The Rock Part IV: The Battery
April 5, 2010 at 12:14 pm (Jumbled Jabbering)
One of my most memorable days touring St. John’s was visiting an area just below Signal Hill called The Battery: ambling along its winding roads; climbing the steep slopes; and photographing its antique character. This mural, one of many around St. John’s and painted on the concrete sides of a walkway, greets us as we turn on to Outer Battery Rd. These murals throughout the city are painted by Derek Holmes and April Norman.
Here’s the other end of the above mural from Google Streetview:
View Larger Map
As the street is getting narrower, tucked away in a corner is this yellow eccentric structure with signs and odds and ends nailed to it:
Everything was painted bright yellow.
To give you an idea of just how narrow the streets are in The Battery:
Between some of the crammed houses, you can see the harbour along with some very antique-looking wharves…perfect Jim Robb fodder:
Behind all the rickety structures and ramshackle buildings are signs of life:
And here is just more of the same. Notice the curved roof:
Stacie said,
April 6, 2010 at 12:18 am
Love this post (and your others on St. John’s) – I’m heading there next month for the first time! Any tips? Places that are a must-see??
Carole said,
April 8, 2010 at 5:30 pm
Hey Stacie,
Well, in and around St.John’s, you can visit The Battery, Quidi Vidi, The Rooms (museum/art gallery), Cape Spear, Signal Hill, and there’s plenty of walking trails (East Coast Trail) along the cliffs. You can also book a whale/puffin watching tour as most companies have shuttles. Is that enough? lol Oh, and can’t forget George Street.
Stacie said,
April 9, 2010 at 12:23 am
Yep, I’ve heard about George Street, haha! I also heard that the touristy things won’t really be happening until after June 1. I’m there for a museum’s conference so we will see The Rooms(yay!) and Signal Hill as part of the conference. I’ll have to look into walking trails though!
Carole said,
April 9, 2010 at 8:41 am
Well, the whale/puffin tour is probably out of season, but everything else I’ve mentioned you can do on your own. That’s the nice thing about St.John’s, there are plenty of natural scenery with historical significance that you don’t need to pay for tours here and there. You’ll love it!