Prince Edward Island has just two small cities, but on its eastern shore, the tiny town of Montague offers a surprisingly urban escape.

Friday
Evening
Pub crawl

Checking in at Lanes Riverhouse Inn & Cottages on Brook Street, we stroll the riverfront. We’re on the left bank, where pleasure boats moor. On the other side, it’s more of a working harbour, with lobster boats and sheds. The old post office and customs house, a brick and stone structure designed by the same architect who did Parliament’s Centre Block, perches on a hill at the opposite end of the Main Street bridge, looming over it all.

The population of Montague is about 2,000, which is apparently enough to support two breweries. We make our way to Copper Bottom on Main Street, across the street from the old post office. We get a couple of pints and head out onto the deck. The brewery is on the same hill as the old post office across the street, and there’s a long view down the river from here.

The amber lager is sweet and fruity, with a hint of honeydew and just enough hops in the finish to remind you you’ve been drinking beer. We grab a couple of cans on the way out in case we get thirsty later.

The route to the other brewery takes us back over the bridge. Bogside Brewing on Brook Street is locally famous for its barbecue. The platter includes beef brisket, pulled pork, chicken, baked beans, garlic bread, coleslaw and fries. I wash mine down with a Proper Pub Ale, which has just enough body to compete with the smoke on the palate. It’s a true feast.

Full and happy, we walk back to the inn.

Saturday
Morning
Garden of the Gulf Museum

Waking the next morning, I step out onto the balcony. The Montague River is spread out below. I make a coffee and absorb the view. There are the boats in the harbour, the south side of the town beyond, with forest surrounding. Birds are singing in the trees along the Confederation Trail below. I’ll have to find a bakery today so I can eat breakfast here tomorrow.

But today, we cross the river again to the Lucky Bean Cafe. It’s a cozy spot, warmed by brick and wood and plants on the windowsill. There are a variety of breakfast options for less than $10. I choose waffles, which come with a little cup of blueberry sauce to go with the syrup and sprinkling of icing sugar.

A few doors down from the Lucky Bean is the building that has captured so much of our attention, the old post office. Built in 1884, it was the post office and customs house for 70 years, and became the province’s first museum in 1958, known as the Garden of the Gulf Museum.

Most of the collection focuses on the Montague area in the late 19th and early 20th century, but there is a display of Mi’kmaw artifacts, some of which may be up to 6,000 years old.

The museum focuses on many aspects of Island life around the turn of the 20th century: shipbuilding, retail, one-room schoolhouses, and the post office itself.

The Edison Amberola, one of the original record players that used cylinders instead of disks, is particularly fascinating.

Saturday
Afternoon
Off to the beach

What’s a weekend on P.E.I. without a trip to the beach?

We head north towards Sally’s Beach Provincial Park. Stopping at MacDonald’s Bakery on the way out of town, we score cinnamon rolls for tomorrow morning.

A half-hour drive later, we are at Sally’s Beach. Even on a Saturday in summer, there are few people here. After a swim we head back toward the boardwalk and then past it and around the rocky point to another sandy beach. There are more shorebirds poking around here. At the end of this beach is a narrow entrance to a lagoon that stretches back inland.

Saturday
Evening
Dinner on the water

Heading back to Montague we turn off toward Georgetown, the original capital of Kings County. We have reservations for dinner at the Wheelhouse.

We take a table on the deck, a few metres from the water. The view is spectacular. In one direction, we look upriver toward where the Brudenell and Montague rivers meet. In the other direction is the Northumberland Strait.

The food is similarly fabulous. Crispy fish and chips and a chowder loaded with haddock, halibut, clams, and mussels.

We stay until sunset.

Sunday
Morning
A historic walk up the river

After a breakfast on the balcony, we find a set of stairs that takes us down to the Confederation Trail, running from the downtown along the old railway bed.

Not far up the trail is the concrete foundation of a railway turntable, used to turn around engines when they reached the end of the line. Interpretive signs describe how the turntable, clearly a massive structure, was not in use for long. It was built in 1906 but became obsolete in 1920 when the Island converted from narrow gauge to standard gauge railways. For decades afterward, trains had to back up to leave Montague.

We quickly move away from the main part of town. Birdsong and the wind in the trees are all that can be heard. The Montague River appears and disappears through the trees to the right. Toward the end of this first section a beautiful, worn wooden box with brass fittings is attached to a tree. Behind its doors is a tiny library.

Back at the old train station, we poke around the arts and crafts in Artisans Waterfront market. It’s all Island made here, from braided rugs to knitted scarves and hats, jewelry, jams, and preserves.

Sunday
Afternoon
Historic Acadian settlement

The French were the first Europeans to settle in this area, and that old settlement is where we’re heading for lunch.

Roma, on Brudenell Point, was short-lived. Jean Pierre Roma found it in 1732 but colonists fled after American privateers burnt it in 1745 during one of many French-English wars.

We arrived just as bread is coming out of the wood-fired oven, a replica of those archeologists found on site. We buy a loaf to take home. Before the tour, we sit down to lunch, traditional fish cake with molasses baked beans. Molasses traditionally accompanies the bread.

On-site animators describe life in the doomed settlement, the ill-fated efforts to grow wheat for Louisbourg, the harsh living conditions, and the achievement of building some of P.E.I.’s first roads.

The time we have is not enough to fully explore the network of trails that runs through the historic site. They’re on our list for the next visit.

Ideas for the Next Trip

Lodging
Take a cottage at Lanes and make use of the barbecue

Dining
Gillis' Drive In
Station Pub
Maroon Pig

Activities
Kayaking on the Montague River
A.A. MacDonald Memorial Gardens
Show at Kings Playhouse

Shopping
Browse through the vinyl at Lucky Bean
Maritime Madness Hot Sauce