Colony of Avalon, Ferryland

The Site Of An English Colony Started In 1621 By Sir George Calvert, Later Lord Baltimore, And One Of The Earliest Permanent English Settlements In North America. Archaeologists Still Dig Each Summer, With A Cobbled Street, A Cellar And A Forge Uncovered. A National Historic Site Of Canada. Seasonal, With The Main Season In Summer. · Ferryland, Newfoundland and Labrador

The Colony of Avalon is an archaeological site in the fishing village of Ferryland, on the Southern Shore of Newfoundland's Avalon Peninsula, about 80 km south of St. John's. It marks an English colony begun in 1621 by Sir George Calvert, later Lord Baltimore, and is one of the earliest permanent English settlements in North America. Archaeologists have dug here for decades and have uncovered a cobbled street, a cellar and a forge, and the dig still runs each summer. A visitor centre explains the finds, and guided time on site shows the work in progress. It is a National Historic Site of Canada. It suits history lovers, families with older children and anyone driving the Southern Shore Highway. It is not a spectacular ruin: much of the interest is in the explanation, so a guide helps. Allow two to three hours. Opening is seasonal and the main season is summer, so confirm the dates and what is running before you go, as the dig is not always active.

Archaeological site and visitor centre in the fishing village of Ferryland on the Southern Shore of the Avalon Peninsula, about 80 km south of St. John's, with a lighthouse point nearby, Ferryland, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada

The site and the visitor centre are seasonal, with the main season from late spring or early summer to early autumn, and the dig itself running roughly from June to October when the weather and the team allow. Opening days and hours change from year to year, and some years the schedule is shorter, so confirm before you travel. Guided tours and dig viewing depend on whether the archaeologists are working that day, and rain or wind can stop excavation. A lunchbox picnic at the lighthouse nearby has run in season (confirm if it is on). Outside the season the grounds may be closed, though the village and the shore can still be visited.

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