Wingham

PAGE 36. STOPS ALONG THE WAY, SUMMER 2021 Wingham

Turning the page in Wingham

One of the newest eateries in the area has taken up residence in a building with a long commercial history in Wingham’s downtown core. Castings Public House, which recently opened its doors (or at least its take-out window, thanks to the COVID-19 restrictions currently in place), is a joint venture between Danielle Sutton and Murray Simpson, both veteran entrepreneurs.

The pair has renovated the space for accessibility and function, while paying homage to the industries that have sustained Wingham for decades. The building has housed many businesses over the years, including a sewing factory, a dairy and a restaurant. The decor can be best described as “industrial chic” with artifacts such as a local foundry stove serving as a sideboard in the front area of the dining room and old barn vents finding new life as light shades.

Sutton has assembled a core team of employees who have worked together for a long time, which provides a great base for a new restaurant.

The menu is barbecue with a smoke flair, as a traditional smokehouse is something that Sutton has always hoped to be able to have and is still in the works for future expansion plans. The pandemic has modified both their opening plans and the menu, as they could only offer take-out at the beginning, but the menu has proven a hit with locals. The buttermilk fried chicken sandwich has quickly gained fame in the region, along with the “to-go” version of Combat Juice, a fresh and fruity cocktail with a bit of a kick.

As the region begins to reopen, the expanded patio area is sure to be a popular place to spend a warm summer evening. The team has plans to bring live music in and have already begun a list of local artists to feature once they are allowed. 289 Josephine St, Wingham. www.castingspublichouse.com

Garden beauty

With the second year of lockdowns and the COVID19 pandemic wearing on, the group behind the Discover the Gardens of Huron Perth tour is directing people to its website instead of its annual pamphlet.

While the pandemic has prevented some events that distributed the guide, many of the gardens can be easily visited while maintaining your distance, so organizers made the decision to provide the information at www.gardensofhuronperth.com

One of the gardens that continues to see visitors is Willow Park Patch, Debbie Kuyvenhoven’s garden in Lower Town Wingham.

Kuyvenhoven said her garden is really more like a park to the surrounding community. “People wander through,” she said. “It’s right beside our house, and it feels like a public park, so people don’t feel like they’re snooping around by visiting.”

She said she has an open garden

sign and a number of people have been through the garden this year, though it’s not a matter of numbers, but of repeat visitors. “They become regulars,” she said. “It becomes part of their walking tour. Dads come with their kids and the dads sit and talk in the gazebo while the kids run Wingham around.” She said the visitors include people walking their dogs, families and older couples and a day doesn’t go past that someone isn’t there. “There’s such a variety of people,” she said. “We had a couple of ladies that must have sat and talked for an hour there.” She said that last summer was good, as the COVID-19 restrictions were loosened, and a 12-year-old went through the garden, returning a week later with his grandma. “That’s the kind of thing that happens,” she said. The garden is a colourful spot to take in spring with daffodils and magnolia in bloom. She said the seasonality of the garden makes it so, every three weeks, it’s a different experience, but it’s always full of life. “Kids love running around with the trees to hide behind,” she said. “They don’t run through the flower beds, and it’s a place to have fun. That’s the idea I want it to be - just like a park.” 229 Arthur St, Wingham. www.willowparkpatch.ca. Selfies along the trails

The Township of North Huron has been blessed with excellent hiking and nature trails in or near its three communities.

In Wingham, there is the Wingham Community Trail, a 2.5-kilometre loop trail along both sides of the Maitland River. The Wawanosh Nature Centre just outside of Belgrave offers a three-kilometre trail that loops through various ecosystems in a conservation area that features meadowlands, a hemlock forest, the Maitland River and the babbling Belgrave Creek. In Blyth, you’ll find an access point to the Goderich-toGuelph Rail Trail that is a popular biking and accessible walking trail, part of which is also the Greenway Trail, a well-maintained path that follows the Blyth Brook and features many ponds and wooded areas.

As the COVID-19 pandemic lingers into its second summer, municipalities are having to think outside the box for ways for the public to safely have fun and enjoy the area. Denise Lockie, the Marketing and Promotion Assistant was excited to promote a fun way for people to engage with these trails by creating a selfie contest. A “Find the Fox” contest as part of the Huron Hygge festival was a huge success, so they are building on that idea.

All of the trails abound with wildlife and Lockie hopes that you can catch a selfie with some of the flora and fauna that we share the area with. Of course, we know that getting them to sit still for a photo, let alone a selfie, can be a bit of a challenge! To help everyone out, she has created some fun representations and placed them along the paths so that you can get the perfect shot. Just find the laminated creatures on any of North Huron’s trails, take a selfie and post it on the North Huron Recreation Department’s Facebook page, or using the hashtag #northhurontrails on any social media post. For each photo you post by Labour Day, you will be entered to win swag bags with items from North Huron, the Maitland Valley Conservation Authority and Stops Along the Way.