My piece on Duxbury last year was seen from afar. I mainly wanted to gather what I could on the place as a form of aggregation content so people would have a handy overview of it.
This year, I was able to actually visit and make video clips of all the open space parcels currently carrying the Bay Circuit Trail.
If you live in the area and find yourself wanting to walk off the effects of our national feast day, you would do well to roam the wondrous array awaiting you.
It is the benchmark town for best practices in trail operations in its region, a very good model. There is fairly complete online information about the conservation properties, nice maps that blend art with craft and first rate follow through on the ground operations.
Rules are enforced regarding motorized things, often by design at trailhead points and yet the rules are congenial and thought through. Dog owners are required to have the dog under control without specifics on how this control is attained. This affixes liability on the owner with minimal specifics.
Duxbury marks the spot where the southern end of the Bay Circuit Trail meets the sea. Humans began gathering here not long after the glacier receded and it was an early settlement reward for Pilgrims who had fulfilled their obligations to the initial collective that formed in Plymouth.
Myles Standish was among those who obtained this coveted real estate.
In our time, Duxbury has allocated substantial acreage for preservation with enthusiastic support. The Cushman Preserve and the Bay Farm are two tracts that begin at waters edge. Cow Tent Hill lies just a bit inland from Cushman.
The beach and littoral zones are defining facets of the place with all the glories and complications wild popularity brings.
Powder Point marks the bridge way to the long barrier strand that anchors the Gurnet.
The Bay Circuit Trail heads inland from waters edge at Bay Farm with two options, south toward Kingston and north toward Pembroke. Both meet in west Pembroke.
The northern option runs through Duxbury and meets a cranberry bog melange at the Duxbury Bogs , a 1971 gift from the Loring Family. The North Hill Sanctuary and related tracts lie to the Northeast. The trail then passes through the Lansing Bennett Forest tracts before it crosses to Pembroke.
The French Atlantic Cable landed in the town in 1869 making it an early communications hub. It was also the launch pad for a small ship building empire. Various maritime mercantilists cashed in over the years and made their way to greater glory in Boston.
Now the movement runs just as well back the other way with soaring options unimaginable to that long ago Mayflower wave.
Note For the Urban Carless. Kingston is handily on the Old Colony commuter rail line 2.3 miles Southwest of Bay Farm.
