Merrickville – Jewel of the Rideau

Merrickville is One of the Oldest Settlements Along the Rideau Canal – 

The French-Canadian influence of the area was becoming more and more clear as we reached Merrickville, Ontario. We tied up to a lock wall; only one block from the downtown area. The village is dripping with heritage architecture, cute little boutique stores, and pubs. Townspeople were friendly, showing us hospitality at every encounter, and welcoming us as guests to their beautiful country. There is a thriving community of artists in the area and it was reflected in the shops downtown.

Don’t speak French? No problem! We found that every local we came in contact with went out of their way to first determine what language we spoke by greeting us in either French or English. Depending on how we responded, they switched to accommodate our language skills or lack of them.

We transited three locks on this day, Old Says, Edmonds, and Kilmarnock still with the group of boats we left Smiths Falls with, Dug’s Tug and Lavalo. We find it fun traveling through the locks as a group, even if we hardly knew each other. By the time we headed out on our separate routes, we missed the presence of the other boats.

Built to defend the Rideau Canal from American aggression, the Merrickville blockhouse (above) is the largest of its kind on the Rideau Canal. Restored by Parks Canada, the blockhouse is now a museum.

A beautiful morning followed a spectacular sunset the night before. We had to backtrack around a little island to queue up to lock through and be on our way. One more stop before Ottawa!