Travel: Nova Scotia, Canada


Published on Monday 2 January 2012 00:00

The first question Cape Bretons ask when you arrive in this remote but rather gorgeous bit of Canada is: ?What?s your father?s name??

It?s the quickest way to suss out your roots, which side of the fence you sit and whether you might be descended from some long lost relative across the seas to the east, a five-hour or so flight away in Scotland. There?s been much water under the bridge since the 18th and 19th centuries when thousands of persecuted Scots abandoned their homes to seek their fortunes in the land called Nova Scotia but the phonebooks and businesses still carry dozens of names associated with Scotland ? Campbell and Macdonald, McCulloch and MacInnis...

Nowadays, questioning about one?s parentage ? for the record, Gomersall comes from Yorkshire, though we do have Scottish blood on my mother?s side of the family ? is more idle interest than suspicious inquisition. But when Scots ? and Irish, too ? first came here, it was all about sticking together, united in song, music, religion, and culture.

Now Canadians from all over the country celebrate their roots with the annual Celtic Colours International Festival in October celebrating all things, well, Celtic. But you can also visit any time and easily experience the ?Scottishness? of Nova Scotia, in particular Cape Breton.

Atlantic Canada comprises the four provinces of New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island. This vast region has spectacular coastal scenery and tree-packed national parks, fantastic whale watching, delicious food and drink, and a whole lot of history.

Covering 6,500 sq km, Cape Breton Island lies off the north eastern coast of Nova Scotia to which it is connected via a causeway at Port Hastings, a three-hour drive from Halifax. I started my tour in Iona, where the region?s Gaelic roots are celebrated at the Highland Village Museum (www.highlandvillage.ca).

It is one of those ?living history? recreations featuring costumed ?villagers? who sing and tell tales, and the homes and buildings they might have lived in from the 1770s to the 1920s ? including a blackhouse from the Highlands, church, schoolhouse, forge and general store. You can learn to speak Gaelic, how to rug hook and weave, and see some Soay sheep and Highland cattle. Roots Cape Breton is an on-site computerised genealogy and family history centre for those researching their background.

Driving clockwise around the coast, the next stop is Baddeck, a town beside the beautiful Bras d?Or lakes. A favourite destination for picnics, boat rides and boutiques, probably its most famous resident was Alexander Graham Bell, creator of the telephone, among other inventions. There?s a whole museum dedicated to the Edinburgh-born innovator.

Before moving on, I joined a Rug Hooking for Absolute Beginners class at the local Fire Department Community Centre, part of the Celtic Colours International Festival (www.celtic-colours.com). It?s a kind of weaving using fine strips of cloth. You have to be very patient and crafty; I am neither.

Braddock marks the start of the Cabot Trail, a route that has been called one of the most beautiful in the world as it rises up spectacular cliffs and dips in and out of the Cape Breton National Park at the northern end of the region.

On the way, you can stop off in St Ann?s at the Gaelic College of Celtic Arts & Crafts, to perhaps buy a bit of rug hooking you can pass off as your own later. Better still, go sea kayaking with the marvellous Angelo Spinazzola, owner of North River Kayaks (www.northriverkayak.com). You may guess, he?s not a full-blooded Scot but you can forgive him thanks to his hugely entertaining trips out in quiet St Ann?s Bay, past bald eagles and gorgeous scenery which owes nothing to mankind.

The further north you go, the more the landscapes remind you of the Highlands, with pine trees as far as the eye can see, wild shores whipped by angry waves, roads that climb up and up then seem to disappear on the horizon ? you need to be a confident driver to cope.

South is Cheticamp, a picturesque French Arcadian fishing village renowned for its arts and crafts ? stop off at Les Trois Pignons, the Museum of Hooked Rugs & Home Life, to see masterful examples of the art. And pop your head in the Doryman Beverage Room nearby ? if you?re lucky, there?ll be a gig to enjoy, perhaps from local fiddler Chrissy Crowley or another of the brilliant young musicians the region is producing.

Cape Breton?s Celtic Music Interpretive Centre in Judique also stages regular lunchtime ceilidhs, so stop for a bite to eat before sampling the wares of the Glenora Distillery in Glenville. Here, Canada?s only single malt whisky is produced and you can book a tour of the premises, and even stay in its boutique rooms. Enjoy fine seafood in the restaurant before snuggling up by the fire to listen to some more traditional music.

Before heading back to Halifax, there?s another site with strong Scottish connections you shouldn?t miss. The Hector was the ship that brought the first wave of emigrants from Scotland to Nova Scotia in 1773, and a full-sized replica of the vessel is on show at the Hector Heritage Quay in Pictou (www.shiphector.ca), along with a fascinating mini-museum on the subject.

In Halifax itself, there?s plenty more Scottish heritage to be found: two British Army units, the 78th Highlanders and the 3rd Brigade Royal Artillery, lived and worked at Halifax Citadel from 1896 to 1871, and volunteers now reenact their history, complete with kilts and bagpipes.

A visit to the Canadian Museum of Immigration on the waterfront provides an excellent explanation of what it must have been like to arrive here as one of the millions of immigrants who passed through Pier 21 from 1928 onwards (www.pier21.ca), including thousands of Scots.

End your visit to Nova Scotia with a tour of Alexander Keith?s Nova Scotia Brewery. Keith, born in Scotland in 1795, arrived here in 1817 after a five-year apprenticeship in the art of brewing. By 25 he was running his own brewery, his India Pale Ale the toast of not just the region, but the whole of Canada and beyond. No wonder he was mayor of Halifax three times. Cheers!

THE FACTS

Air Canada (0871 220 1111, www.aircanada.com) flies from Heathrow to Halifax from ?910. The Westin Nova Scotian Hotel Halifax (www.thewestinnovascotian.com) has rooms from $155/?98 a night; Pictou Lodge Resort (www.pictoulodge.com) has rooms from $139/?88; Inverary Resort (www.InveraryResort.com) has rooms from $119/?75; Chanterelle Country Inn, St Ann?s (www.chanterelleinn.com) has rooms from $145/?92; Keltic Lodge Resort, Ingonish Beach (www.kelticlodge.ca) has rooms from $133-$234/?84-?149pp, inc a round of golf; rooms at The Glenora Inn & Distillery Resort (www.glenoradistillery.com) are from $120/?76. For more, see www.AtlanticCanadaHoliday.co.uk


Source: http://www.scotsman.com/travel_nova_scotia_canada_1_2032859

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