• North Grand Pré Community Church

    by  • August 12, 2011 • 0 Comments

    This picture-perfect little church straddles the vast dykelands built by the Acadians nearly 400 years ago; its white clapboard walls are in stark contrast to the rolling greens and golds of the surrounding farmlands. The church was built in 1862 and the interior, save for the flooring, is perfectly preserved, rich with wood and very charming. There are just 14 pews that would seat a maximum of about six people each, so this is a tiny church indeed. Now serving as a non-denominational community facility, North Grand Pré Community Church offers services at 7:30 p.m. on Sundays, once a month. The church is open to visitors during the good weather seasons, and while admission is free, visitors are encouraged to drop a donation in the collection box. It’s a joy to discover, with its very old pulpit and collection of antique books. Six tall windows flank the sides, peaking in a classic Gothic arch and each containing a four-leaf clover shape at the top. The original floors have been replaced with vinyl sheet flooring, and the organ is a more modern, compact set-up, but these are the only indications that the church has been updated (other than the addition of [...]

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    Glenora Distillery

    by  • August 10, 2011 • 0 Comments

    There is an expression that only the Scottish say: If ye dinna see the bottom, dinna wade. Translated, this means, you should not go into a venture if you can’t see your way through with it. This must have been the anchor that kept Cape Breton Island’s Bruce Jardine from going mad as he waited ten years for his first batch of rare single-malt to be bottled. But that was more than eight years ago, and t’is the rest of us who must be patient now; some years, Glenora Distillery’s Glen Breton Rare sells out completely. The Distillery has evolved from Jardine’s early preparatory process to become a destination for visitors to Cape Breton, indeed, to Nova Scotia in general. The alchemy of the Scottish copper pot stills, mash tuns, Scottish barley malt and McLelland’s Brook spring water has been augmented by an inn and a pub that offers live music during the summer months. An employee for 14 years, Daniel MacLean is Glenora’s master distiller, having started there as a general labourer. He learned his skill from a master, Scotsman William Meike, who spent two lengthy periods at Glenora during its formative years (1995-97) and as its product began [...]

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    Cape Breton Island

    by  • August 10, 2011 • 0 Comments

    The mists and hills of Cape Breton Island feel like the highlands of Scotland, and many a Celt has felt like this is home. Like another world, Cape Breton differs from the mainland of Nova Scotia, which it joined politically in 1820, in culture, climate and topography, allowing a trip to this province to feel like you have visited two countries. Although the island (now linked to the mainland by a causeway) was originally inhabited by the ancestors of the native Mi’kmaq, whose culture lives on, Cape Breton is best known for its Celtic heritage and culture, especially its music. There is a Gaelic college on Cape Breton that teaches the old language in classrooms and on-line. “Capers” are a unique people, hard-working and fiercely proud, welcoming and knowledgeable of the unusual, beautiful place they call home. Sydney is the only major city on Cape Breton, although many towns and villages dot its landscape, mostly its coastlines. The commercial base for the steel industry in Nova Scotia, and with a ship-building component, Sydney is a vibrant smaller city with a diverse collection of shops, restaurants and hotels. At the northern end is Cape Breton National Park, through which the world-renowned [...]

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    Halifax

    by  • August 10, 2011 • 0 Comments

    History and modernity blend in this cultural, picturesque ocean port city, a highly livable smaller city with a temperate climate. With a population of around half a million, Halifax, situated on the south-east shore of Nova Scotia, would be considered a “small” city by comparison to other east coast locales such as Boston and New York, and yet it has what they can offer in a more condensed, very walkable, safe and well-laid-out format. The capital of Nova Scotia is a rich blend of what makes a city great: history, parks, culture, people and knowledge (it is home to seven universities, many of those considered among the country’s finest). From its “Historic Properties”, a series of reclaimed and restored dockside warehouses converted to retail space, to the crowning Citadel, and from its gleaming office towers to modern hotels, Halifax is an example of urban planning at its finest. Founded in 1749 by 2,500 English settlers, this is a city that takes pride in its British Commonwealth governmental past, its robust Scottish heritage (Robert Burns night in January is an annual celebration, graced by Nova Scotia’s own sea-colored tartan and a steaming haggis) and its long, illustrious seafaring life. After amalgamation, [...]

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    Grand Pre

    by  • August 10, 2011 • 0 Comments

    Grand Pré is the name of a village, a farming area, and a National Historic Site dedicated to the lives and memory of the Acadians who settled these lands and built the dykes that allowed them to farm the lush soils. Today, their ancestors still farm in the area. Visitors of all stripes, not just those of Acadian descent, will find a happy, full day spent exploring the visitor centre, the French Cross, and the village of Grand Pré with its historic Covenanter Church and North Grand Pré Community Church, as well as Evangeline Beach where thousands of migrating semi-palmated sandpipers stop to feed each August. Grand Pré (great meadow, in English) is situated at the eastern end of the world-famous (for its apples an other fresh produce, and lately, for its wines) Annapolis Valley, a wide trench that parallels the southern shore of the Bay of Fundy, with the highest and lowest tides in the world. The sad history of the Acadians, made famous in the Longfellow poem, ”Evangeline”, is paid heed at the visitor centre, and the outdoor area of the National Historic Site where a statue of the fictional heroine stands at Grand Pré. Even though Evangeline [...]

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    Hall’s Harbour

    by  • August 10, 2011 • 0 Comments

    Founded in 1779 and named for American, Samuel Hall, a United Empire Loyalist who fled the States during the American Revolution, Hall’s Harbour, for a small place, has enjoyed a lively maritime history. Hall based himself here to establish a team of privateers, but the deep natural harbour proved to be more useful and soon it became a prominent small fishing and ship-building port; to this day, Hall’s Harbour Lobster Pound, one of the world’s largest, is a busy industry and tourist draw. Being situated on the Bay of Fundy, Hall’s Harbour wharf is either in use or not. At high tide, the deeply indented harbour floats all manner of small fishing and recreational boats; by low tide, they are resting firmly in the mud more than 40 feet below, so the timing of going out and going in to Hall’s Harbour is pivotal. Storms are not uncommon here, as is the case elsewhere in Nova Scotia. Hurricane Noel sped right up the centre of the Bay of Fundy in early November 2007; by the time it got to the mouth of Fundy it had been downgraded to a tropical storm, but it stirred up the water and the vast [...]

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    Evangeline Trail

    by  • August 10, 2011 • 0 Comments

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    Part of the clever, practical “trails” system implemented by Nova Scotia’s tourism masterminds, the Evangeline Trail (also known as Highway 1) is one of the most historically significant of the ten scenic highways. Some of these two-lane routes parallel the province’s “100 series” highways that are driven at higher speeds and have four lanes or passing lanes. The Evangeline Trail parallels Highway 101 that runs across the north shore (Bay of Fundy side) of Nova Scotia. Starting in the east at the Bedford Basin, now part of the HRM (Halifax Regional Municipality), the Evangeline Trail follows the Fundy shoreline right to the town of Yarmouth, a distance of about 340 kilometers (211 miles). It winds through pastoral farmlands, the orchards of the Annapolis Valley, the rich history of the continent’s earliest settlements at places like Annapolis Royal, into Digby where the scallops are world-famous, and through Wolfville, home of Acadia University. The highway is dotted with the vineyards that produce L’Acadie Blanc and other fine Nova Scotia wines. The Evangeline Trail catches glimpses of the Bay of Fundy and its string of beaches, a smattering of lighthouses (the one at Gilbert’s Cove is about 50 yards off the Evangeline Trail [...]

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    Acadia University

    by  • August 10, 2011 • 0 Comments

    Acadia University was founded in 1838 by a group of Wolfville-area residents who strongly believed that everyone had a right to a higher education, even if they were unable to travel to Halifax, with more than half a dozen universities. Acadia University remains an institution of liberal learning that is respected around the world. With a student/professor ratio of 15:1, it has small class sizes and therefore a more personalized approached to higher learning. Acadia University is located in the heart of beautiful Wolfville, and is regarded as a safe environment for learning and enjoying life on and off campus. The town is full of great shops, excellent restaurants, bars and pubs, and is highly walkable, through the core of town and along the many walking trails that snake through all parts of Wolfville. Offering 200 degree programs in Arts, Pure and Applied Science, Professional Studies and Theology, Acadia was once widely known for its seminary; today, its picture-perfect chapel is often used for weddings. The stunningly gorgeous campus, with its exquisite period architecture and vast lawns with huge, old trees, has been the backdrop for a number of major motion pictures. There are about 3,000 students enrolled at Acadia, [...]

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    Wolfville

    by  • August 10, 2011 • 0 Comments

    This is a surprising town, considering that its base population is only about 3,500; given that one of Canada’s oldest and most respected educational institutions, Acadia University (founded in 1838), is located in Wolfville, there are amenities galore. Wolfville is filled with interesting and unique shops, art galleries, and top-notch restaurants such as Acton’s and Tempest, as well as great pubs and bars. It’s a town rich with history, too, boasting one of the oldest graveyards in Canada. And on Saturday mornings, year round, the Wolfville Farmers Market offers a wide range of local produce and meats, crafts, take-away prepared foods, and wines from the dozen or more local vineyards. Fast becoming the centre for wineries in Nova Scotia, Wolfville is part of the annual fall wine celebrations and hosts an icewine festival in February. Some of the province’s finest small inns are located in Wolfville, and it’s a draw for artists thanks to its wonderful architecture and the magnificent buildings of the university; this has been the location for many film shoots. With several theatres, two museums, a botanical centre and a chimney that is home to a sizeable population of chimney swifts, Wolfville is also a place where [...]

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    Baxter’s Harbour

    by  • August 10, 2011 • 0 Comments

    Situated on the Fundy shore near more famous Hall’s Harbour is the tiny collection of summer cottages and staggering scenery known as Baxter’s Harbour. Resplendent with a black sand beach, pebbly shoreline, dramatic cliffs, deep cave and a waterfall, this is a photographer’s paradise, nature lover’s wonder and sheltered cove for picnics, romantic moments and meditation. Locals use the beach, but it is very quiet and everyone respects the others’ privacy, important given that the beach itself is quite small. Here is the perfect spot to while away an afternoon watching the seabirds fly, the tides shift and the skies change dramatically in a matter of minutes. The water is cool here, but safe enough for children to paddle in, and because the cliffs to the west protect it, there is almost no wind, unlike many other places along the Bay of Fundy. This is an excellent spot to launch a rowboat or kayak; there is a launch area right at the beach, but watch for rocks in the water and find out about tide times before you go. There are no washroom or other facilities at Baxter’s Harbour, just the communion of nature and the individuals who stand in [...]

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    The French Cross

    by  • August 10, 2011 • 0 Comments

    Marking the location of the Acadian expulsions of 1755, the French Cross is a striking monument to the people who were driven from these very lands of Grand Pré, lands where the original Acadians built dykes that resulted in 3,000 acres of arable land. The French Cross, stark and solitary, is a beautiful and sad reminder, but many Acadians eventually returned to their ancestral lands and took up farming once again. Each year, on July 28th, local churches and the National Historic Site at Grand Pré honour the Acadians in a ceremony of respect, placing floral tributes at the foot of the French Cross. This spot is not easy to find, but the staff at the Grand Pré facility can direct those who care to sense the spirits of Acadie as intensely as they can be felt at the French Cross. Few who come venture past the cross and information panels, but a break between some low trees leads visitors down to a rocky shoreline, coated in grasses and ocean weeds, and at low tide the remnants of the old wharf can still be seen. The French Cross sits on Acadian dykelands, and the gravel road in is literally up [...]

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    Cape Blomidon

    by  • August 10, 2011 • 0 Comments

    One of the most recognizable vistas in the province, Cape Blomidon is a tree-encrusted peninsula that forms a long, tall cliff of the red earth common to this agriculturally rich area of Nova Scotia. It is a dramatic, frequently photographed image and part of a provincially run park and camping facility. This can be a dangerous area due to its location on the Bay of Fundy with the highest and lowest tides in the world, and tides can come in quickly. Still, it is a magnificent place to paddle in the water, beachcomb and dig for clams in the rich red muck at low tide. The colors present are striking at Cape Blomidon. The red sand and soil, the lush greenery of coniferous and deciduous trees, and the deep blue of the water, combined with whitecaps on the waves and the pale grey of copious amounts of driftwood. This is what makes it such a joy for photographers and artists. It’s not the easiest spot to access because there are two sets of stairs required to descend to beach level, but it’s worth every step! Those who can’t get right down on the beach will find a comfortable perch on [...]

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