The Highland Village Museum

The Highland Village Museum at Iona, Cape Breton Island (Click on link for their website)
This is a far more extensive place than you first appreciate, the entrance is at a gift shop, and the actual tour begins with a short film.

From there on you make your way around a village on a hillside, the properties are quite scattered, it's a great location looking down and across the lake.  It's an interesting concept because it basically follows the settlers as they arrived from Scotland, the type of houses changing over time.

First stop is at a black house, the type they may have left in Scotland, the costumed folks at each location play out their role.  However, I tended to time it so I was the only one there at each place, following a couple at a discreet distance, that meant I could speak to the people 'out of character'.

Chances are that settlers may have initially used the boat they came in for shelter, whilst clearing the forest that was down to the shore.  Consequently the first type of house they built were log cabins.

Of course they not only lived in log cabins but had to make there own clothes and other materials as little was taken with them.

As time went on and they built sawmills the houses changed from log cabins to sawn timber

Then they because more sophisticated with timber framed buildings

The church was on integral part of the community, this particular one had a dwindling congregation and was eventually donated to the Highland Village. It was actually floated down the lake and carried up the hill !

By now manufacturing of things like stoves was taking place in Nova Scotia, this stove was made at Lunenburg.

The Blacksmith was one of the best paid jobs in the village, so many relied upon him to make everything from tools to spoons, as well as shoeing horses

The telephone switchboard was in use until the 1970's although I worked on something similar in the police in the 1960's 

Another room in the same house

The shop not only displays some old stock, but also sells sweets etc.

That's just a few of the buildings in the Highland Village Museum, there's also farm animals and other displays too, so you need a day not just a few hours !

I did an interview with one of the staff and the CEO which I will add later.

St. Peters Canal

After visiting the Lighthouse Museum I drove on to the Canso Causeway to Cape Breton Island.  Just on the island is a Tourist Information Centre, the first large one I had been into. It brought home to me how much material is produced in Nova Scotia, how well staffed the centres are, and the absolute wealth of knowledge of those working there.

My B&B for the night Sunday night 23rd June was Grandma's House at River Bourgeois   A splendid property standing in extensive grounds.  After strawberries & ice cream in a corn bowl to great me, breakfast next morning was a chanterelle mushroom omelette with local eggs and mushrooms from the grounds.

I headed around to the other side of the lake where I saw my first sight of wild lupins, which appear a lot within Cape Breton Island. 

This is looking back across to the B&B ...

and this the nearby pull in off the road

First place to visit was St. Peter's village only a few miles drive away. 

The St. Peters Canal is a small shipping canal crosses an isthmus in the village which connects St. Peters Inlet of Bras d'Or Lake to the north with St. Peters Bay of the Atlantic Ocean to the south. The area had long been travelled by the Mi'kmaq people who portaged their canoes across the isthmus on a "haulover road".  In effect it connects the Atlantic Ocean to the Atlantic Ocean, as the lake is open to the ocean at the north end, so it creates a short cut as well as calmer weather.

For that reason there is only one loch, that's because the tides are different on either side of the gates, which also means it has unusual gates, they face both ways.  That's because the tide can be higher on one side or the other, unlike a normal canal where there a static levels on either side.

I parked up some distance from the lock keepers office, then I had been reading the information panels at the lock gate side for a few minutes.  Then the lock gate keeper drove up to his office, minutes later he walked down to me, introduced himself, gave me an information booklet, and offered to explain the operations there.   It's operated free of charge by Perks Canada as a National Historic Site and used mainly by leisure craft but also some commercial shipping.  This was something I found throughout the trip that local people went out of their way to speak to you, and had great enthusiasm for the area.

After an interesting hour it was now a couple of hours drive on remote twisting roads by the lakeside to my next location.

Closest point to Scotland

Next morning my intention had been to visit Canso island, a National Historic site of Canada, but this year due to cutbacks it's only open July & August, at least you can follow the link and check it out. 

This view on the way near remote Port Felix, the road frequently crosses the head of the bays, so this is the inland side.

Canso is closest point to Scotland on mainland Canada, these pictures are taken at the harbour...

Just outside the small town is the Fishermans Memorial

Heading away from Canso on this remote undulating road 

is this road sign which I have never seen before

As I hadn't been able to go to Canso island, my last B&B suggested that I might like to visit the Out of the Fog Lighthouse Museum at Half Island Cove, Guysborough County.  What a spendid collection of items they have on display, with an excellent guide Paul to explain everything.  I actually did s short video with him which will be edited on my return home, posted on here and also made available for the museum too.  With his mother and grandmother both lighthouse keepers at the nearby Queensport Lighthouse he has many tales to tell !

 ... and finally Queensport Lighthouse on a small island offshore