Iceberg Alley: Newfoundland's new tourist attraction

'Iceberg Alley' is known for its floating bergs, but one giant iceberg has set up home just off the Newfoundland coast

One Newfoundland town marked Easter in a slightly different way than usual this year when a special visitor turned up – in the shape of a giant iceberg.

Ferryland, an hour south of St John’s on Canada’s east coast, became a magnet for camera-wielding locals and visitors over the long weekend when the giant blue iceberg appeared off-shore, dwarfing houses, cars and people on land.

The town has a prime view of “Iceberg Alley” – so called because from spring to September, icebergs regularly break off in the Arctic and float down past the coast of Newfoundland and Labrador. Over 600 have already floated into the North Atlantic this year, compared to a total of 687 over the whole season. Experts believe that this year’s bumper crop is down to strong counter-clockwise winds, as well as global warming.

Although most of the icebergs pass happily down the coast, Ferryland’s new visitor appears to be grounded, mayor Adrian Kavanagh told The Canadian Press. And while the coast alongside it was packed over the weekend, if, as predicted, it sticks around, the number of visitors is expected to grow.

The area off the coast of Newfoundland and Labrador is known as Iceberg Alley (Reuters)

Photos of the iceberg have already piled up on social media. One even appears to show a helicopter parked on the ice, dwarfed by the berg.

“It’s the biggest one I have ever seen around here”, Kavanagh said of the berg.

Meanwhile, Ferryland is bracing for more visitors – and also more icebergs. According to Kavanagh, there are up to six “big” ones in the distance that could make their way down if winds pick up.

The iceberg dwarfs the town around it and even a helicopter that was supposedly parked on top (Reuters)

If you want to see it, prepare for a trek: Ferryland is an hour from St John’s, but that's a minimum a 5hr 45 minute flight from the UK (Westjet flies direct from Gatwick or you can change in Boston and then Halifax for St John’s). Alternatively, keep those window blinds open when flying to the US (especially the West Coast) – flight routes normally pass right over Iceberg Alley.