Ferryland, Newfoundland and Labrador –  What do you do when a lighthouse goes out of business, start up a new business: lighthouse picnics. Started just over a decade ago by Jill Curron, a young Newfoundlander who had spent several years living travelling overseas, there are now 13 local residents on staff and up 100 or more people a day drop by for the spectacular view and picnic.

You find the perfect perch and they provide the blanket and basket, everything from Seafood Club to Curried Chicken sandwiches, plus dessert. Even the bread is baked on the site, including the favorite – oatmeal and molasses. And, there’s homemade lemonade – the staff at the Lighthouse are the largest user of lemons in all of Newfoundland.

The lighthouse dates back to 1870. What you might see from your perch over the Atlantic – whales (late June they tend to start coming closer to shore) migratory birds, and occasionally even an iceberg might drift by.

Where: The Lighthouse is in Ferryland NFLD, thatʼs 80 km south of St. Johnʼs, on the second most easterly point of North America. The walk in is about 2km or 25 minutes from the beginning of Lighhouse Road. Pinics are served from late May until late September (weather dependent.) Visit LighthousePinics.ca for information on reservations.

Cape Race is just 45 km away. It was the location that received the last transmission from the sinking Titantic