Thursday Doors is a weekly feature allowing door lovers to come together to admire and share their favorite door photos from around the world. Feel free to join in on the fun by creating your own Thursday Doors post each week and then sharing it, between Thursday morning and Saturday noon (North American eastern time), by using the blue link-up button below.
A Few Doors and a Brief Tour of Peggy’s Cove – Nova Scotia
A little less than an hour’s drive from downtown Halifax on Canada’s Atlantic coast lies the picturesque fishing village of Peggy’s Cove.
With a year-round population of about 40 inhabitants, this idyllic village has somehow managed to keep it’s charm despite the tens of thousands of tourists who visit each year.
There is truly something special about this place that calls me back every time I go to Nova Scotia, and I’m sure I’m not the only one who feels that way about this place.
If you’re curious to see what it looks like at this time of year, they keep a webcam permanently pointed at the Lighthouse and the ocean beyond.
During the few hours we spent there on a cool cloudy day last fall the tour buses pulled in non-stop. We took a walk over to St. John’s Anglican Church while waiting for the crowd to thin out near the main restaurant and gift shop.
It was nice to see that the church, which is a registered Nova Scotia heritage building has a well-maintained door, which is no small feat considering the wind, rain and salt filled air.
On our way back to our main destination the lighthouse, we came across this lovely weathered only fishing shed with a door that has seen better days.
There’s a serene melancholic beauty to this place. Perhaps it’s the gradual way the rocks which have been worn down over multiple ice-ages, wind, and water, seem to pour themselves out into the ocean.
Aside from the rocks and the waves the main attraction that calls people back to Peggy’s Cove time and again is the lighthouse.
After the CN Tower in Toronto and the Chateau Frontenac in Quebec City, this humble little structure is said to be the most photographed building in Canada.
I can remember when the lighthouse actually served as the village post office and sending someone a card postmarked from Peggy’s Cove was a cool touristy thing to do. Sometime in the nineties the lighthouse was totally automated and the doors padlocked – but hey, hardly anyone sends postcards anymore anyway.
The tranquil beauty and smooth rocks of Peggy’s Cove can lull you into a false sense of security about what is still a very stark landscape with finicky north Atlantic weather.
Despite the posted warnings, each summer a handful of individuals push their luck going out too far down on the rocks where a big wave can sweep in at any time.
So if you go please admire the ocean from a safe distance and heed the warnings not to walk down on the wet rocks.
As always, I thank you for reading 🙂
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lovely captures and this is a place definitely worth visiting 🙂 love the colorful cotages and last photo, of the splashing wave… just beautiful…
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Thank you Alexandra – it is a truly beautiful place. I go back every time I’m in that part of the country 🙂
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Norm, I love the photo of the beautiful seaside cottages with the neatly stacked cages in the front. Are they lobster cages? The entire composition, colors, angle are perfect.
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Wow – thank you so much for the kind words. Yes those are lobster traps 🙂
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I don’t know if I told you I’m going to Nova Scotia in September so hope to see this sight but don’t think I’ll have the good fortune to see those lobster traps in that exact configuration.
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No I don’t think I was aware. I’m sure you’re going to love it 🙂
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What a great little place, Norm. I love those water front houses, just step out your door and straight onto your boat. Idyllic. The link to the webcam was good, too. It was dark when I looked but I’ll check it out tomorrow to see what the weather over there is like.
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Thanks Jean. Yes, any of the residents step out the back door and head out on to their fishing boats. Lobster is the main catch in that area I believe 🙂
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Quaint and lovely sights! – my friends have been there, and showed us a whole stack of pics of that area, so beautiful there. Yet, from their stories the inhabitants are not well to do. They live the whole year of the earnings from the summer. Sorry, am late, because Seasons ends Wed. evening, and take a breather on Thurs!. By the way, for now I think I stay with the linkV20, but thanks for your comment! Have a happy weekend:)
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Thanks and a good weekend to you as well 🙂
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Love that last lighthouse shot! 🙂
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Thank you 🙂
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wonderful gallery
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Thank you!
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Beautiful photos Norm! Quite a roof on that church!!!
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Thanks. If I remember correctly I think that roof is just regular asphalt shingles but the light orange colour is some sort of coastal lichen or moss growing on it.
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Really enjoyed looking at your photos here of Peggy’s Cove. A number of years ago my husband and I visited Peggy’s Cove, lighthouse and surrounding area as we drove around Nova Scotia, through Halifax and along the northern and southern coasts. It was a great vacation and we have very fond memories of it and great pictures too of the trip. We visited a memorial not far from there (Peggy’s Cove) for the victims of a plane crash that happened on the coast there years earlier. We also loved taking photos of old historic churches, the fishing ports and lobster boats.
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Thanks Joyce – gee you had me reminiscing there too, and I was just there this past fall. I could probably go back there every year if there wasn’t so many other places I still want to see 😉
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We’ve taken two trips to the northeast and I have to say that the New England states and Nova Scotia were two of my most favorite vacations ever of all the states and areas of Canada I’ve seen.
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Nova Scotia is on my list of places to go…even more so now! Beautiful little church! Thanks for the inspiration…again!
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You’re very welcome – I’m sure you’re going to love the place 🙂
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What an incredibly beautiful place. Your posts really have me wanting to visit Canada I have to say!!
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Thanks Deb. With the current favorable exchange rate the American dollar gives you 25-30% more purchasing power, so no time better than the present 😉
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That’s an excellent point, Norm!
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I agree, it has an tranquil kind of beauty. But it also is an unforgiving environment. Great series!
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Thanks Geert. I’ve been there a days after a hurricane had passed when the wind is still blowing hard and the seas are still angry. Watching the waves pound against the rocks, from a safe distance of course, is quite impressive 🙂
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Looks like a destination for the future; thanks for sharing.
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Thanks. Yes if you get the chance it is definitely worth a visit 🙂
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Norm, I really like that you transported us to Nova Scotia today! Beautiful water, village church and the way you described the rocks transforming into the sea is how I pictured it to mean. . . I would enjoy the peaceful serenity in this setting you displayed.
I am adjusting to a new phone but seem to have to regularly remind my email and wordpress who I am! Frustrating!
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Thanks Robin glad you enjoyed and good luck figuring out the new phone 🙂
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Thank you. Practice may lead to being close but never perfect, Norm. (Wish practice makes perfect were “true”!)
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Interesting post. Adding Peggy’s Cove to my travel To Do list! 🙂
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Thanks! Yes if you are in that part of the world, this is certainly worth a visit.
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Beautiful pictures! Looks so relaxing!!
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Thank you Bernice. Yes you’re right, it is one of the most peaceful places I’ve ever visited 🙂
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Looks like such a tranquil place it’s no wonder people sometimes venture too close to the waves! Really great photography Norm. I have some more doors pics from Hawaii but my computer is at the repair shop! No ThursdayDoors fixes for me!
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Thanks Jan. Hope the computer is fixed soon, I’m looking forward to seeing the Hawaii pics 🙂
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A fav destination for me. Wonderful captures Norm!
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Thanks Sylvia – it’s one of our favourite destinations too. So much to see and explore 🙂
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Gorgeous photos, Norm. The light is quite beautiful, as are all the weathered textures. I never got to the Maritimes when I lived in Canada, and mean to make the trip one day.
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Thanks. It’s a wonderful part of the country Helen, I hope you get the chance to see it one day 🙂
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Me too 🙂
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I think what surprised me most when we visited Peggy’s Cove a few years ago, was how small the village was. So colourful & beautiful. Lovely post Norm.
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It is such a tiny out-of-the-way place isn’t it? Very much part of why so many people love it 🙂
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Lovely pictures for a lovely place that is still on our list to visit…one of these days we will make it. (Suzanne)
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When you do get there, you’re going to love it. And make sure to bring the camera 😉
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I’m on a former post office theme this week too. It’s too bad the lighthouses got automated, I think it was quite an idyllic, romantic lifestyle that the lighthouse keepers lived, one with lots of peace and quiet, time to theologize and philosophize till the ships come in.
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I know what you mean. It certainly was a different way of life; a slower pace that’s for sure 🙂
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Awesome shots of a really cool place. Only 40 residents? Wow. That is the literal everyone-knows-everyone-and-everything-in-this-small-town kind of place! No secrets there I bet.
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No kidding! Personally I kinda like not having my neighbors know all about our business, but I’m sure there’s a strong sense of community among the residents too 🙂
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What a beautiful village. I love the weathered siding, and lighthouse. I send myself and a few other people postcards when I travel somewhere new.
The church door looks well cared for, and that steeple is so tall! The whole village is so picturesque I can see why you return. Just don’t turn back on the sea! Loved that plaque with the warning.
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Thank you. They have warnings posted all over and yet every time I’m there I see people tempting fate on those rocks.
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I know people do it here at lighthouse in Santa Cruz called Walton Lighthouse. There are huge warning signs but people must not believe them b/c they always go out on the big jacks that form the breaker.
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You brought me back to the fisherman’s breakfast at the cafe, to standing on the rocks and feeling the sea air batter my skin, and to the must-have pictures taken of the lighthouse.
(I still send postcards!!)
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Thanks – we still send postcards sometimes too 🙂
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Have you ever tried any of the postcard apps? I use touchnote on my phone; postcards with my own pictures. I’ve been very happy with them – great quality and, so far, they’ve all arrived (bonus)!
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I really liked the phrase you used about how the rocks seem to pour themselves out into the ocean. Even without the photos, that sentence was a great visual of the smooth rocks butted up against the water.
This was really a great *atmosphere* post, Norm.
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Thank you 🙂
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Thank you for the serene lighthousekeeping door, no matter how padlocked. I’ve had a busy week but my doors coming up.
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Thanks Manja 🙂
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What a wonderful little tour you took us on. I enjoyed the webcam as well. Another beautiful spot for my travel bucket list. 🙂
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Thanks Judy. I’m sure you’d love it there. Like me, I’m sure that your bucket list is getting longer, not shorter 🙂
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Love. I’m a big fan. I was only in Nova Scotia for a weekend, but I loved it. I thought it was one of the most beautiful places ever. Probably because it was the height of summer, and it was cool. The wind was wild. I wish I remembered more about it, let alone wish I’d taken photos. I recall a ferry? It’s a bit vague (20+ years ago now.) I remember a lot of fishing shacks, painted, re-painted, weathered, sooo charming.
I still send postcards 🙂
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Thanks Joey. Sounds like you had a great time. They get your kinda weather from May right through till mid October – we generally go in September when the crowds have thinned out somewhat. We still send postcards sometimes too 🙂
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I see why you love it there, Norm. The simplicity and beauty stand out and it’s as though everything were pared down to the essentials. The colors in your photos are wonderful.
janet
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Thanks Janet 🙂
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I can see why you keep going back Norm. You can feel the peaceful atmosphere in the photos. I’m sure it’s quite different during the season, but you seem to have picked a good time to visit.
I really like the simple panel door on the church. The windows look narrow, I wonder if that’s to avoid damage from the weather. In any case, it’s a beautiful little church. I can also see why the lighthouse is such an attraction.
The “view from a safe distance” sign got my attention with the “death” as a reward in the first message. Very nice photos today.
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Thanks Dan. It still amazes me that despite the warning signs posted all over, every year the coast guard gets called in a few times for rescues – often unsuccessful ones 😦
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What a delightful village.
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Thanks, it really is; and such wonderful scenery too 🙂
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Peggy’s Cove looks like a lovely place to wander around on a blustery day.
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Thanks – It is indeed. In fact it’s a wonderful place to wander just about any day 😉
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What a unique little village. The 40 residents must feel overwhelmed with all the visitors. That church door looks as though it is polished daily. Interesting snippet of Nova Scotia lifestyle. I’m going all ornate this week. https://memoriesaremadeofthisblog.wordpress.com/2016/03/10/thursdays-doors-the-peace-pagoda/
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Thanks – Yes the volume of people at times is a bit much, but I’m sure the residents also appreciate the tourist dollars. The restaurant and gift shop do a booming business in summer and there are a number of local artists who set up shop and sell their wares
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Always the good and the not so good living in a tourist town…
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