A heavy overnight rain fall gave us a refreshed morning. We completed our preparations for a short travel day, leaving Scott’s Family Campground, and driving to Puddicombe Farms in Winona.
First, we headed back to Fort Erie on the Niagara River. It is directly across the river from Buffalo, New York and is the site of Old Fort Erie which played a prominent role in the War of 1812, the bloodiest battle in Canadian history.
Looking around the fort, one cannot help imagine the stressful times in the chaos of battle, orders desperately shouted over the cacophony of war, young men intent on surviving to see another day.
The smooth-bore musket was the main weapon of the line infantry and light infantry. All muskets were supplied with bayonets, which allowed them to be used in melee combat. They tended to be about four to six feet in length (six to eight feet including the bayonet), with a weight of around 10 to 12 pounds (4.5 to 5.4 kg), as longer and heavier weapons were found to be too unwieldy. The length of a musket also allowed them to be fired by ranks, minimizing the risk that the men in the rear ranks would accidentally shoot the men in the front ranks in the back of the head, or, more likely, scorch their faces and burst their eardrums with the muzzle blast. Muskets six feet in length could be fired in three ranks without fear of accidents.
We left Fort Erie, and headed to Niagara on the Lake for a picnic lunch stop at Fort Gorge.
Niagara-on-the-Lake draws tourists with its quaint colonial-style buildings, the Shaw Festival, Fort George, wineries, an outlet mall on the highway, and its proximity to Niagara Falls. The Niagara Region has the second-highest percentage of seniors in Ontario. Niagara-on-the-Lake has been rated among the best places to retire in Ontario according to Comfort Life, a publication for seniors. I’m NOT a subscriber to this publication 😜
We drove down the Main Street, lined with Victorian buildings, the road divided by a manicured garden and shady trees.
The town gave many African-Americans their first taste of freedom, both as a stop on the Underground Railroad for those travelling further into Upper Canada, and as a refuge in its own right.
We left Niagara-on-the-Lake and headed to our first night with a Harvest Host. In case your wondering, Harvest Hosts are Farms, Wineries, Distilleries, Museums and Golf Courses, that open their lots for self contained recreation vehicles – free of camping charge. In appreciation for their hospitality, campers reciprocate by purchasing their products. What an amazing symbiotic relationship.
We arrived at Puddicombe Farms, and were pleasantly surprised when directed to a level grassy lot backing onto the orchards and vineyards.
Puddicombe Farms story began in 1797 as a cattle farm. In the early 1900’s they became fruit farmers. In 1940 they planted their first vineyard. To keep up with changing times their owner Murray Puddicombe along with a wine master Jim Warren, formed a partnership, and brought Stoney Ridge Winery to their location. At the same time they opened a general store, bake shop, and cafe. Introduced a few years later was an agricultural tourist train and a pick your own operation.
Today, they are a working farm of approximately 300 acres, in their ninth generation of family ownership. We highly recommend stopping by and spending some time with them. Visit Puddicombe Farms, Winery and Cider
After supper, we took a short walk through the vineyard to watch an amazing sunset on another wonderful day of our adventure, while appreciating the hospitality of our host.
