Horse pull at the Tyne Valley Oyster Festival

This ride is a wonderful introduction to the quiet pleasures of Prince County. Western PEI has less tourist traffic than the central part of the Island, but it offers a full helping of beauty and interest — as you will see.

Tyne Valley, where the ride begins, is a compact little village that packs in its small cluster of buildings a remarkable amount of charm. There is a lively restaurant and pub, fine old homes and comfortable B&Bs, a small crafts shop selling hand-knit sweaters, and one of PEI's great summer events — the Tyne Valley Oyster Festival.

Tyne Valley home

Garden whimsey in Tyne Valley

The ride begins at Green Park, a few kilometers outside the village, where you can tour a restored Victorian mansion and shipbuilding museum. During the day, stop at a parsonage where Lucy Maude Montgomery once lived, a museum that focuses on PEI's famous oyster industry, and an island where a Mi'kmaq Indian band operates eco-tourism businesses and a cultural center. Throughout the day you will cycle on quiet country roads, often near the shores of Malpeque Bay, and through tiny villages.

Lodging and Food

There are no big hotels or motels along this route, but you can choose from two B&Bs, The Doctor's Inn in Tyne Valley, and Hilltop Acres B&B in nearby Bideford. On Lennox Island, inexpensive lodging is available in a handsome new hostel operated by the local Mi'kmaq community. In Green Park Provincial Park, there are campsites and also small, inexpensive cabins. They have only simple bunks with foam mattresses, a table and chairs, and electricity — not much, but quite luxurious if you are accustomed to camping in a small tent! Check the PEI Visitors Guide for details on these places and for other accommodation in the area.

The Landing Oyster House and Pub in Tyne Valley is one of the best and most popular restaurants in western PEI. There is also a small café and a grocery store in the village. Along the route, you could stop at Kenny's Luncheonette in Ellerslie, and on Lennox Island there is a convenience store and take-out, plus a restaurant in the Ecotourism Complex serving traditional Mi'kmaq food.

Terrain

The terrain between Tyne Valley and Green Park is moderately hilly, and there is a hill immediately north of the village as well. Otherwise, the terrain is nearly flat, making this a relatively easy ride.

Directions

0.0 Start at Green Park, a few kilometers from the village of Tyne Valley, riding away from the park entrance on Green Park Road.

2.2 Turn right onto Route 12, toward Tyne Valley.

4.7 Murphy's Country Lodge is on the left.

6.1 Pass the Stewart Memorial Hospital on the right and immediately begin a short downhill into the tiny village.

6.3 Turn right, staying on Route 12, immediately after crossing a bridge over the Trout River, but first take a few moments to walk around this pleasant little village.

McNeil's Food Store, with groceries, sandwiches, soup, and pizza, is on the corner by the bridge. Straight ahead on Route 169, the Landing Oyster House and Pub is on the right. This place has a cheerful atmosphere, good food, and some of the best entertainment on the Island — but check on the nights when performers will appear.

Across the street from The Landing is a pleasant little café/deli for coffee and sandwiches. If you were to turn left immediately after the café onto Route 167, you would find The Doctor's Inn B&B a couple of houses down on the right.

After your visit to Tyne Valley, return to the bridge and turn at McNeil's Food Store, climbing a short hill and passing an art gallery on the right.

6.7 Turn right onto Route 166 towards Bideford.

10.2 Hilltop Acres B&B is on the right.

10.6 Turn left, staying on Route 166, but first consider making two special stops, the Bideford Parsonage Museum and the PEI Shellfish Museum.

11.3 On the left is the West Island Art Gallery Artists' Coop.

11.8 Turn right onto Route 12 West towards Poplar Grove.
      There is a small dam and a spillway here, a pretty spot.

12.0 Continue straight, passing the Ellerslie Road on the left. Kenny's Luncheonette is a few meters down the Ellerslie Road. St. John's Anglican Church is just ahead on the right.

14.1 Turn right on Route 163 toward East Bideford and Lennox Island; Route 12 continues straight.

15.4 Turn left on Southwest Road, which is unpaved for just over a kilometer, after which paving begins.

If you go straight here instead of turning left, you can detour to Lennox Island.

18.2 Continue straight toward Milligans Wharf, passing Brooks Road on the right.

18.5 Continue straight, passing Little Channel Road on the left. Ahead, the road will turn to dirt.

19.9 Turn left at a yield sign onto Route 173 towards Freeeland; Milligan Wharf Road goes off to the right.

23.2 Bear left at a Yield sign.

23.5 Turn left onto Route 12 South. Stay on Route 12 all the way back to Tyne Valley and to the Green Park Road.

29.1 Continue straight on Route 12 past Route 163; you turned here on the first part of the loop, and from here you are backtracking 2.3 kilometers on Route 12.

31.4 Continue straight on Route 12, passing Route 166, the road on which you rode from the Bideford Parsonage Museum.

34.4 Continue straight on route 12; you turned here in the morning. Now backtrack to the beginning of the ride:

34.9 Turn leftin the center of Tyne Valley, staying on Route 12.

38.4 Turn left on Green Park Road.

40.6 Arrive at the entrance to Green Park Provincial Park — the end of the ride.

Tyne Valley Oyster Festival

If you can manage to be in Tyne Valley in early August, when the village overflows with visitors for the Oyster Festival, you can have fun at one of PEI's most authentic, old-time summer events. There are horse pulls, a strong man contest, fiddling competitions, step dancing, and an oyster shucking race.

This festival is very popular. Many tourists attend and are warmly welcomed, but it is still largely an Island affair, and that makes all the difference.

Step Dancing at the Oyster Festival

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In 1819 a man named James Yeo arrived in the Tyne Valley area from England, flat broke. He went to work for a local businessman, then opened a store selling liquor and other goods, and eventually became a shipbuilder. Before he died in 1863, Yeo had become the richest, most influential individual in Island history. During his lifetime be built over 350 wooden sailing ships and created a business empire of shipyards, warehouses, and wharves on PEI and in England. Yeo's son James Jr. built a magnificent home which has been restored and opened to the public. Some of the Yeo family's 20,000 acres of land, including the house, is now in Green Park Provincial Park.

The Yeo family made their fortune in the Golden Age of Island shipbuilding, roughly 1850 to 1875, when the size of PEI's industry was second only to that of Great Britain. In Green Park, besides visiting the Yeo House, you can tour a museum that focuses on the history of shipbuilding on the Island.

The Yeo House

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The Bideford Parsonage Museum on this corner is absolutely worth a visit. The building was constructed in 1878 for a local accountant, Thomal H. Pope, but it became the parsonage of the local Methodist Church and then, years later, the United Church.

The Parsonage was home for one year to Lucy Maude Montgomery. In 1894-95, when she was only 19 years old, the famous author took her first teaching job in the Bideford School. You can visit her sunny bedroom, see some of her family photos, clothing, and other memorabilie, and look out the window, enjoying the same view that she did while composing poems and writing in her journal.

The house has been lovingly restored by the West Country Historical Society. Besides Lucy Maude Montgomery's perfectly-preserved bedroom, it contains exhibits on shipbuilding and on the many parsons who lived here and their roles in the community.   Return to Route Directions >

Route166 turns to the left at the Parsonage, but you may want to detour straight ahead, following the sign to the Tourist Information Center in the P.E.I. Shellfish Museum. This small museum focuses on the Island's Oyster industry. There are informative displays and acquariums with many varieties of shellfish, including lobster. We particularly enjoyed an exhibit showing how oysters are cultivated. Staff answered all our questions and shared their first-hand experiences in the arduous work of aquaculture.

From the Shellfish Museum, backtrack as far as the Bideford Parsonage Museum and turn right, following the sign to Ellerslie. This detour adds about 1.3 kilometers to the distances that follow.

Aquaculture in Malpeque Bay

Lennox Island Detour

Lennox Island is the home of a community of Mi'Kmaq people, the original inhabitants of this land. On Lennox Island you can visit the Mi'Kamq Cultural Center, a community museum with exhibits on many aspects of native people's life. Next to the cultural center is an Ecotourism Complex, with affordable accommodation in a new hostel beautifully situated on the shore of Malpeque Bay. Also check out the Minigoo Cafe serving traditional Mi'kmaq food, and the small crafts gallery. The Lennox Island Adventure Center, another part of the complex, offers outdoor activities including sea kayak tours. Mi'kmaq Cultural Center, Lennox Island

View from porch of the hostel, Lennox Island

To reach Lennox Island, continue straight at kilometer 15.4 instead of turning left. A flat road parallels the shore of Malpeque Bay, and in 4.8 kilometers crosses a causeway and bridge to the the island. Just after the bridge on the left is a KwikWay Convenience Store with take-out food and a basic dining room. Here on Lennox Island, the road on which you are riding is now called Sweetgrass Trail. About 2 kilometers farther you will arrive at the small town center. The Band Council Administration and Recreation Complex are on the left.

Continue to a T intersection and turn right. In only a hundred meters or so, you will reach the Mi'kmaq Cultural Center and Ecotourism Center. Then backtrack to the causeway, cross the bridge to Prince Edward Island and continue straight on Route 163. About 4.5 kilometers after the bridge, watch for Paugh Road on the left, and in another 100 meters turn right on Southwest Road. You are now back at kilometer 15.4.

This detour adds about 13.4 kilometers to subsequent distances.

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