Grey-Bruce Adventours Paisley Day Trips
By Sandra J. Howe for
Mar/12 MOSAIC
Welcome to 2013 and a new year of Mosaic! Spring is coming, and bringing with it
abundant opportunities to explore our wealth of cultural, and natural
heritage. Grey-Bruce Adventours seeks
to be your guide, in print, on-line, and in-person, to great home-grown
adventures. Since childhood, I have
loved learning about new people, places, flora, and fauna, and about their
history. Now I want to share that
spirit of adventure with you, your families, and your visitors. Monthly day trip itineraries will introduce
you to local sights, tastes, sounds, history, and events up-coming in
Grey-Bruce. Refer to my blog for more
details and photos, or to contact me for customized tourguiding services. Let’s hit the road for a fun day-away!
Paisley is a beautiful, historic village at the confluence
of the Teeswater, and Saugeen Rivers (www.paisleyvillage.ca,
www.explorethebruce.com/paisley.php
). It was home to some famous artists
from the past, including David Milne (1882-1953), “regarded as one of Canada’s
foremost artists”(Wikipedia), and Isabella Valancy Crawford (1850-1887), known
as “the most gifted poetess of the nineteenth century”(historic plaque). Today it is still home to many talented
artists in various media; check out “Sticks and Stones”, the MacNamara
Gallery, and The Elora Soap Company (www.elorasoap.com) on Main
Street. Nature’s Millworks (www.naturesmillworks.com), on Bruce
Road #1, also features local books, arts, crafts, and rotating shows. After some shopping, grab a great cup, or
package of fresh-roasted, fair-trade, organic coffee at Back Eddies (www.backeddies.com), and watch the rivers
flow.
There are plenty of outdoor activities to enjoy in
Paisley. Take a leisurely stroll around
town with the downloadable “Heritage Walk” brochure, highlighting fine
architecture, former industries, and famous people. Walking trails run along the river dykes, and flood plains. Also, the rail trail, accessible off Bruce
Road #1, has two spectacular trestle bridges for great views. Paisley is, of course, best known for
canoeing and kayaking on the Saugeen River, a major historic, and modern paddle
route in southwestern Ontario. Stop in
at Cowan’s Canoe and Kayak Livery for information, rentals, and shuttle
service to explore the Saugeen.
Paisley offers a full year worth of fun events for the whole
family. The Old-Tyme Maple Syrup
Festival ( www.saugeenconservation.com/maplesyrup.php
), hosted by the Saugeen Valley Conservation Foundation, is March 23 and 24,
10am to 4pm daily at Saugeen Bluffs Conservation Area. Shuttles run from downtown Paisley,
transporting 7000 visitors annually to this sweet venue. Now in its 41st season, this
first tastes of spring event provides outdoor fun, historic re-enactments,
entertainment, and naturally, local maple syrup over Paisley Kinsmen pancakes,
and sausage. Yum!
The 20th Annual North Canoe Race, June 7
to 9, with overnight, old-style camping, invites everyone to participate. The massive north canoes are replicas of
those used in Canada’s historic voyageur days.
Bring a team, or join one on-site, to experience races, and games at the
Saugeen River Paddlers Park. Canoes,
and kayaks belonging to the Saugeen Paddlers (see Facebook: Saugeen
Paddlers-group) will be available to practice paddle skills with guidance. Pioneer games involve young, and old in fun
activities, both dry, and wet. This is
a wonderful opportunity to share food, and stories around the campfire, and
unplug for a weekend!
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| Nature's Millworks, formerly Stark's Mill |
 |
| Rail Trail Trestle over Teeswater River |
 |
| View down Teeswater River toward Paisley from Trestle |
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| Rail Trail Trestle and lovely sky! |
Many other Paisley events are highlighted on www.paisleyvillage.ca, and all are
welcome to volunteer, or participate. Grey-Bruce
Adventours hopes you’ve enjoyed your print tour, and come out in-person to
explore all that Paisley has to offer.
I look forward to hearing from you at www.howesandraj.blogspot.com. Wishing you, and yours, many happy
adventures!
