It’s not often these days that I go out for a three and a half hour walk, but I did so this morning. I had to go to the Purolator delivery centre at 1075 Squire’s Beach Road, to pick up a parcel sent to me in thanks for doing a technical review for one of the chapters in the upcoming Coding4Fun book. I took along my trusty old Audiovox XV 6600 for taking pictures along the way, of course.

I left the house around 6:45am, and already I was clicking away, taking pictures of things I saw along my walk. When I headed out, the sky was still overcast, laden with dark clouds, but these fled south across the lake as the day progressed. I like to think that the sun, in all its majesty, chased away the clouds that darkened the sky as it rose.

As I crossed over the 401, I decided that I would take Bayly Road over to Squire’s Beach Road, but then return by way of the lakeshore and then back up Liverpool Road. It was a great choice, especially as there wasn’t too much to look at along Bayly. However, there was a lovely pair of old houses, sitting next to each other, that I couldn’t help but capture.

After acquiring my package, I walked down to the Waterfront Trail, which in its entirety runs from Niagra-on-the-Lake to Lancaster (near the Ontario-Quebec border). I merely went along the section between Brock and Liverpool Roads here in Pickering, however. As I approached the midpoint of this leg of the walk, I was able to catch some nice shots of the Pickering wind turbine, as it slowly spun and generated electricity.

Frenchmans Bay, which once served as a harbour for Pickering back in the days before freight was cheap and plentiful, is separated from Lake Ontario by a rock-strewn sandbar, which also serves to protect an area called Hydro Marsh, which flows into the bay. Hydro Marsh is a natural environment, rehabilitated in the 90s as Pickering worked out plans to re-energize the waterfront at the bottom of Liverpool Road and now serves as a sanctuary for many plant and animal species once common but now rare in Pickering. I can’t really do it justice with the camera built into the Audiovox, but I’m sure that the Praktica, as a real (and quality) camera, would be able to show the beauty of the area.

At the west end of the boardwalk built along the east reach of the sandbar, a bridge connects it to the bottom of Liverpool Road, where once was the village of Fairport (also called Pickering Harbour). Over the last few years it’s turned from a somewhat barren and industrial-looking space into a lovely boulevard, the street lined with shops and houses north of the marina and old restaurant. In the summer, this is a great place to go for a fun day (or date!) as the lovely scenery and good selection of eateries provides everything you’d want for a nice day at the lake.