Bethany Ontario

Driving into Bethany

For  a while now, my husband Jeff has been coming home after spending the day in the Village of Bethany, full of stories and observations about the area.  He is a real estate broker and together with his father, they have been developing an estate community in Bethany.

This got me thinking.  I’m big into blogging these days.  I’ve started my own blog to try and promote my novel (Baby! Baby? Baby!? – nothing at all about real estate or Bethany) and I’m quite enjoying it.  So when Jeff and I talked about getting the word out about Bethany, I thought a blog might be the thing.

Bethany, Ontario is a tiny, picturesque village along Highway #7A, nestled among the rolling hills of Manvers Township, now the City of Kawartha Lakes.  Like other small towns and villages, Bethany grew up around the railway system in the mid 1800s.  The Post Office gives as taste of the village’s history.  Built in 1870s, it is the oldest free standing post office in Ontario.  In and around Bethany there are restaurants, B & B’s, artist studios, a ski resort, an equestrian centre, riding camps and a guitar boutique.  It’s also a community that supports local athletics and celebrates holidays and special events together at Bethany Park.

Devil’s Elbow Ski Resort

The View

Autumn is my favourite time of the year to visit because of the spectacular fall colours.  From the end of September to the last big winds of the fall, a gorgeous array of scarlet and orange, golden yellow and vivid red foliage are laid across the hills surrounding Bethany.  We have so many pictures of the area as Jeff tries again and again to capture the beauty of the season on film.  I think he does a pretty good job, but there is nothing comparable to driving along 7A and Ski Hill Road to see the colours of fall.

One of the best places to appreciate the loveliness of the surrounding area is high on the hills of Bethany Village.  This is what takes Jeff out of the bustle of Toronto into the peacefulness of Bethany.  His father first began to develop the area into a community in the 1980s.

Rustlewood Avenue in Bethany Village

The building lots of Bethany Village are incredible – many are forested, set among a mature hardwood forest with all the amenities you would expect in qn upscale estate community.  There are three different builders associated so there are a wide variety of house styles available.  Jeff has been working in Bethany since before we were married and we did have the option of relocating in the village at one time, but because of my career and Jeff’s burgeoning real estate practice, we stayed in the city.  I grew up in several small villages (Roseneath, Garden Hill) and had an idea of what living in Bethany would be like but city born-and-bred Jeff…let’s just say there might have been a little too much culture shock for him at first!  Every time I visit Bethany, I can’t help but think how differently our lives would have turned out if we had chosen small town life.  The quiet and serenity of listening to birds rather than buses, of watching my children run amok among the trees, and of seeing the stars spread out over the night sky makes me miss small town living and the more natural environment I grew up with.

I’m a small town girl at heart and I can’t wait to share my small town stories about Bethany with you.

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