Castle Hill Saturday

This past weekend we ventured to Placentia to explore the 17th century former French fortifications at Castle Hill!

Castle Hill covered in a blanket of fog

We spent the weekend at Ocean Pond soaking up the sun, swimming, and water-skiing, but we took a side trip to Placentia on Saturday morning to see Castle Hill, a National Historic Site. 

The Avalon Peninsula

When we arrived in Placentia around noon, Castle Hill was shrouded in fog and the fog didn’t seem to be going anywhere. It was actually a nice break from the 25-30 C weather (+ humidity) that we’ve been experiencing lately. We started off inside at the Visitor’s Centre where we learned about some French history in Newfoundland and saw a variety of artifacts that have been found in the area of Placentia. French fisherman started fishing there in the early 1500s and the long rocky beach in the town served as a great place for drying fish.

On the boardwalk in Placentia with Castle Hill in the background

The French colony, Plaisance, was officially established in 1662. From then until Plaisance was handed over to the English as part of the Treaty of Utrecht (1713), the colony was raided by the Dutch and attacked by English privateers on various occasions. In response, the French set fire to St. John's - 3 times. 

Between the early 1600s and 1713, the French constructed various fortifications to protect the harbor of Plaisance. They started construction on their most recent fort, Fort Royal, in 1693 and completed it in 1703. This fort was a bastioned fort; bastioned forts were considered an improvement on medieval fortifications and castles as it provided the attackers with less surface area to attack, while allowing the defenders to have a greater coverage area when firing weapons. Plus, it could handle the weight of cannons set up on the ramparts. 

Fort Royal, on top of Castle Hill, was never captured and after the fort was ceded in 1713. The English occupied it until 1811 when they abandoned it to support their troops in St. John’s.

Model of Fort Royal

After learning about the history of the fort in the Vistor's Centre, we climbed up the hill and explored the fortifications. The view from up there is supposed to be spectacular but all we could see was fog, fog, and more fog. But, we do love wandering around a good fort, and we’ve been deprived since visiting the forts in Havana.

After exploring the fort, we ended up on a random trail that conveniently lead us back to the parking lot. We then drove to the community of Placentia to get some food and after being overwhelmed by the number of people at the first restaurant we came by, we decided to move on and ended up at a nice pub with tasty local food. Funnily enough, an older couple ended up doing the exact same thing we did after leaving Castle Hill and we ended up seated at the table next to them in the pub.

Once we were satiated, we drove around the community and walked along the boardwalk next to the beach. Overall, we really liked the Placentia area and thought that it was very picturesque, surrounded by water and green forest-covered hills on all sides.

On the way back to Ocean Pond, we came across a road leading to a monument commemorating the Atlantic Charter. In August 1941, Churchill and Roosevelt met in secret on a boat in Placentia Bay and drafted the Atlantic Charter which outlined the Allied goals for the post-war world. This was the Churchill and Roosevelt’s first meeting since the war broke out. It’s yet another example of Newfoundland’s significance when it came to connecting Europe and North America.

Next weekend, we will be continuing our journey into French history during our weekend in France! Technically true, however we’re just visiting Saint Pierre et Miquelon, French islands that are 25 km off the coast of Newfoundland.

Here are some more pictures of Placentia (and waterskiing at Ocean Pond):