On June 15th we left Graves Island PP, and we were heading to Boylston PP as our last stop before Cape Breton. We had decided to bypass Halifax and then take the east coastal road, so it was more scenic. This was one of our longer driving days in Nova Scotia as it was about 390 kms. Unfortunately, it was rainy and foggy so not the best day to take the coastal road. We stopped in Taylor Head Beach Park for lunch and did some shopping along the way for the essentials. When we reached Guysborough, we saw that there was a Good Cheer stop at Authentic Seacoast distillery, so we decided to get our passports stamped and stop in for some tastings. I had the whiskey flight trying the 4 Glynnevan whiskey’s (the name came from the owner whose name was Glen and his son named Evan). They had a 3 year, a double and triple barrelled, and a 12-year-old, and they were each quite different but all very good. Needless to say we left with a bottle of the 12-year-old, some Sea Piper Coffee Stout they make, and some coffee as they roast beans. They also make The Fortress rum brand for the Louisbourg NP, they age the casks at the Fortress, hence the name. The bookkeeper and bartender let us know that Boylston PP only had one campsite on the Lake and unfortunately, we had site 33 and 35 (which was booked) was the one on the lake.
The next day we started our drive into Cape Breton Island, and it wasn’t looking promising weather wise as we crossed Canso Causeway onto the island. We had decided to drive the Cabot Trail in counterclockwise direction as that would give the best views along the edge of the road/cliffs, although also slightly scarier driving. Our first stop was Big Spruce Brewery (another Good Cheer stop) and they had excellent beers (on of my top 3 that we tried). They had Fried Peperoni (a Nova Scotia speciality) on the menu, but we didn’t try it that day.
Our next stop was the Alexander Graham Bell National Historic Site. He had a summer residence in Baddeck Cape Breton and worked on many of his projects here. A few key ones include:
- He used a new phonetic alphabet called “Visible Speech” that his father had invented to teach deaf people to speak.
- In June of 1875 Bell and his assistant Thomas Watson built an electrical transmitter and a receiver and generated a current strong enough that voices could carry through the wires, the telephone was born. Bell received the telephone patent in February 1876.
- Bell married his wife Mabel in July 1877, and she managed the finances and the staff at their summer home in Baddeck so Bell could focus on his next idea for an invention.
- In 1890 Bell inspired and financed the American Association to Promote the Teaching of Speech to the Deaf.
- Bell pioneered space-frame construction 30 years before it was in general use which they used for the Tetrahedral Observation Tower in Baddeck.
- Bell dabbled with sheep breeding trying to develop sheep that would always have twins, he wasn’t successful at this.
- Bell studied genetics so he could research the subject of longevity.
- Bell was bothered by summer heat, so he developed two blowers in his air conditioning experiments.
- In 1898 Bell started experimenting with kites as he felt they offered the safest approach to developing a flying machine.
- After success with the Silver Dart flying machine, Bell and his colleagues did work on hydrofoil boats, culminating with the success of the HD-4, the fastest boat in the world in 1919.
Cape Breton Highlands National Park is a place where mountains meet the sea, and the Cabot Trail winds along cliff edges. Over 88% of the park is forest, the Atlantic Ocean on one side, the Gulf of St. Lawrence on the other.
Driving the Cabot Trail on a sunny day is spectacular, however, on a foggy day, not so much! It is also a bit scary driving in the fog, is it better not knowing the cliff drops straight down? We were glad to safely arrive at Cape Breton NP – Broad Cove Campground for the night.
Fortunately, the next day was sunny for our day of touring. We did the short hike in Broad Cove campground to the beach. Then we started our Cabot Trail drive with a few look-offs before arriving at Green Cove with its rocky outcrop and crashing waves. Next up was Black Brook Beach where we did a short hike to the red chair by the waterfall. We stopped in Neil’s Harbour hoping to grab lunch at the Chowder House, but it was closed. We enjoyed the view before finding a place to make lunch and then continuing our drive along the coast to White Point. We ventured up to Sugarloaf PP, the belief is John Cabot landed here in 1497.
Heading inland we had to climb the switch back road and at a look off saw the Aspy Fault which was in a huge valley. We crested the mountain and part way back down the brakes were getting warm (even with using engine braking) so we stopped at Lone Shieling and hiked amongst the 400-year-old maple trees, seeing the replica of a Scottish stone shepherd’s hut. A little further down the road was MacIntosh Brook so we decided to stop and do the short hike to the waterfall.
It was late in the day when we arrived at the Pleasant Bay Whale Interpretive centre. We were too tired to go in and view the museum displays, choosing to keep an eye out for whales as we drove 😀. We were meeting up with Philomena at the Cheticamp Campground so stopped at a few more look offs before arriving just after Philomena. It was fun having an overnight guest for a few days.
Our first day touring Cape Breton with Philomena was adventure packed. We left early in the morning to get to the Skyline Trail which is ranked as one of the top 3 trails in Nova Scotia. The full season hadn’t started yet so we didn’t need to book our parking place. We did a total of just over 9 kms on the loop in the counterclockwise direction. The stairs down the final ridge were daunting but so spectacular for the views. We could see lobster boats offshore pulling up and putting down their lobster pots. The park has done extensive work on a boardwalk system through the environmentally sensitive areas to protect them from all the hikers each year (estimated to be around 40,000). On the way back to parking lot we went through a moose exclusion zone. They were finding that the moose were eating too many of the young trees so they are experimenting with keeping the moose out of a certain area (about the size of a football field) and planting trees in that section.
As we drove back towards Cheticamp we stopped at one of the most photographed lookoffs called Cap Rouge showing the road ahead. Since we had heard the day before that the whale watching boat in Pleasant Bay had seen Minke whales we decided to watch out over the water. Luckily, we were able to see the fin of a minke whale breaking the surface several times. We also saw the white from the flippers on one occasion. They were quite aways out, so we didn’t get a photo but all three of us saw them so that was cool. Next, we stopped at Corney Brook campground (tents or vehicles under 21’) and had lunch and walked along the beach to look for sea glass.
We drove into the town of Cheticamp and saw the Saint Pierre Parrish church (built in 1893) and then drove out to Cheticamp Island to try to get to the lighthouse. It turned out the dirt road had way too many deep potholes so only made it halfway to the northern tip of the island. However, the views across the water of the town were still very nice. There was a beach on the causeway to the island, so we stopped for some more sea glass searching. We had reservations at the Harbour Restaurant for dinner which did have great views and service but only mediocre meals (we’ve had some pretty awesome meals so the bar is high). After dinner we walked along the Cheticamp boardwalk only to find out it was closed because it wasn’t safe! Not ready to call it a night we headed to the Doryman Pub to listen to some local music. The first set was very good but in the second set they swapped out singers and we didn’t like it as much so headed back to Cheticamp campground where we saw an American Woodcock, a nocturnal bird, cross the road in front of us.
The next day Joel worked on the blog while Sharon and Philomena went to Les Trois Pignons – Museum of the Hooked Rug and Home Life. We arrived just as a tour bus did, the staff told us we were lucky as they don’t normally do tours, but we could join the tour this group was getting.
Les Trois Pignons is a combined cultural centre, museum, and gallery. First, up was the history of the Acadians who had been displaced years ago and then returned to settle in Cheticamp. The isolation helped maintain the Acadian and French culture which is still strong today. There were several pieces on display came from the Marguerite Gallant collection that she started in 1938. The tour guide said she was an early day hoarder, she collected everything and then everyone in the area started to bring her stuff. It now has a home in the museum.
Cheticamp rug hooking is a distinct Acadian art form known for its fine detail, two‑ply wool. It’s one of the most recognizable cultural traditions on Cape Breton Island, and Cheticamp is considered the craft’s historic centre. The process involves using burlap cloth stretched tightly on a special frame, so it feels like a drum. You draw your design on the burlap. In the early days they died their wool for all the colours they needed. This wool was the pulled up through the holes in the burlap, one hole at a time, keeping the length on top even. No knots are used, when the piece is taken off the frame the burlap tightens on the wool. A final step is to steam it to tighten the wool even more.
People originally made the rugs to keep their feet warm. Then it became an artwork. The work of Elizabeth LeFort, one of the most celebrated rug‑hooking artists in the world was something to marvel at. Sharon liked some of the newer pieces including Cod Jigging.
Back at the camp Philomena packed up and headed out. Our paths will cross again in a few days.
That afternoon we hiked the Salmon Pool trail. We didn’t see any fish because it was the wrong time of year, but we did see a toad and several beaver dams. The pool views at the end of the trail were great and well worth the 12 km hike.
We checked out of Cheticamp the following morning and stop at the Gypsum Mine Trail. The Gypsum mine had operated from 1911 to 1939 and then in 2008 they established a project to make a trail to former mine so people could see the formations and swim in the lake inside the quarry. The hike was short and the lake was a beautiful emerald colour, likely even more vivid if the sky was blue. Then beside the lake was a rope pull climb you could do to get a high up view of the lake which was quite spectacular. You could also see all the flaky white rock sections from the Gypsum. A very worthwhile hike.
Our destination this day was Whycocomagh PP, but we had a few other stops along the way. The first was to Inverness Beach which was an absolutely gorgeous sandy beach, and we found some more sea glass.
Next was Glenora Distillery. I had purchased a bottle of their 10-year-old whiskey and liked it, plus they were in our Good Cheer book, so we had to make a stop. Since it was already 2 pm we first went and had lunch in the pub (the food was excellent) and listened to a local musician who was quite good. Then at 3 pm we took the short tour of the distillery. They only make product from October through April(when it’s cooler), so we didn’t see anything in operation. After the tour we went back to the pub so I could sample their 22-year-old peated whiskey and it was so good I decided to buy a bottle. However, the special thing you can do at the distillery is actually fill your own bottle directly from the cask which is at 59% alcohol! Then they place a special label on it, seal the top, and put it in a special case. What a unique experience and an excellent place to stop.
Philomena had told us about another beach named West Mabou that had been saved from developers by a petition process, so we decide to check it out. It was windy and cool but was a very nice sandy beach with some red cliffs beside. Lastly, we stopped at a cheese farm that was in our Cheese Trail booklet but unfortunately, they had product in a vending machine that took cash and we didn’t have proper cash to buy anything. We reached Whycocomagh PP and I’ll save that park for our next blog.
