2016 – New England

Day 3 – Boston to Boothbay Harbour

This morning we picked up a hire car in Boston and drove the 165 miles to our next stop at Boothbay Harbour on the Maine coast. The weather was mostly overcast, so there were no opportunities for photo stops, but we did stop for lunch at Kittery just after crossing the state border into Maine. In the evening after we arrived at Boothbay Harbour the weather improved, so we went for a stroll to explore and take some evening pictures.

Boothbay Harbour is a small coastal resort village situated on the west side of a sheltered bay on the Boothbay peninsula. The most interesting feature in the village is a footbridge across the bay with an old house called the Bridge House part way across.

The Bridge House, Boothbay Harbour

There are also plenty of jetties and boats, giving lots of photo opportunities, especially as we began to get a bit of colour in the evening sky.

Boothbay Harbour Jetty

Our accommodation in Boothbay was the Inn at Greenleaf Drive, a grand New England house which was close to the village centre, with pleasant views across the bay.

The Inn At Greenleaf Lane

Day 4 – Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens

Today we visited the Coastal Main Botanical Gardens, just 3.5 miles north of Boothbay Harbour. The gardens are fairly new – planting started in 1996 and the gardens opened to the public in 2007 – however they are already well established and cover an area of 270 acres.

Close to the entrance there are several pools, and fountains.

Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens

As we visited in late September, there were plenty of pumpkin displays to enjoy.

Pumpkin Display at Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens

Even at the seating areas, there was no getting away from the pumpkins.

Carol Amidst the Pumpkins

Apart from the more formal parts of the gardens, there is also a woodland area with lots of paths to explore. A particular feature of the woodlands are the many sculptures hidden along the trails. This silver globe was particularly intriguing.

Sculpture in Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens

Whilst wandering along some of the paths, it is worth looking out for something a bit different to photograph. This collection of fallen leaves looks almost like a still life – I was attracted to it by the dappled light and the intense red of the fallen maple leaf.

Fallen Maple Leaf

The walk through the woods ultimately leads to an attractive woodland waterfall.

Woodland Waterfall

Back in the more formal part of the gardens there are several interesting garden buildings – not much more than sheds, but all looking very well kept, and often with living roofs of mosses and heathers.

Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens

I particularly liked one shed where it looked like a pair of gnomes had been imprisoned.

Imprisoned Gnomes

The gardens also have an excellent restaurant for lunch, so we managed to spend the entire day at the gardens, exploring both the formal parts and the woodland paths.

Day 5 – Ocean Point and Southport

On our last day at Boothbay Harbour, we decided to explore the coast a little. Boothbay peninsula is shaped like an inverted trident, with Boothbay Village located at the top of the central arm. At the tip of the eastern arm is Ocean Point, whilst the western arm is called Southport.

We started by crossing the footbridge to the other side of the bay, ten walked back around the harbour. Most of the coastline is under private ownership, so is inaccessible, but there are some locations where it is possible to get down to the water.

Waterside Properties At Boothbay Harbour

We then drove to Ocean Point at the end of the eastern arm of the peninsula. Here there is a short coastal path and views out to Ram Island Lighthouse.

Ocean Point

The lighthouse on Ram Island was built in 1882, however it gradually fell into disrepair and by 1977 the lantern was actually removed from the lighthouse and placed on the shore. The lighthouse was then taken over by the Grand Banks Schooner Museum and gradually restored, with a new walkway constructed to connect the lighthouse to the island.

Ram Island Lighhouse

There is better access to the waters edge at Ocean Point, but some of the properties still own a little slice of the coastline, like this seating area with a splendid view.

Ocean Point View

After visiting Ocean Point we drove to the Southport peninsula which forms the western arm of the trident. First we stopped at a small beach at Hendricks Head beach, where we managed to photograph some wading birds.

Hendricks Head Beach, Southport

Wilson’s Plover At Hendricks Head Beach

We then continued on the southern end of the Southport peninsula, visiting Cape Newagen for some pictures of the jetty there.

Jetty at Cape Newagen

On the way back to Boothbay, we stopped for pictures of the jetties at Robinson’s Wharf, located towards the north of the Southport peninsula. The view here gave a colourful mix of boats, jetties and waterside buildings.