Eastern Canada, Here we Come – North Sydney, Nova Scotia-2025-

We drove off the ferry (from Newfoundland) at 720 in the morning and drove to our campground, located in Nova Scotia. The Arms of Gold campground is basically two big fields, we have stayed here before and it suits our needs.

For those that may not know this, Cape Breton Island is part of the province of Nova Scotia. It was formally merged with the mainland in 1820 and is connected by a Causeway.  

While here for a couple of nights, we went to Breton Brewery, Big Spruce brewery, Glenora Distillery, drove the Cabot Trail, visited the Miner’s Museum, the Marconi site, watched a kitchen party going on and had great visits with some of Clint’s relatives who live in and around this area.

The Cabot Trail is a 298 km looping around the northern tip of Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia, running alongside the Atlantic Ocean and the St Lawrence River. It goes through Cape Breton Highlands National Park, fishing villages, hiking trails, opportunities for whale watching, and a rich blend of Acadian, Mi’kmaw, and Gaelic culture. There are so many stores to stop at like the Groovy Goat. When we stopped there, we went back to the barn to see the goats and buy some soap. We stopped at some beautiful vistas and it was finally a nice sunny day to do the drive. There is also the Gaelic College of Cape Breton which is interesting as in this area, all signage was English and Gaelic.

The Marconi site was pretty interesting and Marconi site refers to historic locations where Guglielmo Marconi established wireless telegraphy stations, most notably this one in Cape Breton. The first transatlantic message was received here in 1902-1904 which began global wireless communication. There is a museum here and still remnants of towers and foundations.

Cape Breton is known for coal mining and the Miner’s museum showed us the history of mining and the impact on the land and people. Starting in the 1720’s, coal mining became over the next two hundred years a massive industry. The Sydney Coal Field is mostly underwater and was the most productive in Eastern Canada. The mines extending significantly offshore under the Atlantic Ocean.

We stopped at a restaurant and I can’t remember the name of it but we went in for lunch and while eating, different people wandered in and set up at one of the tables and just started playing all different instruments, usually fiddles and guitars. There can be step dancing, story telling and singing. Down East they call these Kitchen Parties.

Next stop, Five Islands Provincial Park near Truro, Nova Scotia.

See you soon !