Brunswick, Maine is a picturesque, one-hour drive from The Bradley Inn. You pass through a few quaint villages, cross the Kennebec River at Bath and drive along the Androscoggin River into the Brunswick area.
Brunswick was settled in 1628; is the home of Bowdoin College which was founded in 1794 and had notables such as Harriet Beecher Stowe, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, and President Franklin Pierce as residents.
Activities in Brunswick, Maine
Begin your Brunswick trip by parking on or near the Bowdoin Campus. Enjoy walking through paths which will weave you through the beautiful stately buildings, lawns, and trees.
Bowdoin houses two great museums, vastly different from one another and worthwhile visiting. Both are open every day of the week, except for Monday, and are free.
For those of you that enjoy art The Museum of Art contains more than 25,000 objects created over 5,000 years.
The other focuses on Arctic cultures and environments, due to an interesting connection between the college and the Arctic. The Peary-MacMillan Arctic Museum, named after Arctic explorers and Bowdoin graduates, Robert E. Peary, and Donald B. MacMillan, was opened in 1967. Students and faculty have been traveling north to study since 1860, with its location on the North Atlantic coast and the significance of how Global Warming is changing the Arctic, Bowdoin’s robust Arctic Studies Program continues today.
Shopping and eating in Brunswick, Maine
Afterwards, a short walk from campus leads you to Maine Street and lunch opportunities. From The Big Top Deli for sandwiches and burgers, to Portland Pie for pizza and Little Tokyo for sushi; just a few of the many options available.
After lunch you can stroll Maine Street to enjoy the numerous shops, such as:
- Cool As A Moose is a wonderful place to shop for apparel, gifts, and souvenirs.
- Hatch Home offers unique finds and furnishings for your home and is an Annie Sloan Chalk Paint Stockist.
- Hatch On Maine, a gift shop offering a large assortment of items selected for quality; sourcing handmade and locally made treasures.
- Wilbur’s of Maine Chocolate Confections, for those of you with a sweet tooth, crafts their chocolate locally in their factory in Freeport, Maine. They also carry a wide selection of other candies and Maine-made gifts.
- Island Treasure Toys is filled with classic as well as trendy toys, a perfect place to stop for a gift for the children in your life.
- The Animal House offers healthy provisions for pets as well as toys, supplies, and unique goods for the pets in your life.
- And for you vinyl record collectors that still own a turntable you have two shops to peruse Finestkind Vinylhaven and Deep Groove Records both with a wide selection of classics, new releases, and rare records galore.
- Cabot Mill Antiques, a multi-dealer emporium, is 16,000 square feet. If you love antique shopping, from collectibles to furniture, this is the place to get lost in for a few hours.
After all that shopping you may want either a cup of coffee and sweets or a libation to wet your whistle.
- Little Jam Cookies on Maine Street for a delicious cookie and a cup of coffee
- Enoteca Athena on Maine Street for a glass of wine or a drink from their Negroni Bar
Or on your way back to The Bradley Inn a worthwhile stop
- Wild Oat’s Bakery and Café for a piece of cake and cup of coffee
- Flight Deck Brewing for a taste of one of their many styles of beer
- And do not overlook the Brunswick Naval Aviation Museum across the street, open on Wednesdays and Sundays. The Naval Air Station Brunswick Maine played a critical role in maritime patrol aviation worldwide, training and deploying from this site. A legacy of 65 years of hunting submarines around the world. Get the feeling of being a pilot by sitting in a cockpit of a Naval Plane or take to the air in the onsite flight simulator.
After this day filled with all that excitement, return to The Bradley Inn for an evening of relaxation in your well-appointed guest room. Or plan drinks and dinner on one of the nights the Restaurant at The Bradley Inn is open.
All images used were made available by the Town of Brunswick for community promotion.
