Provincetown

A charming coastal town at the tip of Cape Cod, Provincetown was one of the first places in America to be visited by Europeans, back in 1602. The Mayflower pilgrims were frequent visitors from the early 1600s onwards, from their settlement of Plymouth across the bay. It grew in the 19th century from fishing and whaling, and started to attract writers and artists from the turn of the 20th century.

It is understandably popular with tourists, with a summer population of up to 60,000 people versus a year round population of ~3,000 people. From Boston’s Long Wharf it takes around an hour and a half by ferry, a day trip I did over the Fourth of July long weekend in 2012.

The most obvious landmark on the townscape is the 77m high Pilgrim Monument built in 1907-1910 to mark the first landfall of the pilgrims in 1620. It is modelled on a tower in Siena, Italy, for no obvious reason.

It can be seen in the distance below, with They Also Faced the Sea, an art installation by local artists, in the foreground on the side of the wharf building.

Golden sands make an attractive first impression upon reaching the shore.

There are many exquisite, and no doubt very expensive, houses throughout town.

Along with heritage buildings and funky shopping areas.

I soon left town though for the scenic landscape by the lengthy Provincetown Causeway.

On the northern shore of Cape Cod is the popular Race Point Beach.

The Race Point Ranger Station was quite striking, with a huge flag pole. You’re never far from the Stars and Stripes in America.

The Old Harbor Life-Saving Station Museum was built in 1897, decommissioned in 1944 and added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1975. In 1977 it was moved to its present site. The previous site was originally 150m from the sea but is now underwater!

To end with a couple of photos from my return boat trip back to Boston.