To the lighthouse – I may not have found the lighthouse I’d hoped for at North Cape but I made up for it that evening at West Point, where my accommodation for the night was a working lighthouse. Situated on the westernmost part of the island – and an easy drive from the town of O’Leary and the Canadian Potato Museum in (yep, PEI has one of those too) – West Point Lighthouse was built in 1875 to warn seafarers of the vast reef that sits offshore. It’s one of 63 lighthouses on the island; over half are still active, though they’re all automated these days. West Point was manned until 1963, and had just two keepers, the first of which was William MacDonald (aka ‘Lighthouse Willie’) who, in his 50 years on duty, never had a single night off.
It was close to sunset as I climbed the steps to the top of West Point’s stripy tower. The deck was empty. The beam glowed an eerie shade of luminous green, turning on its endless cycle, its bright light slicing through the darkening waters. From here I could see the bronze silt sneaking its way north towards the horizon; alongside I could make out the point where two tides collided, marking the end of the reef. There are numerous ghost stories attached to this spot – from purported sightings of the aforementioned Lighthouse Willie, to the apparition of the flaming phantom ship, which continues to burn after its ill-fated crew made a pact with the devil. Less fantastical was the tale about the islanders who tried to start a ferry service between here and the neighbouring province of New Brunswick.
They weren’t successful, and now the only two ways on and off the island that don’t involve flying are the Confederation Bridge at Carleton and the ferry to Nova Scotia from Wood Islands. I’d see the former on my way back to Charlottetown the next day, along with fields of golden grain, honesty boxes offering homegrown potatoes and the postcard-perfect hamlet of Victoria-by-the-Sea. But right now, perhaps selfishly, I was glad that there was no link to the rest of the world from this remote point. I wandered down to the secluded beach and stood, skimming stones, watching the sun sink below the water, turning the sand orange. I stood and watched the waves that are reshaping this landscape. But, much like Tim, I wasn’t going to worry about that right now. Instead, unlike lighthouse-keeper Willie, I was going to take a night off to just enjoy this beautiful island.
