thanksgiving week in the highlands - a trip around the cabot trail

We are often asked, as fairly green Nova Scotians still, what we love about this place we call home. There are many answers that come to mind, but one that I feel many people aren't aware of, is how beautifully diverse the landscape of this province is. There are parts that feel so classically New England-like, where the coastline here seems to blend seemlessly with those across the waters belonging to Maine. There's the fertile Valley that runs between the mountains, parallel to the Bay, a patchwork of farmland, fruit trees and vines.

And then there are the Highlands.

It's as though the last of Scottish blood flowing through me is drawn to this place. As though part of me knows the hills of a home from generations past lie just beyond the horizon. The fog that rises from the lochs there, rolls across waves and settles on the hills here. The same salty waters come swirling in with the tides at the base of each cliff along coastline. The highlands leave me feeling like I've returned home.

When Ryan's family decided to come and spend Thanksgiving here, we wanted to make it extra special, so we decided to head up to Cape Breton for a few days away together. We booked a cottage right on the water in Chéticamp, with the ocean to the front and the mountains behind. We took our time heading up, stopping to stretch our legs in Margaree Harbour. We follow the sign for Sandy Bathing Beach, and parked at the bottom of the dunes. We wound our way up through the roses well past their bloom, and stood at the lighthouse steps overlooking the harbour below. An old, white farmhouse sits at the top of the hill, flanked by two lighthouses. Just beyond the tall dune lies Margaree Harbour Beach.

When you climb up the dune, you smell the water and hear the waves before you can even see the beach. 

This is the view from our cottage. We could watch the sun rise behind the mountains from the back and see the sun sink below the horizon in the front.

If you've never heard of the Cabot Trail before, it's Canada's version of California's Highway 1. Honestly, before driving it, I didn't realize our East Coast had mountains like this. You wind along the coast, hugging the edge, climbing the mountains and descending down into the valleys. Lookoffs line the road at every beautiful vista so you can get out and take in the views.

 

Add the beauty of the changing leaves and it's a grand tour.

 

Not to mention those gorgeous October skies.

We kept things easy and usually ate out, or we picked a charcuterie and sipped wine at dusk.

On our way home we showed them Inverness Beach - one of our favourite beaches in Nova Scotia. It was grey and moody, but it didn't stop us from enjoying a stroll on the beach in the drizzling rain.

There are so many other places we stopped - Ingonish Beach and Neil's Harbour are other favourites. And if you're really adventurous, go all the way out to Meat Cove.

Whatever you do, just give yourself plenty of time to stop. It's the kind of drive that on paper is three or four hours, but will end up taking you the entire day. But trust me, you won't mind one bit.

a dream house in margaree harbour

This is Margaree Harbour. As you round the top of Cabot Trail, halfway back down western side of Cape Breton, you cross the Margaree River and find yourself in this beautiful little coastal town. It had been recommended as a place to stop on many lists I had read, so we pulled into the harbour and parked the car. We wandered the little cove, Ryan wading out knee deep, Jude and George playing in the sand at the water's edge, the older boys climbing the rocks and dunes. It was pretty, maybe not as much as I had expected, but from the way the town was scattered around the harbour, with sheep dotting fields and the surrounding lakes and hills, it made for a beautiful setting

There was a lighthouse up on the hill, overlooking the harbour, so we decided to climb the winding path to see it up close, and to have a better view of the harbour from up above.

The lighthouse was quite plain, and more modern, but still, the boys were excited.

However, as we started to reach the top of the path, we noticed that there was a farmhouse set further back, and not just that, but an older lighthouse beside it!

The house wasn't in terrible condition, but it looked well worn and in need of some love. To be honest, I couldn't decide whether or not someone was actually living in it. Someone was clearly doing work on the older lighthouse beside it. Could it possibly be a summer home? I wasn't sure, and because of that, I didn't have the nerve to walk up any closer than this. I did however admire it from a distance, with it's blue steps and pale blue door.

Set up on the hill, it had a sweeping view of the harbour below, the ocean, and the highland mountains in the distance. It was the perfect spot.

On the other side, there was an old school or meeting house that looked to be abandoned, and beyond that, a simple church.

We decided to make our way back down to the car and carry on our journey. As Ryan was getting the boys settled in, I told him I was just going to climb up the sand dune beside us, opposite the lighthouse, to try to get a better photo of the house.

When I reached the top however, I couldn't believe what was on the other side of the dune.

Margaree Beach.

We had absolutely no idea this was on the other side! We nearly drove away, believing we had seen all the area had to offer. And yet this stunning beach lay just beyond the dunes. I called for Ryan to bring the boys and come see what I had discovered.

We lingered on the beach for a while, spending time making sand castles, trying to scale the steep sand walls, gulls flying over head. As we drove out of the harbour, we could see from the other side that there was in fact a beach. But coming in, it just hadn't been visible to us.

There are quite a few lovely old homes along the trail that have been left to the elements, slowly aging and degrading as the years pass. Eventually, like so many little fishing huts and old barns, they crumble under the weight of years of neglect. The idea of purchasing one of these beautiful old homes and bringing it back to life as a summer cottage is tempting. And of all of the ones we passed, this particular one was my favourite. In my dreams, as we restored it, the boys would pass the days on the beach and exploring the dunes. We'd sip coffee on the porch and watch the fishing boats leave in the morning. In the evening, as the fog rolled in and blanketed the mountains, I'd climb to the third floor attic. There would be a desk sitting under that small window that looks out to the ocean, and there, as the waves rolled in, I'd write a book. It's the kind of place where stories are written. Actually, it feels like the kind of place that has a story to tell.

a weekend along the cabot trail

We decided with the arrival of August, and travel restrictions still in effect for us on the East Coast, that we would try to make the most of our time and do a few long weekends within our "Atlantic Bubble". Currently we are free to travel around all four Maritime provinces freely, and really, can we even complain? So we packed our bags, booked a couple last minute rooms, and made our way up to the Highlands. I had thrown in something light to read, but at the last minute, I decided to check the library for something a little more appropriate for the trip. I looked up lists of romantic, historical fiction that took place in Scotland, and settled on The Winter Sea by Susanna Kearsley. It was perfect! Having just devoured all of Kate Morton's books, this was just what I was looking for. Not too romantic but still a good love story, a little poetic, gorgeous setting... There's something so lovely about reading a story that's set in a place similar to the book you're loosing yourself in. In this case, the foggy days, the coastlines, the salty air, they just made a good book all the more wonderful.

As for packing, I couldn't believe how many messages I got about packing. Apparently, many of you are very heavy packers! I won't go into much detail, but I really do try hard to pack lightly when we're away. Mainly, because it's hard enough to keep track of even minimal things for six of us.

Essentially, I pack a few outfits according to how we'll be spending our time.

At the Beach - my bathing suit, my cover up, a sweater, a magazine and my favourite Beauty Counter scrub for after. I also pack my beach bag, which is what I use to hold my camera bag, my purse, snacks, book etc...while we're driving.

Out and About - a couple casual dresses, my white sneakers, my backpack which doubles as a camera/diaper bag/purse when we're out sightseeing and maybe a cardigan if it's cooler.

Something a Little More - If I need something a little nicer, say for a dinner out or something, then I just pack a couple accessories to make one of the dresses more special - a pair of sandals, a clutch and some statement piece of jewelry goes a long way.

I also keep my toiletries to a bare minimum. This is probably easier for someone who typically doesn't wear makeup, or spend much time on their hair, but honestly, just the basics.

So our trip! The Cabot Trail is a coastal route that runs along the ocean's edge, winding through the Cape Breton Highlands. I never knew we had mountains and a coastline this stunning until we did the trail a few years ago. There are so many viewpoints along the drive where you can get out and take in the views. At times you're climbing steep mountain edges, the oceans swirling below. Later you're making your way through the valleys, hikers dotting the ridges above on the Skyline Trail. There are fishing villages along the way, beaches to get out and explore, and quaint little fishing harbours to stop and grab a bite to eat. The entire trail can be done in a day, but we broke it up into two. That way we could take our time exploring the first day, and the second, we could spend the whole morning at the beach, leaving us a shorter drive home. We left in the early evening and arrived at our motel in Baddeck at bedtime. It's a good starting point for the trail, so it meant we could get up in the morning, and begin our drive.

It's funny because as you begin the first bit, the drive seems so beautiful, and it is, but once you're halfway around, the beginning seems like nothing.

Much of the drive is actually part of the Cape Breton Highlands National Park. There's a great variety of places to stay if you wanted to spend the night. The first time we did it, we stayed in a glorified shelter at the edge of a cliff. The shower was as cold as the ocean and the only place around for a bite to eat was the small chowder hut on the property. This time around, we booked a room in the lodge at the Glenora Distillery in the mountains. To keep things enjoyable for the kids, we made a few stops along the way where we could get out and explore.

Our first stop was at Ingonish Beach. We got out, stretched out legs, and walked the beach for a bit, the boys running up and down, darting the waves, and inevitably, left a bit salty and covered in sand.

After tiring ourselves out at the beach, we stopped at Salty Roses and the Periwinkle Cafe. I would have loved to sit and read with my coffee, watching the fog roll into the bay below. It was so quintessentially East Coast - a little weathered, cheerful and a little eclectic.

I enjoyed driving into the harbours, seeing the boats docked and the lobster traps scattered about. The houses are scattered around the hillsides of the bay, many colourful, with a few church steeples standing out prominently.

For lunch, we stopped at the famous Chowder House in Neil's Harbour.

This really was the best bowl of seafood chowder I've had since arriving. It wasn't thick, but rather smooth, with butter that pooled at the surface and a generous amount of fresh seafood. And the biscuit they serve with it was warm and slightly sweet. Just stop.

This is probably the most popular view point - the poster really for the Cabot Trail.

We also stopped in Margaree Harbour on the way, but I've saved that for another post. We discovered, I think, my favourite house from the trip.

This was our view from our porch at the lodge in the Highlands. It was just beautiful. We can't wait to comeback in the fall, when the leaves change.

The next morning was spent at Inverness Beach. It was windy and the waves were perfect.

From there we made our way home. We picked up lunch and brought it to a little picnic area overlooking the water.

And then, just because we could, we stopped at Caribou Provincial Park for one last dip in ocean. I walked the beach while the littler ones played in the tide pools. We discovered that this particular beach had the best beach combing, particularly, the largest clam shells we've found yet.

We packed up one last time, cleaned as much sand off of us as we could, and headed home as the sun set.

We're so thankful to have such a beautiful place to explore that's so relatively close. It's the perfect distance for a long weekend away. Next time, when the weather is cooler and the leaves have turned, we're going to book a cabin in the highlands to enjoy for a few days. Not to drive, but just to stay, and enjoy the highlands.

It's no wonder the Cabot Trail is shortlisted for one of the most beautiful coastal drives in the world. If you ever make your way to Nova Scotia, I highly recommend taking a couple days to experience it.