The Bakery and Goldie Mill

Two things occurred when I set out for breakfast this morning. First: I solidified my beliefs in finding one of the finest local bakeries to experience; and second: I got lost in the woods. Allow me to explain...

Opening the fridge only to find that there are no bagels left is a horrible way to start any day. The joy of toasted doughy goodness sandwiched around heaps of garlic and herb cream cheese is what really gets me going in the mornings, along side my java of course. A fan indeed but by no means am I a snob when it comes to the choice of brand. However, every now and then I want, or rather need, the fresh made aromatic qualities of a bakery select bagel, and not just the Dempster's I normally side with. Today being such a day, I made way back to The Bakery at With The Grain, a small and always busy store front at the corner of London Rd and Woolwich St here in Guelph. It's the kind of place that, once you step inside, you know you wont be leaving without purchasing something, anything. The fresh baguettes, daily loaves, brownies, butter tarts, cupcakes and, of course, bagels are all so enticing and guaranteed delicious.

Not impressed yet? Well, although you'd be hard pressed not to find that craving crusher, if they don't have what you're looking for, just ask, they will have it ready for you by the next morning. And if that still doesn't do it for you, well, after ten years of steady and growing business, their name in the community should. With more than just a bakery to their name, they also run a restaurant across the street, which is next to their specialty foods gift store, which runs at the same speed as their catering business. Yeah, they are busy. After my third visit to The Bakery I'm hooked, and I know that soon I must spend time in their restaurant/cafe; you can count on the review to follow.

Now then, with my bagel craving suppressed, I was able to head back to my car, which I had to park at the bottom of the hill because there simply wasn't room in their parking lot. This seemingly inconvenient event, however, proved to be rewarding in its own way.

Just at the bottom of London Rd, where it intersects with Cardigan St, there is a large gravel parking lot adjacent to a small park. Given that the weather begged to be enjoyed, I decided to meander my way through this park and do a little relaxing. Well, low and behold I should find myself at the grounds of the historic Goldie Mill ruins.

Built in 1827, the Wellington saw mill suffered the wrath of a tremendous fire in '64 (1864 that is) and was subsequently shut down and then purchased by the Goldie Family and rebuilt, until another fire destroyed it in 1953. When it was threatened to be plowed into a parking lot in 1976, the Grand River Conservation Authority purchased the site and it has been an historic landmark ever since.

It is not a large site to explore but it's still quite interesting to read the history and then gaze into the open yards and think about the events and lives that used to occupy the stone structure, I recommend checking it out for yourself someday.

After taking in the site for a few moments, I began heading back to the car when I spotted a trail drifting off into a wooded area next to the park's river; a perfect invitation.

As a fan of walking trails and running streams, this little path was quite the pleasure to explore. For the first stretch it served as a division between the residential background to my left and the rolling waters to my right, but eventually the populous disappeared altogether and I was immersed into a beautiful landscape of sight and sound. Don't get me wrong, there were still occasional reminders of the human world along the trails, but their presence was limited enough to enjoy some peace and quiet.

Unfortunately, after about an hour of walking, when I had reached the end of the path and turned around, I wound up losing myself momentarily in the bush and couldn't find the path again. The embarrassing part, and the part that you should know if planning to explore the area as well, is that this should not have been an easy thing to do, impossible even. The trail is pretty clear and admittedly I'm not sure what happened, suffice it to say that I veered from the trail to explore my curiosity of the unknown and was obviously not paying attention to my direction.

It was a neat little adventure and just one more small corner of Guelph I didn't previously know existed. And, needless to say, I found my way back without much difficulty and in hindsight am quite happy that, when I opened my fridge today, there were no bagels to be eaten.

So go ahead, explore for yourself, snap some pictures, grab a bagel or cup of coffee from The Bakery and enjoy a lunch break from work or bring the dogs down for a walk.

-Phil

The Bakery at With The Grain

http://withthegrain.ca/

294 Woolwich Street
Guelph, ON N1H 3W3

Be sure to check out their bread schedule so you know when to stop by.