Durham’s Road to Avonlea

Located on the banks of Duffin’s Creek in the Village of Greenwood, Pickering Museum Village allows you to take a peek into the daily life of Pickering Township’s early settlers in the 1800’s. You can also tour building locations used in both the movie and TV series “Road to Avonlea”, as well as the classic, “Anne of Green Gables”.

A forty-five minute drive north through the relaxing countryside brings your journey to the door of Leaskdale Manse, home to Lucy Maude Montgomery from 1911 to 1926. L.M. Montgomery wrote eleven of her twenty-two books while living in this limestone bricked house she shared with her Presbyterian Minister husband and their two sons. The upper level of the church next door remains as it was during this time and artifacts include the pew where L.M Montgomery sat listening to her husbands’ sermons. Both of these sites are continuing restoration and are currently open Sunday afternoons in July and August.

On your travels down Regional Road 1 back to the town of Uxbridge, make sure to stop off at the Thomas Foster Memorial. Inspired by the Taj Mahal, and built in 1936 by the former mayor of Toronto, this structure is a beautiful example of Byzantine architecture.

A stay at one of the local bed & breakfasts in the Uxbridge area allows you to discover the communities Montgomery once explored herself and the rural locations that gave inspiration to her writing.

Why not stop in for a relaxing dinner at one of the local historic restaurants and experience the flavour of the community, maybe at the Tin Mill. Once an operating mill, and having gone through several owners and incarnations, this Uxbridge landmark has been lovingly renovated and restored. Using as much of the old wood, flooring and tin panels as could be salvaged, the owners have created a rustic 75 seat restaurant that includes dining rooms, a takeout area, food shop and catering service.