"With luck, your guide will be Ed English, whose grandfather famously ran the SS Ethie ashore nearby in a 1919 hurricane, saving all 92 aboard. Ed's energy is legendary and his non-stop stories gruesome yet hilarious."
- Zoomer Canada
Linkum Tours (See map below) started in 1998 when Ed English was taken by the notion of owning a piece of Newfoundland heritage – the lighthouse on Quirpon Island. The jewel we discovered when we made our way through waist deep spring snow enthralled us and the dream began to take shape. Cheered by the success of our first Inn, in 2004 we added Cape Anguille Lighthouse Inn and are equally delighted. Central to it all, Linkum Tours has a wonderful team: people who plan, guide, and host holidays and generally ensure our guests’ enjoyment is complete.
Our philosophy, from 1998 to today, is to help others experience our Newfoundland & Labrador: its people, places, and hidden corners.
- We are: A group of Newfoundlander's whose pride in our province makes us want to share it with others.
- We are: Owners of our own unique inns, designed to offer comfort at night in locations that will astound and delight by day.
- We are: Part of the story. From our Grandfather's shipwreck to our generations of ancestors who have carved a life from this island. We are true Newfoundlanders.
- We are: Our Guests. The friends we have discovered in our clients helped shape the experiences we offer you. We have learnt more from them than we could have imagined. Their help and suggestions are incorporated into our itineraries and activities.
- We are: An Art Gallery owner, a Biologist, a Geologist, Kayakers, Hikers, Storytellers, a Musician, a Photographer, a Yoga Instructor and all naturally inquisitive.
- We are: Licensed guides who are internationally certified in Kayaking, Canoeing, Climbing, Wilderness & Remote First Aid, Skiing, and Avalanche Safety.
You may also want to or meet our friends and partners.
Linkum Tours and its Inns have hosted writers, producers and directors for print and visual media, including:
- Prime TV: On Top of the World, Weird Weddings, Valerie Pringle has Left the Building, This is The Sea 2
- Newspapers: London Sunday Times, New York Post, London Free Press, National Post, Chronicle Herald, The Times, Boston Sunday Globe, Toronto Sun
- Magazines: National Geographic Adventure, Robb Report, Saltscapes, National Geographic Traveler, CAA Leisureways, Doctor's Review, Endless Vacation, Break
- Travel Guides: Frommer's, Lonely Planet, Greenwood Guide
You will notice other names in the quotes that appear on our homepage
Wonderful artists, writers and other creative folk have also found our locations inspiring. To show our support for their work and acknowledge the beautiful images and words they created during their visits we would like to name drop a little.
- Gerry Squires – painter
- Dennis Minty – photographer
- Rolf Hicker – photographer http://www.hickerphoto.com/portfolio_newfoundland.jsp
- Joy Laking - painter
- Earl Pilgrim - writer
What the Travel Guides say:
Frommer’s Guide for Canada lists Quirpon Lighthouse Inn in its places to stay.
Lonely Planet Guide to Canada: Their “Off the Beaten Track” destinations include L’anse aux Meadows, the Viking Settlement area and UNESCO World Heritage Site. In the print edition you’ll see Quirpon Lighthouse Inn listed in where to stay.
L’anse aux Meadows is within kayaking distance of our Inn – or we could take you over in our ferry boat.
In addition to its own planning, touring and accommodation, Linkum Tours works with other organizations to deliver the holiday you have in mind. These links will confirm to you that we partner with the best.
Do you need action in your days with "enough exercise to make you appreciate supper and ensure you sleep well but not so much you regret it the next day"? Kayaking with bergs and whales, walking Western Newfoundland's best trails or crawling through caves;
offers standard and elite vacation options for any level of excitement.
If you only unwind when the line on your reel does;
will take you into the heart of the best fishing in the world.
A variety of airlines provide service into Deer Lake & St. John's. Direct flights from Toronto, Halifax, Montreal, London (England, not Ontario) are all in place with others being added frequently. We can help identify the best airline and schedule to suit your plans. Within Newfoundland and Labrador we have had great success with:
The amazing Gros Morne National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site is right in Linkum’s backyard and we couldn’t be happier.
http://www.pc.gc.ca/pn-np/nl/grosmorne/index_e.asp
Ed is a descendent of generations of Newfoundlanders. While in Gros Morne you can visit the remains of his Grandfather's ship and if you come along to Hebron in northern Labrador be sure to get the story of his uncle's exploits living on what was then a virtually untouched landscape in what is now a Canadian National Historic Site. Ed won't let us post our stories about him but to see how he has fooled the media, read on. You'll have to ask us in person for the other stories.
The Kingston Whig Standard
With a genie-in-a-bottle philosophy to guiding, English’s trademark response to every customer’s wish list is simply, “Sure, we can do that.”
Anywhere else in the world there would be extensive scheduling, maps, routes, an itinerary and a long waiver form. But this is Newfoundland and they do things just a little bit differently here. Rub the lamp, speak to the genie and Ed English will make it happen.
Writer on the Loose for Moose, By Jo Matyas
Goodtimes magazine
English, our guide, was doing the thing he likes best- telling stories about his colourful and history-rich province- and if some of them sounded just a little bit unlikely, well, so be it. A story just isn’t a story without plenty of drama.
Long and wiry with intelligent eyes and a face full of mischief, English has steeped himself in the history of his island and a late-night chat takes in everything from his eccentric mother (ah, that’s where he gets it from) to the abundance of fine literature produced by a myriad of Newfoundland writers. I recalled our talk later that week when I walked into a bookstore in Corner Brook and was confronted by a wall of books by Newfoundland writers.
English is a natural entertainer and his stories of Newfoundland continue nonstop. He talks about people floating their homes on oil drums from here to there, of trucks being toppled by ferocious wind off the North Atlantic, of a man who snowmobiled off a famous fjord in Gros Morne and lived to tell the tale, of the day he was changing a tire on the highway when his car mysteriously began shaking... it was only when he stood up that he realized a rather large moose was scratching its head on the other side of the car.
Winter on the Rock
New York Post
Host, captain, and fearless iceberg explorer Ed English is the co-owner of Quirpon Lighthouse Inn.
New-found Glory Close to Home
Our guide Ed English, whose company Linkum Tours restored the lighthouse, demonstrated that he is part mountain goat, hiking with an agility that I envied.
Follow the Viking Trail, By Cathy Stapells
Newfoundland Unchanged, but Always Changing
Formerly with the Newfoundland and Labrador department of tourism, the unquenchably upbeat English teaches survival skills and runs kayak and tour operations (Linkum Tours and Explore Newfoundland) and owns the lighthouse/inn operation at Quirpon (pronounced kar-poon) and another on the east coast of Newfoundland.
He knows the history of this place. His grandfather was captain of a boat that ran aground within sight of Quirpon.By Jim Kernaghan Among the Giants
I meet Ed English, kayak guide, inn owner, and berg connoisseur extraordinaire. English, a Newfoundland native, has glasses, reddish hair and a goofy sense of humor – sort of an X-Games version of Richie Cunningham. “I’ll be your interpretive guide,” he says, and points his paddle toward the white mass in front of us, at the mouth of Quirpon Harbour.
By David Howard National Geographic Adventure After talking icebergs with English for a while, David and I started referring to him, in awe as Crazy Ed.
By Byron Ricks Kayaking Heaven – well Newfoundland actually
We arrived at Marble Inn and met our hosts, Joe and Ed. They and their crew ran the inn and cabins, a kayak and canoe retail outlet, a sea and river kayaking outfitting and guiding company, a travel agency, Lendal paddle and NDK kayak importers, two lighthouse bed and breakfasts, and lord knows what else. Joe and Ed sat down and chatted with us…we were treated like old friends. We were to find that they always found time to chat with us.By Michael Daly M&it magazine
…our group was led by the indomitable Ed English, dubbed a “provincial treasure” by Brenda, marketing specialist with Newfoundland and Labrador Tourism. As owner of Explore Newfoundland, a premium guiding service for hiking, fishing, kayaking and whale watching, English has tramped these caves since he was a boy with a flashlight and a sense of adventure.
…If you ever get the chance to hire English as a guide, make sure he tells you the story of the Newfoundland Ranger Danny Corcoran. At turns horrifying, hilarious and incredulous, English spins a wild yarn as only Newfoundlanders can.
Wilderness Redux, By Sandra Eagle
Doctors Review
Run by the redoubtable Ed English, an adventure tour operator out of Deer Lake, the Quirpon Lighthouse Inn and its breathtaking setting are regularly celebrated in the pages of the world’s better newspapers, and the establishment deserves as much publicity as can get.The Grand Outdoors, By Rob Beattie
Global Travel Guide
When Ed English read that the government had put the lighthouse and lightkeeper’s dwelling on the island up for sale in 1998, he bought it sight unseen…Outpost, 2005
The Toronto Sun’s Destination Magazine ‘TRAVEL’
English, a 40-year-old MBA graduate… bought the lighthouse and two adjoining houses “sight unseen” in 1999, opening the inn in July of the same year after completely refurbishing it.
In the Company of Whales and Icebergs, By Sue-Ann Levy
National Geographic Traveler
I love the storm,” co-owner Ed English says. “This is a great spot to hunker down when the wind is blowing and the waves are pounding below.
Linkum Tours . Box 652 . Corner Brook . NL . A2H 6G1 . Canada
