It’s a glorious afternoon in mid-October, and my husband Tom and I are enjoying a surprisingly challenging hike on the Coxheath Hills Wilderness Trail.
We stop along the trail to admire the beautiful fall colours and the view, and to listen to musicians and naturalists situated along the trail.
Afterwards, we visit the local community center for a ceilidh (traditional Scottish party) where there is hot apple cider, oatcakes and more music. This is just one of the many memorable experiences that we had on a recent trip to Cape Breton.
Even though Cape Breton is part of Nova Scotia, in many ways, it is like a separate part of Canada with a unique history and interesting blend of cultural traditions.
We begin our trip by travelling across the short Canso Causeway that connects the Nova Scotia peninsula to Cape Breton Island.
We spend the first week exploring the south-west coast, from Port Hastings to Inverness. The first thing we notice is the numerous signs for the Celtic Shores Coastal Trail, a network of 92 km of multi-use trails that runs along the coastline. We hike on different sections of the trail at various points along the coast. Surprisingly, despite good weather and well-maintained trails, we only encounter a small number of walkers and a few cyclists.
The west side of Cape Breton has become a destination for golfers in recent years, especially with the opening of the Cabot Links and Cabot Cliffs golf courses in Inverness. These courses are very popular and appear consistently at or near the top in ratings of Canadian golf courses. Both of the main courses were booked while we were there; however, we were able to golf at the shorter, 10-hole Nest course. The Nest is situated on a hill above the other two courses, and we enjoyed the short but challenging course, as well as the wonderful views.
There are two other places of particular interest along the west coast. The first is the Celtic Music Interpretive Centre in Judique that has exhibits, a full-service restaurant with live music, and a well-stocked gift shop.
The second place that we enjoyed was The Glenora Inn & Distillery, North America’s first single malt whisky distillery. In addition to tours and tastings, they have an excellent restaurant with live entertainment and comfortable accommodation.
We unfortunately had a rainy day when we head north to explore The Cabot Trail, a scenic 298 km loop around the northern tip of the island. Much of the trail passes through Cape Breton Highlands National Park, and due to the heavy rain and fog, we only caught rare glimpses of the famous ocean and mountain views.
After our rainy drive, we were happy to arrive at the iconic Keltic Lodge in Ingonish on the north-east side of the island. Although some of the buildings are currently closed for repair, we enjoyed a comfortable room, the excellent Arduaine Restaurant, the Highlands Links Golf Course, the Spa, and a pleasant hike on “The Middlehead Trail”.
Our next stop was Port Hawkesbury in the south-east for the opening of the Celtic Colours International Festival.
This annual nine-day festival, which began in 1996, includes over 50 concerts and 200 community events throughout Cape Breton. With so many terrific options to choose from, it was difficult to decide which events to attend. We thankfully purchased most of our concert tickets in advance, as many of the events sold out quickly.
The heart of the Celtic Colours Festival is the music. Cape Breton has an interesting mix of Scottish, Irish and French people, and this cultural mix is reflected in the music. Although there were two large concerts at the beginning and end of the festival, most of the concerts were in smaller, intimate venues. In addition to some excellent local musicians, we heard accomplished musicians from other parts of Canada, the US, Scotland, Ireland and Spain.
We discovered that Celtic music has many variations. Some of the performers come from a classical background, and this was clearly evident in their music. We also heard music from the folk, bluegrass and country genres, as well as some traditional Gaelic tunes.
Many of the musicians embraced traditional Celtic music and, in some cases, were interested in reviving forgotten melodies. Other musicians were more forward-thinking, writing their own music and integrating traditional Celtic music with other, more modern, styles. We also enjoyed seeing traditional step-dancing in several of the concerts.
We made the Simon Hotel in Sydney our home base for most of the festival. Its central location gave us good access to a variety of events. We enjoyed being on the waterfront, and we were within walking distance of a couple of the evening concerts, including The Grand Finale.
Louisbourg is a short drive from Sydney. We went to two very special events. The first one was a delicious community roast beef dinner in a local church, followed by the “Louisbourg Crossroads” concert at the Louisbourg Playhouse featuring outstanding musicians from Scotland, Ireland and Cape Breton.
The second event, “Music of the Night”, was held at the Fortress of Louisbourg National Historic Site, where French colonial life in the mid-1700s is depicted. Our evening included a delicious three-course meal served in the traditional style of that era, followed by several candle-lit, intimate concerts in various buildings scattered throughout the fortress. It was magical to walk along the streets under the light of a glorious full moon and thousands of twinkling stars and hear snippets of music and laughter coming from various homes.
One of my favourite Community Events was “A Day in the Life of a Cape Breton Coal Miner” at the Cape Breton Miners’ Museum in Glace Bay.
We were fortunate to have an 81-year coal miner who had worked in the mines for over 30 years as our guide.
He showed us some interesting exhibits in the museum. After donning hard hats, we descended to the depths of the coal mine for a 30-minute tour. We carefully crept through the narrow tunnels while Sheldon told us fascinating stories about his family’s history with the coal mines, the industry and the culture.
While we have many special memories of the beautiful scenery, the scenic golf courses and hiking trails, the incredible music and the engaging community events, what perhaps was the most special part of this trip were the people that we met.
Maritime hospitality is well-known for a reason. It didn’t seem to matter whether we were talking to a chambermaid in the hotel or to the Lieutenant Governor of Nova Scotia (who we had the pleasure of speaking with a couple of times), everyone was friendly and helpful. This trip touched our hearts, and we look forward to returning to Cape Breton soon for more adventures.
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