Boston South Shore Lighthouse Run

Waypoint introductions and full write-ups

1. 1. Hull

   Hull is a thin finger of land curling into Massachusetts Bay, and it is one of the most unusual places to start a ride within reach of Boston. The town lies at the end of a long, narrow peninsula, with Nantasket Beach on the ocean side and calm Hingham Bay on the other, so you can see water on both sides of the road for most of the way in. The sense of being at the end of something is real here.

   Read the complete Hull write-up.

2. 2. Cohasset

   Cohasset is where Boston's South Shore turns rocky. Most of the coast between the city and Plymouth is low and sandy, but here the granite pushes up through the turf, and the road along the water, Route 3A, winds past stone walls, big old trees and views of a harbour full of moored sailboats. The village green, with its white church and Victorian town hall, looks like a stage set, and the whole place has a polished, unhurried air.

   Read the complete Cohasset write-up.

3. 3. Scituate

   Scituate is a harbour town on the South Shore with two stories that people there tell with relish. The first concerns the War of 1812. In September 1814, a British warship was cruising off the coast, and two young sisters, Rebecca and Abigail Bates, who were alone in the lighthouse keeper's house while their father was away, are said to have grabbed a drum and a fife and hidden behind the dunes, playing as loudly as they could. The British, believing a company of militia was approaching, turned back. The story has been told so often that the sisters are known as the Army of Two, and the little lighthouse, built in 1811 on Cedar Point, is one of the oldest on the coast.

   Read the complete Scituate write-up.

4. 4. Marshfield

5. 5. Plymouth

   Plymouth is a place where history is both obvious and slightly overstated, and it is better for knowing that in advance. In December 1620 the Mayflower's passengers settled here after a stop on Cape Cod, and the story of the Pilgrims has been told so many times that the real place can seem small beside it. Plymouth Rock, the granite boulder said to mark their landing, sits under a classical portico by the water, and visitors often say it is smaller than they expected, which is fair, since it has been chipped and moved over the centuries and its link to the landing is a tradition rather than a documented fact.

   Read the complete Plymouth write-up.