salamanca

 

In the spring of 2011 I started making regular drives to the TNB Studio along Lincoln Road. I became intrigued by a round lattice gazebo and even more so by the trail that wound down past it and seemed to disappear into the river itself. Even though I'd lived in the city for 15 years, I'd never really noticed the trail before. 

What I was seeing was the Salamanca Trail. Beginning at Morell Park at the east end of Waterloo Row, the 1.2 km trail is an easy 10 minute stroll each way and ends at the Princess Margaret Bridge.

In October 1783, nearly 2000 Loyalists fleeing the American Revolution arrived to settle St. Anne's Point (what's now downtown Fredericton) "Salamanca" was the burial ground for those who did not survive the harsh northern winter. 

The nearly 230 year-old Loyalist Cemetery near the entrance of the path. 

Even though you are just metres from the backyards on the first stretch of Lincoln Road, this bucolic woodland path feels far removed from one of the city's busiest thoroughfares.

The low-lying area typically floods each spring leading to lush vegetation and towering trees that seem to spring from the river bed.  It's become one of my favourite short walks in the city.