 | Welsford Things To Do | Tips 1 - 6 of 6 |  |
Popular Things To Do | Other Things To Do Tips | All Tips (6) A short but pleasant walk through the farmer's field, past his herd of sheep and goats, soon found us on the edge of the typical Spruce, Fir, Birch and Pine forests of New Brunswick. Looming in the background, is the 700-800 foot (210-240 m) high sheer rock wall that we intended to explore as much as we could within the short time that we had available. The lady Case Managers are on the far right and at the left (green pants), while Russell is hiding behind the tall student who is standing beside his 12-year old sister! At 10:45 AM, the sun still did not have the strength to burn through the haze this close to the cold waters of the Bay of Fundy - although it did break through into a 24C day while we were still up on the cliffs. Leave a Comment Address: East side of the Nerepis RiverDirections: Just south of Welsford, NB take the first left off Route 7 over a single lane bridge, then drive a short distance until you see the signs for Cochrane Lane (it is a dead-end road).
|
 | |  |
Visiting Welsford?
Read reviews about Welsford Hotels
Real Reviews from Real VirtualTourist Members.
After finishing lunch, we figured that we had punished these kids enough, so it was time to head back. This time, we took the short detour toward the cliff face to see what the 'Waterfall' was all about. As with all trails leading toward the cliff, we had only gone a few feet before we were dealing with major jumbles of broken rock and giant boulders that had tumbled down off the cliffs over the years (2nd photo). Luckily, the chunky sizes of the boulders made it fairly easy to navigate a path through them, and we could actually see dark holes below where the small stream from the waterfall had made its own path deep beneath the surface we were walking on.
Even though the waterfall was a mere trickle at this time of year, the virtually flat face of rock down which it streamed was quite impressive. At the top we could see trees and boulders balancing right on the edge, just waiting for their chance to take the plunge (3rd photo) and off to the side, huge slabs were still clinging to the flat surface despite obvious large cracks where they were supposedly 'joined' to the cliff face. In winter, the flow of water down various parts of the cliffs makes for an excellent ice-climbing area that is used by many enthusiasts in southern New Brunswick. Overall, a very rugged little spot. Leave a Comment
|
| | |
After the waterfall, going back down to the cars was easy. The original trail up through the woods now seemed like a virtual highway with its width, and the fact that we were headed downhill took all the effort out of it. We passed a number of interesting scenes on the way down, but this boulder totally covered in wild ferns especially caught my attention.
A couple of the boys lived way off the beaten track in Queenstown, on the old highway running up the west side of the Saint John River. They said they would have to wait until 10:30 PM in Fredericton for a drive home, so, since we were in the neighbourhood, we decided to take the long way home by continuing south to Westfield and then up along the river highway instead of back through Base Gagetown. Wow, I thought as we drove along (after picking up ice-cream cones all around as a treat), what a day. It was a beautiful sunny afternoon for a slow drive with summer in full bloom beside the wide River. This is a really off-the-beaten-track part of New Brunswick, with quaint old villages perched beside the river as cows graze out on small islands and the odd cabincruiser plys the wide waters - what a tourist delight this would be if someone wants to take a leisurely drive! Leave a Comment
|
| | |
Continuing along the trail from Pyramid Wall, we passed colourful mushrooms and toadstools shaded by the forest as we made our way along the face of Cochrane Lane Cliffs. The next point of interest was a fantastic lookout point over the Nerepis River valley. We lingered here for quite a while, looking across to Eagle Rock on the other side and even seeing a part of the Saint John River past the end of the valley. The kids had a great time here, getting close to the edge without pushing things too far.
After leaving the lookout, we continued onward to the next overlook. However, it was there that we met a large group of young Army cadets carrying out rappelling activities on the cliff face that actually was indented from the ledge they were standing on. After a brief discussion with their leader regarding what we could expect further along the trail, we decided to return to our previous lookout point, since it was now time for lunch (see 'Restaurants') and we were not likely to find a better spot! Leave a Comment
|
| | |
More slow upward climbing as we went parallel to the rock face through the forest, over some small streams flowing down from the high cliff and past a sign pointing toward the cliff that said 'Waterfall'. It was not long before we came to a second sign, again pointing left toward the cliff towering above, this time saying 'Pyramid Wall'. The group decided to explore this path and it was not long before we ran straight into the bottom section of the cliffs. One of the things that the military uses this part of the base for is rappelling and rock-climbing exercises. Looking at the impressively sheer flat surface of Pyramid Wall, we could see where small metal clamps had been attached in various locations to assist with any rock climbing efforts. However, we had neither the equipment or inclination for anything approaching that level of dare-devilness, so we just had a good look before continuing onward. Leave a Comment
|
| | |
Visiting Welsford?
Read reviews about Welsford Hotels
Real Reviews from Real VirtualTourist Members.
The transistion from field to climbing the hillside was quite abrupt, and we were soon building up a sweat as we made our way through the quite reasonable path through the forest, with various roots and small rocks helping our footing. It was not too long before the teenagers were complaining a bit that they needed a break, so it was fortunate that we came to this fork in the trail that also explained this 'unknown' trail more fully.
In addition to a book inside a waterproof box where you could record your name and comments, was a very good large map on a board, detailing what natural delights awaited on any of the three trails which led off from here. We ignored the one to the left, made a brief try straight ahead at the rock wall (going for the 'Amphitheatre') before giving that up as too rough and risky for the kids, and finally struck out to the right, along the front of the cliff face. Leave a Comment
|
| | |
 | 1 |  |
|
 |
 |
Search Hotels
Find the best room rates |
|
 |
|
on September 24, 2006
