other options. If there’s anything we can do to make your visit memorable, all you need do is ask.

Surfing?

We wouldn’t have believed it unless we’d seen it with our own eyes, but intrepid surfers love the waves at New Melbourne, considered one of the best surfing locales in the North Atlantic. Join them, or just watch – it’s fun either way.

Whichever option you chose, we highly recommend the 45 minute drive to New Melbourne – you’ll see colourful scenery, including beautiful buildings and old churches, along the way.

Explore Historic Landmarks

We’re happy to be near so many historic landmarks. Like the Cupids Legacy Centre  in nearby Cupids, which celebrates John Guy’s Colony, the first English colony in Canada. The Cupids Archaeological Dig, where archaeologists work to learn more about the first English settlers in Canada, was rated one of the ten best archaeological digs in Canada. Make a day of it, enjoying Shakespeare at Perchance Theatre and hiking seacoast and forest trails at Spectacle Head and Burnt Head trails.

Just 30 minutes away from our cottages in Brigus, you can take a leisurely hike around charming streets sloping up into green cliffs, before stopping for a slice of homemade blueberry cheesecake. The town is a picture postcard, reminiscent of the quaintness often found in European villages.  Its well-kept old-style architecture, rustic stone walls, lush green gardens, and winding narrow lanes are reflective of its English, Irish, and Welsh heritage. Visit Hawthorne Cottage National Historic Site, the former home of Captain Bob Bartlett, hailed as the greatest ice navigator of the 20th century.

Also not far from our cottages, on Route 80, you’ll find the Heart’s Content Cable Station, the site of the first successful transatlantic cable crossing that opened up a new era in communications in July 1866. Perfectly preserved exactly as it was when it was an operating station.

And don’t miss the Heart’s Content Lighthouse, built in 1901 and designated a Recognized Federal Heritage Building in 1990.

Once you get started, there’s a rabbit-hole of historic sites, homes and places – have fun exploring!

Be the B’y that Builds the Boat

We love being so close to the Wooden Boat Museum of Newfoundland and Labrador, a museum that archives, conserves and exhibits the traditional wooden boat of the province and its importance to our way of life. Open from June to September, visit this unique museum to explore its beautiful exhibits, or take one of their regular hands-on workshops to learn how to build a wooden boat yourself. Their motto is “Look Aft and Learn.” When seafarers tell you to ‘look aft,’ they mean to look behind you; indeed, visit this museum and you’ll come away with a new appreciate for the life and culture of the early days of this island.