Driving to Peggy’s Cove will take you about an hour from Halifax. The road is smooth and easy to navigate. As you drive closer to your destination, you will notice the change of environment with more dispersed trees and suddenly more and more massive rocks spread by water pools.

Your destination, next to the Atlantic Ocean, will undo any perfectly styled hair. Colored countryside-style houses are spaced in an organized and controlled manner in the area. You will be naturally attracted by the white lighthouse with a red top that sits on rocks. It is the center of attention and attracts all visitors without any signs.

Surviving a crash on these enormous boulders, left by the glaciers thousands of years ago, is a miraculous event.  Legend has spread that the name of this town originates from the extraordinary rescue of a very young girl, too young to say her name, from a horrible crash that no other crew members had survived.  She was named Margaret since we are in St. Margaret’s Bay and nicknamed Peggy. She was raised in the region.

The solid stack of rocks are like unbreakable glued together hard marshmallows and are certainly an exclusive sight. Many of us like to walk on these but we must proceed with caution. Wherever the waves reach, we must keep clear.

The presence of the lighthouse is not for luxury or its look, it is for safety reasons. There has been a means to advise of the dangers of the shore since 1868. This lighthouse has been in function since 1915. While today communication with our phone is very convenient and fast, there was a time when a Canadian Post Office was within the lighthouse, perfect to write and send postcards directly from the site. 

Reserve some time to walk around the village. Only a few houses are part of Peggy’s Cove but you will find restaurants, an ice cream booth, souvenir places, lobster traps, a church, and art galleries. Look for Mr. William deGarthe’s outdoor sculpture that he made in his backyard as a pledge to the village, the fisherman, and their families.

A viewing platform is now open. This infrastructure will certainly help to improve access to all.

Swissair Memorial

On September 2th 1998, a regular Swissair flight left John F. Kennedy Airport at 8:18PM from New York with Geneva, Switzerland as a final destination. Difficulties arose minutes after take-off. Assistance and emergency landing were requested and set at Halifax Airport. About two hours and ten minutes in the air, the plane made a terrible ocean crash about 8km (5miles) off the shore of Peggy’s Cove.

In the dark, residents rushed to the scene with their boats in the hope of saving lives in the icy water of the Atlantic Ocean. The speed of the plane against the water was fatal to all 229 passengers and crew.

A memorial has been installed near Peggy’s Cove in memory of the passengers and the crew. A thank you message is also engraved in stone to those who were the first on site to provide immediate assistance after the crash.