As the world reorganizes itself and emerges from the global pandemic, people are beginning to realize the world they thought they knew and understood has quickly evolved into a new and very different place; one now fraught with social division, fear, isolation and challenging economies.
Why PEI Should Be Your Next Place to Visit
Visiting any of the Prince Edward Island locations chosen by Kevin Sullivan to depict Anne’s magical world of Avonlea can offer travelers an immediate antidote to the challenges of the post-pandemic world by allowing them to actually escape into the world from which Sullivan created the beautiful mythology of his movies.
Here are some of PEI’s most spectacular locations that Sullivan has filmed at:
One of the most picturesque beacons in Canada, the Seacow Head lighthouse has appeared in the opening of Anne of Green Gables: A New beginning, as well as in episodes ofRoad to Avonlea. Filming took place at the actual light house, as well as the replica in Uxbridge. For more info check out our blog about creating PEI.
New London Lighthouse
821 Cape Road, Kensington, PE C0B 1M0
The New London Lighthouse was built in 1876 and is notable for being one of the first Maritime lighthouses with a female light keeper, Maisie Adams. The light house and the surrounding area appeared in Anne of Green Gables as a favorite meeting spot between Anne and Diana.
Cabot Beach Provincial Park
449 Malpeque Road, Lot 18, PE C0B 1P0
The largest park in western PEI, it features a stunning beach, sand dunes, and the historic Fanning schoolhouse built in 1794. There isan activity center featuring children’s programs, and is also the place where Kevin Sullivan filmed sequences of Anne and Diana playing by the ocean in Anne of Green Gables.
The Cliffs at Cape Tryon
Cape Tryon Road, French River, PE C0A 2B0
These high 35 meter cliffs are home to the cape Tryon lighthouse, a landmark that was built in 1967 to replace the old light house in 1905. It makes for one of the most mesmerizing views on the island, and is what Kevin Sullivan used in the scene of Anne and Diana facing the sea and thinking about their future, in Anne of Green Gables.
Thunder Cove
Thunder Cove Road, Lot 18, PE C0B 1M0
Thunder Cove is home to some of the most beautiful sand stone cliffs in the world. The ‘teacup rock’ is one of the most notable features, a stack of red sandstone that is narrow at the bottom and wide at the top.Thunder Cove Beach is seen in the opening sequences of Anne of Green Gables: The Sequel, Anne of Green Gables: The Continuing Story, Anne of Green Gables: A New Beginning, and Spirit of Place.
Green Gables Heritage Place
8619 Cavendish Road, Cavendish, PE C0A 1M0
Located at L.M. Montgomery’s Cavendish National Historic Site, Green Gables Heritage Place is the house that inspired Montgomery’s depiction of Green Gables. It was originally owned by her cousins from the MacNeill family where Montgomery visited as a young girl, and where she drew upon her inspirations including the “Haunted Woods”, “Lovers’ Lane”, and “Balsam Hollow”.
The Anne Green Gables Museum
4542 PE Route, 20 Park Corner Ln, Kensington, PE C0B 1M0
The Anne of Green Gables Museum at the beautiful Campbell Homestead, is a museum dedicated to the life and works of the author of Anne of Green Gables, Lucy Maud Montgomery.
The cinematic image of the Green Gables farmhouse is a strong icon throughout all four of Kevin Sullivan’s Anne of Green Gables films. The house itself speaks volumes about the importance of home and the strong relationships that evolved under its protected haven. Sullivan was notable to film at the Green Gables Museum on Prince Edward Island. His version of the house is actually an amalgamation of several buildings on different properties outside Toronto, Ontario that were created on film through the magic of editing.
However, the film version of Anne’s coveted home still signifies security, family and community as strongly as the house LM Montgomery created in her imagination. Green Gables is not only a home for Anne, it symbolizes the doorway to her life and to her very survival. Green Gables has endured as a mythological destination because it symbolizes all of these essential feelings that bind humans together.
Prince Edward Island is still inhabited today by close-knit communities with strong traditions (both moral and social). L.M. Montgomery peopled her community of Avonlea in her novels with strong-willed characters who often put forward fierce opinions; frequently allowing her characters to be cruel to one another. However, the inhabitants of L.M. Montgomery's fairytale Island also lived a charmed existence. The nature of their isolated community required them to demonstrate forgiveness and an ability to work together; if only in order to simply survive.
Despite Anne being rejected by this community, initially, as her character grows in the novel and in Kevin Sullivan’s films, she learns to embrace the Island world and then to thrive in it. As she navigates growing up and leaving behind the imaginary fantasy world that has been her shield for survival from the abuse she suffered as a child, the Island world becomes the place where she blossoms, through love, friendship and finding self-confidence.
When visiting Prince Edward Island today it is still possible to experience the unspoiled places that L.M. Montgomery used to create her Arcadian world she called Green Gables, through the Island’s geography, its communities, its sights and sensibilities that make it one of Canada's “picture provinces”. It is a place where time has stopped for a little while it seems. A place that is still enveloped in the beauty of the world L.M. Montgomery created in her novels.
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