Nova Scotia - Baddeck & The Cabot Trail

Yesterday we drove from Halifax to Baddeck.

Starting with a drive along the Halifax city harbour front, the GPS wanted us to go over Angus L Mcdonald Bridge however this was closed. Oh no, what do we do now? No problem because Halifax has another seemingly identical bridge, the A Murray Mackay Bridge, further up the harbour. Actually this worked out well because we passed the Naval Base and port, seeing more of the harbour, before crossing over. Once across, we followed freeways out of the city. Helen created a time lapse video:



So far, the roads have been taking us longer to travel than expected, so today we stuck to the main highway with an intent to make an easy drive to Baddeck. It sure was easy, much of the roads were divided highways with 110km/h speed limit, or very wide single lane with 110km/h speed limit. The traffic was light, so we made really good time.

Baddeck and the surrounding area is clearly a major holiday destination during summer, with large numbers of hotels, motels and inns and equal numbers of restaurants. However this time of year, many places are closing down, including where we're staying which closes down just after we leave here.

We arrived early afternoon and after a walk around the small town, we went back to our accommodation to relax. For only the second time this entire holiday, I turned on the TV and while channel flicking, saw the All Blacks doing the Haka. We happened upon the start of the New Zealand vs France game live, so sat and watched as New Zealand showed France how it's done.

For dinner, we ate at the restaurant attached to our accommodation, nice and easy. Here's the view from where we're staying.

Today, we planned to drive the Cabot Trail, a renowned drive that does a circuit around the top of Nova Scotia, starting and ending in Baddeck. This is around 4 hours of driving, with stops additional. We did not set alarm clocks, so woke naturally and left about 9am.

We took the anti-clockwise route, opting to catch the morning sun up the east side, and also the weather was coming from the north and set to deteriorate throughout the day. The drive is just so beautiful. The trees are now predominantly shades of red and amber, with splashes of green. There are water inlets and small lakes everywhere. The road climbs up some steep roads along the coastal route, eventually reaching the Cape Breton Highlands National Park. The route has a strong Scottish & Gaelic connection, based on the names of places, and shops selling tartans, pewter etc just like in Scotland.

Once we climb up into the Highlands, the altitude is quite high, it gets very cold, rainy and windy. Crossing to the other side, the mountains are covered in trees in the most beautiful autumn colours.

After that, the coastal road is like a roller coaster as we descend back to sea level.

From here on, the drive is less scenic, mostly dotted with houses, although on this side the names of places are French. We stop at a local store to buy drinks, the inside everything is speaking French also. An hour later of relatively straight driving, and we're back in Baddeck where we started.

The drive was worth doing although hampered by the poor weather conditions for the second half. This afternoon, we relaxed some more, finishing with a nice seafood dinner at a local restaurant.

The people here are so nice and friendly, the roads are not busy, and overall this continues to be a relaxing part of our journey.

Tomorrow we have a 5+ hour drive back down Nova Scotia, and then across to Prince Edward Island.