TAKE THE OLDER, SLOWER ROUTE TO MONTREAL
Patrick Langston finds a world hidden from most travellers on a drive down the scenic route.
Savour scenery and stops you won’t find on the highway
Q Where did you go?
A Down Prescott and Russell County Road 17. That’s the old, pre-Highway 417 route from Ottawa to Montreal. Slower but far more interesting than its newer cousin, the two-lane road is a continuation of Highway 174 that runs past Hawkesbury before merging with the 417. It was once part of Highway 17, the section of the Trans-Canada Highway that runs through Ontario.
Q What did you see?
A Farm fields, mum and pop restaurants (try finding those on the 417), glimpses of the Ottawa River and the Laurentian foothills beyond, a gleaming church spire in Wendover. At L’Orignal, about 45 minutes east of Orléans, we visited the historic L’Orignal Jail at 1023 Queen St. In use from 1825 to 1998, it was the oldest operating jail in the province and the secondoldest in Canada when it closed. It’s housed in a stone neo-classical building with a still-used courthouse above. Now a tourist site, the jail is institutionally bleak, with tiny cells, small outdoor exercise yards festooned with barbed and razor wire, and enough gloom to make you either abandon crime forever or just give up on life. The jail hosts special events plus exhibits, the current one being about the First World War. Incongruously, a small, cheery café with a reputation for excellent Italian lunches adjoins the jail. L’Orignal Jail is open all summer and by appointment from Labour Day to the end of May (information: lorignalprison.com). L’Orignal also has a public beach.
Q Where did you head next?
A Down Regional Road 11, which becomes Cassburn Road, and on to Vankleek Hill. The drive is about 13 kilometres, and the rolling farmland is gorgeous. We stopped at Cassburn Cemetery, 1790 Cassburn Rd. Founded in 1804, it’s a hilly final resting spot for generations of families. Also on the site: Cassburn School, built in the early 1900s but closed the day we stopped by (champlainheritage.com). Next to the cemetery is a farm where sheep grazed, a reminder that life and death continuously eye each other.
Q What was in Vankleek Hill?
A Victorian homes with gingerbread trim (the town is known as “the gingerbread capital of Ontario”), Beau’s brewery (tours, a tasting room, and more: beaus.ca), and Vankleek Cottage (fabrics, home décor, antiques: vankleekcottage.com). Higginson Tower, open primarily during the summer, began life as a grist mill, was converted to an astrological observatory, fell into disrepair, and has now been restored to its oddly shaped glory atop a promontory (higginsontower.ca). For food, try the Blueberry Hill Bistro or other spots listed at vankleekhill.ca.
Q What did you do next?
A Headed home on Country Road 17, with a stop in Alfred. The town is home to a campus of the University of Guelph, but more importantly for the hungry, it’s also ground zero for great greasy food. The town’s main street used to be awash with quick-stop food joints, but most closed when travellers switched to Highway 417. Survivors include Resto Miss Alfred on the eastern edge of town; it boasts good fries and friendly service.
Q Did you stop anywhere else?
A Jessup’s Falls Conservation Area on the South Nation River west of Alfred. The falls vanished long ago thanks to man-made changes to the waterway, but there are picnic benches, fishing and a pretty view (the area closes for winter at the end of November). At Clarence, we turned off to Old Highway 17 which runs back east to Wendover and beyond. There’s a similar strip of the old highway in Cumberland, and both follow the twists and turns of the land instead of taming it, as do modern roadways. On the old highway, we stumbled across Clarence Protestant Cemetery, far off the beaten path with a ravine on one side, a corn field on the other, and tombstones dating well back into the 19th century.
Q Any final suggestions?
A The Cumberland Heritage Village Museum, 2940 Old Montreal Rd. Its numerous restored buildings showcase village life in the 1920s and ’30s. Open May to October with special weekend events until Christmas (ottawa.ca/en/liveculture/ museums/cumberlandmuseum)