All Things Anne of Green Gables…Plus!

When David and I told people that we were planning on going to Prince Edward Island, everyone asked “Are you going to visit Anne of Green Gables?” We said that we were. Lucy M. Montgomery’s novels have made this Maritime island very popular. In fact, Parks Canada preserved the original farmhouse that was the inspiration for many of her novels. The farmhouse, which became part of the Prince Edward Island National Parks in 1937, actually belonged to her cousins, David and Margaret Macneill. Although Lucy never lived there, she visited them quite often.

We have to admit that we did not know much about the author or her novels prior to visiting Prince Edward Island. After reading her best-selling novels, we could understand why people are so taken with the main character, “Anne with an ‘E,’” the Cavendish community and the island’s landscape. Her literary works are beautifully written and enthralling.

Since we were staying in Cavendish, we went to the Parks Canada Historic Site called Anne of Green Gables Heritage Place. It was there that we learned a lot more about Lucy Maud Montgomery. Born in Cavendish, she went to live with her maternal grandparents, Alexander and Lucy Macneill, when she was 21 months old after the death of her mother. She grew up in the tight-knit community in and around Cavendish. She loved to write and published here first literary work when she was 15 years old. She became a teacher but continued to make time to write before going to school. Her dedication and persistence paid off when, in 1908, she published her best-selling novel, Anne of Green Gables. It was so well received that she wrote 19 more novels in the series. Many of the characters in her novels were based on the people and places that she knew on Prince Edward Island. Anne of Green Gables was translated into multiple languages and was made into TV series, movies, and theater adaptations.

At the Anne of Green Gables Heritage Place we toured the Visitor Center, the barn, and the Macneill farmhouse and gardens. The interior of the house is decorated like the house described in Montgomery’s novels.

From the farmhouse, we took a short walk down “Lover’s Lane” and “the Haunted Woods.” While both were lovely hikes, there were parts of the trails that Hurricane Fiona had damaged which detracted from the overall experience.

Not far from Cavendish in New London is Lucy M. Montgomery’s birthplace. You can tour the house but, due to time constraints, we did not make it there.

The Macneill Homestead where Lucy lived with her grandparents is a separate site from the National Park. It is owned by the Macneill family. To tour the grounds, you have to pay an additional admission fee. Unfortunately the original house is no longer standing. You can see the house’s ruins and walk the grounds. There is a quaint bookstore at the entrance that has some family artifacts on display (like her typewriter). All her novels are for sale there as well.

We did spend some time at Montgomery Park where there is a statue of the author and information about her life and the town of Cavendish. We also visited here burial site across from the park.

If you are looking for an Anne of Green Gables souvenir, you can find many options like hats, chocolates, dolls, etc. at Avonlea Village. Several historic buildings that have been relocated to this site to help preserve them. Among them are the Long River Church (1872) where Lucy attended church with her cousins and the Belmont School where she taught in 1896-1897. There are many restaurants and stores there too.

To round out our Anne of Green Gables experience, we decided to go see the famous musical, “Anne and Gilbert: The Musical” in Charlottetown. Prior to seeing the performance, we spent the day in Charlottetown, which was incorporated in 1855 and today it is the capital and the largest city in the province.

It happened to be Canada Day, their 4^th of July celebration, so there were several businesses that were closed. People were sporting their Canada shirts and hats. The festive atmosphere more than made up for the closures.

We walked around the historic downtown and were impressed by the Victorian era houses and buildings. We visited Victoria Row which is a pedestrian only street that has great restaurants, lovely Victorian architecture, many shops and live music on a small stage. We had a delicious lunch in one of the restaurants and had great entertainment to boot.

From there, we ambled down to Victoria Park stopping by the All Souls Chapel at St. Peter’s Cathedral on the way.

Erected in 1888, this chapel made of Prince Edward Island red sandstone is a beautiful place.

Victoria Park is a large waterfront park that has baseball fields, tennis courts, a pool, a children’s playground, a skate park, walking trails and a concert stage. We walked the trail nearest the water and got to see lots of boats out on the harbor as well as the Brighton Beach Range Front Lighthouse.

That day, there was live music throughout the day. We sat out on the lawn in front of the bandstand and enjoyed the great weather and the music. Earlier in the day they had a parade through the park and later that evening there was a large fireworks show. It was fun watching all of the families out together celebrating their Canada Day.

Our last stop of the day was the Florence Simmons Performance Hall at Holland College where we saw the “Anne and Gilbert: The Musical.” Based on two of L. M. Montgomery’s novels, Anne of Avonlea(1909) and Anne of the Island (1915), this production launched in 2005. It received rave reviews and is one of the most successful musicals in Canada. We thoroughly enjoyed the musical. It was funny, lighthearted, and hearkened back to simpler times, plus even David enjoyed it.

We really liked the vibe in Charlottetown. We also had a good time at the musical performance in Charlottetown as well as the Anne of Green Gables Heritage Place and other sites in Cavendish that L. M. Montgomery made famous. We really wished that we could have spent more time in Charlottetown. This city would be a fun place to explore further. I guess we will just have to add it to our “return-trip” list.