Cannon Mountain, Canterbury, Portsmouth, Strawberry Bank, New Hampshire

13 October 2021

Story #1038

R. Linda:

Travelling north, the mountain ranges (always in sight) become more pronounced and looming, especially in the Franconia area. However, there be a scenic railroad ride in Conway, New Hampshire, that, if anything else, riding on an old train (bringing back in-the-day memories if you remember trains), a delightful and relaxing ride through the Mount Washington Valley and Crawford Notch regions. 

Scenes like this one of the White Mountains

Rivers and streams - idyllic settings

In Conway itself, there are artisan shops, ice cream parlours, eateries, and a large park where you can spend the day just chilling.

Heading toward Canterbury, New Hampshire, be the famous Shaker Village. For a small price of admission, one can tour the entire Shaker Village, learn about the Shakers, their dancing, the brooms they made (the first large broom company came from the Shakers), see how they lived, and a trip to the little schoolhouse is something to behold. Sitting at one of the desks, I wondered how the young ones concentrated on schoolwork, because the view out the window was gorgeous. Old cobble walls, fields, and woods, just magic. 

The road into the Shaker Village

One of the buildings has such a serene setting!

And views galore

Scenes like these are very nostalgic

Travelling southeast, one will find the quaint and historic city of Portsmouth, New Hampshire. This is a working port city with many shops and restaurants, even a couple of Irish shoppes! The eateries range from inexpensive to very expensive, and the food is all good. I have yet to have a meal in Portsmouth that I didn't like. 

Portsmouth is an authentic seaport town

Strawberry Bank is a historic village on 10 acres in Portsmouth. It is filled with Old colonial homes to tour, has a large skating area at the Puddle Dock in the winter, boasts a museum, and touts the oldest neighbourhood in Portsmouth. 

Here be a saltbox home near where the old neighbourhood starts

More historic homes down by the Puddle Dock

Any of these places are day trips. To see everything, one must spend a day at each. I visited all of these in late October, and they were free of tourists, so it was a perfect time for stress-free touring.

Gabe

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