There is a feeling of entering someplace magical created by a series of peaked walkways that lead onto the beach at various entry points from the surrounding Victoria Park. As I walked through the gateway, the lake shore was beautifully framed and a wide expanse of blue water and white sand took my breath away. I'm accustomed to Ontario beachfronts that are look more like mud holes where one must negotiate rocks and seaweed just to get in the water. But in Cobourg, the sand is smooth, the beach is wide and the clear water deepens so gradually that we were able to walk out quite far by the time the water reached my waist and my son's chest.

As if this weren't enough, there is a full service Marina and a pristine boardwalk right next to the beach. The adjacent Victoria Park offers a children's wading pool, an outdoor pool, playgrounds, miniature golf, a lawn bowling green and a campground.

The town is filled with historic landmarks such as the grand Victoria Hall, which was opened in 1860 during a time when Cobourg was actually the fifth largest centre in Ontario. At that time there were hopes for the booming town to become the economic and political capital of the province. Originally named Hamilton, the town changed its name to Cobourg in honour of the marriage of Princess Charlotte, daughter of King George IV to Prince Leopold of Saxe-Coburg Germany.

Immigration slowed and the town struggled financially after the failure of its railway and the heavy bill from the construction of its opulent town hall. But the determined citizens reinvented the town as a fashionable summer colony.

Our visit coincided with the annual street sale and carnival, so the downtown area was blocked off and shop owners had almost emptied their shops in order to display clothes, shoes, sportswear, antiques and country knickknacks. I also perused the Farmer's Market, one of the oldest in Ontario for fresh veggies. It is held behind Victoria Hall on Saturdays from May until December.

One of the main reasons for our trip to Cobourg was the unique lodging that we had booked. We were staying in the Cobourg jail and what a luxurious jail it was! In 1998, the Cobourg jail, a Federal maximum security prison, shipped the inmates to other facilities and closed down. It was sold privately, and has been renovated into a 20 room Inn with two restaurants and historic exhibits in the basement.

Today, you can stay in the Manor House, a turn of the century home once inhabited by the Governor and Chief Warden Turnkey, where themed rooms are majestically decorated; or, in the prison section, where several rooms have incorporated the original jail bunks and bars into the decor.

For instance we stayed in the "Desert Escape" room, perfect for our family of four. There was a queen bed topped by a perpendicular real jail bunk for my seven year old. There was also a pullout couch, desk and an authentic jail cell shower which turned on by pulling a metal chain. The couple of painted bars left on one side of the bed actually helped stop the baby from falling out. The mini-suite was nicely decorated with rose covered quilts and sand coloured towels in keeping with the Desert Escape theme. Other rooms have names like the Titanic, Lawyer's Leap and the Privileged Prisoner. You can view all of the rooms on their website and Judy the manager told me that half the fun for visitors is viewing the rooms online and then picking out their favourites.

Every area of the former jail has been creatively used. The walled exercise yard has been transformed into tennis, basketball and badminton courts. Some of the original brick where the prisoners engraved their initials has been left intact. The solitary confinement area has been left intact so that visitors can peer in, and leave messages of their own. A great plus for families is the Pic-a-Dilly Circus, a children's play area and that has cozy little cubby holes made from, what else?, original cell blocks and bunks. Children can be booked into this supervised area and even take their dinner here amongst TV, videos, toys and nintendo while their parents have a kid free dinner in either the casual or more upscale restaurant right on the premises.

We had lunch at a popular restaurant called the Oasis Bar and Grill. Tucked away down a laneway off the main street, the Oasis has a lovely back patio where we dined on authentic Greek salad and steak sandwiches. I tried the soup of the day and it was one of the best soups that I've ever had. A beef based soup, thickened with tomato and cheese and topped off with floating bits of crisp tortilla, it sure hit the spot.

Cobourg has a number of popular yearly events, including the Cobourg Waterfront Festival which takes place around Canada Day, a Vintage Film Festival that features silent films and vintage talkies that will take place on October 26-28 and their Christmas Magic celebration, which will transform the town and waterfront with 100,000 coloured lights from December 1 until January 2, 2002. For further information check out the Cobourg website at www.town.cobourg.on.ca or call 1-888-COBOURG.

Questions?
If you want more information about this area you can check out our North American Insiders page.