Taken 2008 June 10 in in St Peter’s from the ruins of Fort Dorchester on Mount Granville
GPS 45°39.01?'N 60°52.05?'W
Battery Provincial Park lies on the eastern side of St Peters Canal and can be reached by walking across the lock gates (or by driving back to Highway 4, crossing the swing bridge over the canal, and taking the first right). It offers hiking trails, a large camp ground, and picnic tables with superb views of the area. A short but steep hike from the canal up Mount Granville¹ makes it clear why this location was chosen for a fort. Today, trees have grown up that block the views towards the eastern part of St Peters Bay from the ruins of Fort Dorchester but there are fine views of the western part of St Peters Bay, of St Peter’s itself, and of the inland region to the west and northwest. If one follows the path down from the ruins to the campground area, the magnificent views hidden by trees at the ruins open out before one, showing Grande-Grève, Lennox Passage, Isle Madame, and coasts of St Peters Bay in an amazing array of beauty.
This view to the northwest from the ruins shows some of the buildings in St Peter’s and looks off to South Mountain, the ridge in the far distance. The cement walk along St Peters Canal can be glimpsed through the trees at the bottom of the photo just right of its centre. The power line marching across the photo runs from Port Hawkesbury to the metropolitan area in northern Cape Breton County, where much of Cape Breton Island’s power is generated.
¹ Mount Granville is so spelled on the topographical map of the area (11F10) and was most likely named for John Carteret, Earl of Granville (1690-1763), whose name was also bestowed on several localities in Nova Scotia’s Annapolis Basin as well as on the Granville Green park in Port Hawkewbury. However, I have in my photo collection a picture of the sign leading to Fort Dorchester where it is unmistakably spelt as Mount Grenville. I assume that this is an inadvertent error and have used Granville here.↩