Cape Breton - Cabot Trail

On Thursday morning, we were on the road by 7.07 a.m. The weather forecast was for sunshine. It took 3 hours to get from Truro to Baddeck on Cape Breton. Cape Breton is accessed by a causeway called the Canso Causeway. From Baddeck we were planning to go anti-clockwise around the Cabot Trail which is basically the coastal drive. We stopped in Baddeck in a ? where we were told the trip would take 5 hours without stopping. She suggested that we stay overnight in Baddeck before commencing our return trip to Charlottetown. She got us a special offer in a hotel/motel (The Telegraph) just across the road from the ?. We checked out our room which was in the motel section and then set off for the Cabot Trail.

An aside - we have found the ? Centres in Canada extremely helpful but they cater only for their own area and so are not geared up for people like me who like to have plans made. They are always delighted to hear that we are from Ireland but have a serious problem with the fact that we have no postal codes! (Both Bonnie and Dave and Lorna had serious problems with the fact that we have no house number - how would they find the house! Easy!!)

After the low-lying tameness of PEI (don‘t get me wrong, PEI is very pretty but there is a sameness about the coves and the little cliffs), we were thrilled to find a trail that winds its way around a rugged coastline and up over mountains. I have to admit that the early part of the trail was a bit frustrating. The density of trees along the coastline on the St. Ann’s Bay area offered teasing glimpses and we were beginning to despair as  in Vancouver Island, Grimsby and the Ottawa River area this was the case and we thought that the only way to see was to park and get out and walk. This would have been lovely but our time was much too limited. However, from about Wreck Cove on  we had longer stretches of a clear view. In many ways, the trip almost rivalled our trip to the Rockies - very different but often thrilling. The scenery was beautiful so much so that I had to take some photos while Jim was driving - I haven’t improved much! Paula, (Bonnie’s hairdresser and mine, once),said that the roads in Cape Breton were narrow and very winding with steep climbs and descents. She is right but it was no problem to Jim!

At Ingonish, we entered the Cape Breton Highlands National Park of Canada. This required the payment of almost $20 but it is the only way that roads and amenities can be maintained. Two-thirds of the Cabot Trail is in the National Park but it weaves in and out. So we had to display our receipt on the dashboard. It was in a precarious position as the weather was very windy and not as sunny as forecast. However, we survived the many ins and outs without it taking flight and incurring additional expense. This was also exciting because there was the possibility of seeing moose, black bears and coyotes. Later on in the day, while in the National Park, we were 5 minutes too late to see a moose which had disappeared into the trees by the time we came on the bikers returning to their bikes from the experience. Shortly after that, I thought I saw the back end of a moose but it was only an’orse!

Then we ascended ‘old’ Smokey, not the highest mountain, but the steepest. This mountain was given the name Cap Fumee by the French explorer Jacques Cartier in the 1500s because it is often capped in white mist.

The woman in the ? in Baddeck had recommended The Chowder House in Neil’s Harbour as a good lunch stop. It was a bit like the little place, Milligan’s Wharf, where we met the fishermen. I had a wonderful seafood chowder, for which they are famous. Jim had Digby  (a place in NS) clams, fresh and deep fried and delicious. I never knew clams could have such flavour! Digby clams are not the same as bar clams but both are equally delicious!

We had been advised in the ? that we should deviate from the Cabot Trail in order to do the Top of the Island. First of all we were to go north from Neil's Harbour to see Smelt Brook and White Point.

We were then to travel east and then north to see Cape North and Meat Cove. It's a peninsula a bit like Inishowen.  What she neglected to tell us was that for most of the way we would be on an unpaved road - basically a dirt track. Undaunted Jim motored on (secretly he considered turning back but only told me that later!). Both were beautiful but added more than an hour to our already long journey. It wasn’t possible to continue down the west coast of the top of the island as there aren’t even any dirt roads so we had to retrace our steps!

Back on the Cabot Trail we ascended MacKenzie Mountain which took us inland over a wilderness plateau, through canyons that we knew were there but were camouflaged by the dense trees. And then we climbed French Mountain. There were numerous walking/hiking trails that would have been fantastic - but no time!

Pillar Rock

We finaly reached the east coast and Cheticamp (the most accommodating place on the Cabot trail - that is the most touristy). From here we entered the Margarees, the area around one of eastern Canada’s best-known rivers. We took no time admiring but high-tailed it back to The Telegraph in Baddeck where we arrived in time for their special of lobster, a side of mussels, potatoes and veg, all for a very reasonable $20. And we ate while we were entertained by a young duo of talented musicians playing a mixture of traditional Irish/Acadian/Scottish music and some of their own compositions with a similar flavour. I think Kathleen would have liked it to compare with the music she plays.

Following dinner, we strolled through the village and down to the lake - part of the Bras D'or. We got some nice photos there.

Alexander Graham Bell and his wife Mabel. He resided in this area of the Bras D'or Lake for most of the last 35 years of his life. There is a museum about his inventions which, of course, we did not have time to visit. When we came on this monument, there was a little girl sitting between them, talking to them and tracing their faces, in turn, with her hands. It was a very cute scene.


It was bed time after another hectic day travelling and sightseeing.