Cobourg and Port Hope, Ontario

Along the Northern shores of Lake Ontario, the pretty little towns of Port Hope and Cobourg, Ontario are great places to visit for a day trip, at just over an hour's drive from midtown Toronto.

The Cobourg Farmer's Market, which runs Saturdays from 7am-1pm, is one of the oldest markets in Ontario, running  every Saturday morning since 1839. It offers fresh organic fruits and vegetables, baked goods, meats, cheese and condiments.  Across from the market, the bakery Millstone Bread sells artisan breads of a range of interesting flavours including buttermilk seed, sultana and roasted hazelnut, date pecan, chocolate cherry brandy and more.  We bought the most delicious cheese loaf made with white cheddar, roasted garlic and chives that left us wanting to return for more.

We were lucky enough to receive a comprehensive tour of Cobourg's city hall, which is named after Queen Victoria.  In addition to government offices, Victoria Hall also houses the Art Gallery of Northumberland and a concert hall.  The highlight is the beautiful courtroom decorated in London's Old Bailey style with the box where the accused stood to face the judge.  Viewing this room made us feel like we were in an episode of Rumpole, or the movie Witness for the Prosecution.  The grand hall on the second floor had huge windows that were both real and trompe-l'oeil, and was decked out for a wedding reception that evening.  It was amusing to see that the party favour was a pack of chewing gum.

In addition to Victoria Hall, Cobourg's main street hosted many interesting shops, art galleries, antique stores and eateries.  The British Pantry specialized in items from England, including a cake that looked just like a big empire cookie (which they also sold).  And standing prominently by the curb was a full-sized "Businessman" sculpture by my favourite sculptor, William McElcheran.

Cobourg's harbourfront is a bustling area with a large marina and long piers where summer festivals are held.  We spotted a tall ship docked by one of the piers, with teenaged crew members swabbing the decks and sitting precariously high up on the crossbars of the mast. They were trainees on two week stints to learn the joys of sailing.  We found several beaches in town, some packed with sunbathers and swimmers, while others were deserted and perfect for a quiet stroll along the water's edge.

An unexpected find was the Ecology garden located just off the main drag, which was designed to promote the principles of organic gardening.  Wandering through the paths of the garden, you come across beautiful flowers and plants, butterflies, birds and other wildlife, gazebos, swinging seats and a vegetable and herb garden.  Garden tours, plant sales and other events are held throughout the year.

There was so much to see in Cobourg that we didn't even have time to visit their historical society museum, take the town tour, visit the Art Gallery of Northumerland or see a show at the concert hall... these will all have to wait until our next visit.

Onward we went to Port Hope, which is just a few minutes west of Cobourg.  One of the first things you encounter in Port Hope is the Ganaraska River racing through the middle of the town.  The locals seem to take advantage of this natural feature for some body surfing and suntanning.  A street festival was in full swing when we arrived, complete with break dancers, clowns, balloons, free popcorn, and community drives raising money for the fire department and other local organizations.

Like Cobourg, Port Hope's main street is filled with restaurants, antiques and other specialty stores.   I particularly liked the store Hinchcliff and Lee which had multiple rooms of colourful and decorative Asian furnishings and art.  There was a bird cage made of bamboo which was deceptively light since it was painted to look like metal.  Chests and wardrobes had intricate carvings on the doors and hidden compartments inside.  For lunch, we went to Queenie's Bakery which served sandwich and salad combos including a delicious pork schnitzel on rye and a salmon salad croissant.

The vintage-looking Capitol Theatre is touted as the last restored atmospheric theatre with a ceiling designed to give the illusion of open sky.  The play being staged was Kim's Convenience which has recently had several sold-out stints as part of Toronto's Soul Pepper theatre group's repertoire.  For such a small town, Port Hope seems like an impressively happening place.

One of Port Hope's main attractions is just on the outskirts of town.  Primitive Designs is the quirkiest souvenir/gift/novelty store in the area, selling wacky artifacts that make you wonder where they get this stuff.  The multi-roomed store and grounds are overflowing with sculptures of cross-legged monkeys giving the finger, African warlord talking sticks, huge wooden sculptures of elephants and Pegasus, ship models, pink flamingos and more.  I'm not sure you would want to take any of these items home with you, but it certainly is fun to browse.