I needed to walk in a forest to balance out the cityscape of the past 2 days. Halifax had Point Pleasant park on the southern tip facing the Atlantic. The park also included a National Historic Site.

After the walk it was a pint and a ceilidh at Durty Nelly’s pub. It is across the street from my hotel. Around the corner from me is Neptune Theatre. Tickets were available for “Pleasureville” – a new play by Ellen Denny.

I started my walk south on South Street to get to Point Pleasant park. The view held my attention as there were many stately, Victorian homes.

Historical plaques indicated either the year or some special significance to the building.

The Christian Science Monitor building.

There was no historical plaque on this one so must be a modern house with a castle design.

After seeing all these old houses, the street suddenly opened up to these dock elevators. New I was getting near the harbour. Still it really was a contrast.

I reached the park entrance and checked the map.I decided to head to the centre then east to Black Rock Beach. Point Pleasant park is leased from the British for 1 schilling a year.

Nice wide main trails with smaller trails junctioning off into the forest. It was very refreshing to walk in these woods. The city was left completely behind with just the sounds of nature in the air.

Made it to Black Rock Beach. Swimming is available here as well as scuba diving. There is a break wall that keeps the waves to a minimum. Nearby, a theatre troop named Shakespeare in the Park, perform plays during the summer.

I climbed out on to the black rock jutting into the water.

Turned around that there was the Atlantic Ocean in the distance.

Started to head to the National Historic monument. Along the way – an off leash dog area.

Didn’t see any dogs but this little guy jumped up out of the bush to greet me.

The Prince of Wales Tower – a National Historic Site. These are commonly known as mortella towers. Round in shape they were named after Mortella Point, Corsica. A common characteristic of Canadian Martello towers was removable cone-shaped roofs to protect against snow.” Although there were many such towers built throughout the British Empire, this feature was probably only necessary in Canada.

Windows and doors are sealed so no going inside to play soldier.

It protected the gun batteries on Point Pleasant from any land approaches. The main door is below the platform.

Looking down from the top of the stairs. The large grassy area means lots of running room for the dogs. Great having an off leash area on a historic site.

It was about a 40 minute walk each way so definitely needed a pint. Durty Nelly’s Irish Pub is across the street from my hotel. On Sunday afternoon they have various musicians in playing Celtic tunes.

I was staying at the Residence Inn by Marriott Halifax. I could see Durty Nellie’s from my hotel room.

I had booked a reservation at Wooden Monkey for dinner. It was only a couple of blocks away. Born out of a hurricane in 2003, they are committed to locally grown food and the support of farmers and fishers.

Cajun Haddock with sweet potato, seasonal vegetable mixture and aioli curry.

Another venue close by was the famous Neptune Theatre. The main stage play was not running but the second stage had a new play debuting.

Pleasurville is an exploration of feminism, sex, sexual identity and gender, and self realization. It’s about a woman who opens a sex shop in a small town. Thoroughly enjoyed the production.

The long walk to the park left me exhilarated but tired. Went straight to bed after the play. Tomorrow I would have a private food tour of Halifax.