The girls and I went on an outing down to Britannia Beach. We did this mostly because it was sunny, and partly because we had energy to burn and I like exploring places in the off-season.
Once upon a time this place was considered to be really out in the sticks, but it’s only about a 15-minute drive from Parliament Hill. Did you know that the village of Britannia became popular at the turn of the century because the Ottawa Gas and Electric company extended the trolley line and created an amusement park there? It was a popular daytrip from downtown Ottawa, and a thriving cottage and beach community grew up there as a result. (via Wikipedia)
You can still see remnants the cottage industry there today, in a rather eclectic mix of housing. But hey, if you ask me, that only adds to the charm.
Britannia Beach is one of our favourite destinations in the summer. The parking is free, there are washrooms and change rooms, a canteen, and plenty of picnic tables and barbecue grills (which we have yet to make use of, but we will!).
I’m pasting in a custom Google map in here, because for some reason it’s rather hard to find this information online with a simple search. View it here. Park at the letter “E” on the map, near the Rob Kolbus Centre.
There are a lot of things to see and do at Britannia Beach – no matter the weather.
There are plenty of wide spaces to run, and things to climb, balance, and swing upon too:
We walked out on the spit (or is it a breaker? what is this thing?) and were nearly blown over by the wind. Note to self, it’s usually 10 degrees cooler by the water:
We watched the boats and the kite-surfers for awhile, and we remembered that sometimes cool things can be seen underfoot too:
It’s important to note that this place is just as good for relaxing as it is exploring:
Next time we go we are going to make a bigger deal out of it… maybe buy a bag of charcoal and some lighter fluid (oh, I love that smell) and snag one of those outdoor grills and cook up a storm. It’s worth a longer visit for sure.
