Hiking PEI

Directions

From the junction of route 13 and route 6, turn east onto Cavendish Road (route 6). Drive east on Cavendish Road for 250 meters and turn right into the lane for the Homestead Site of Lucy Maud Montgomery. Part and go in the bookstore for a pass. If you plan to continue to Green Gables on the Haunted Wood Trail you will need to buy a combination pass. Green Gables and the Haunted Wood Trail are in Prince Edward Island National Park.

From the Sign

Site of Lucy Maud Montgomery's Cavendish Home

..."it is and ever must be hallowed grouund to me." - L.M.M.

John and Jennie Macneill invite you to walk through their historic site where Lucy Maud Montgomery was raised by her maternal grandparents, Alexander and Lucy Macneill, and which was her home for half of her life.

It was here she wrote Anne of Green Gables, Anne of Avonlea, Kilmeny of the Orchard, and The Story Girl, as well as hundreds of short stories and poems.

The farmhouse and buildings no longer stand, but the cellar site, surrounded by old trees, lanes, gardens, and homestead fields, give visitors a sense of the author's hallowed ground. Placards tell of her love for this place and the inspiration it gave her for her writing.

John Macneill, a great-grandson of Alexander, and to whom the farmlands has been passed down, was born and still lives on this land in his grandfather's house (the white house near the bookstore) and he and his wife Jennie carefully tend their piece of heritage.

Description

The short trail at the L.M. Montgomery's Cavendish National Historic Site travels around the ruins of the old homestead where L.M. Montgomery stayed with her grandparents for the first half of her life. It was here that she wrote her most famous stories, inspired by the surrounding landscape.

The site is full of interpretive signs with quotes from her writings. They talk about the old lane that accessed the site (now part of the trai), the trees, the window in which she wrote, and the old farmhouse. There is a wishing well onsite and the cellar of the old homestead. The trail leaves the main site and travels along a hay field on the way to route 13. Near route 13 there are several plaques explaining the historical signifance of the site.

Cross the road and you will enter Prince Edward Island National Park on the Haunted Wood Trail. This trail will take you to Green Gables.

From the Sign

L.M. Montgomery's Cavendish

Bringing together the real and imaginary worlds of Lucy Maud Montgomery (1874-1942), this landscape is intimately associated with her formative years and prolific career as a writer. To the northeast are the ruins of the author's home from 1876 to 1911, the Cavendish farmhouse where she lived with her maternal grandparents, Lucy and Alexander Macneill, following her mother's illness and death. It was here that Montgomery wrote her most famous novel, Anne of Green Gables (1908), and her beloved The Story Girl (1911), as well as numerous other stories and poems. She drew inspiration for much of her writing from these surroundings, including the house to the west, now known as Green Gables, and places such as the Haunted Wood and Lover's Lane, which are cherished by her fictional character Anne Shirley. This landscape of rolling farm fields, woodlands, and winding paths provided Montgomery with great joy in her early years, and remained dear to her throughout her life. This setting has also held special meaning for generations of her admirers, who continue to visit and reflect upon the life and work of this well-loved, internationally renowned author.

Other trails nearby

• Prince Edward Island National Park - Cavendish section

External Links

• The Site of Lucy Maud Montgomery's Cavendish

Trail Last Hiked: June 30, 2015.

Page Last Updated: April 10, 2020.