Taken 2005 August 8 from off Murphy Point
GPS 46°04.5??'N 61°24.9??'W
In this view, one is in the middle of the Mabou River looking upstream past Priest Point (on the left) to where the channel narrows as it reaches Mabou Village. The Cèilidh Trail (Highway 19) can be seen in the centre of the photo just above the water; the Mabou River Bridge on the Cèilidh Trail, under which the Mabou River flows, is partially visible to the right of the white boats at the water’s edge. Mabou Village is to the left of St Marys steeple along the Cèilidh Trail as it climbs up the side of Mabou Mountain (not visible here). The hills beyond Mabou rise all across this photo, with Southwest Ridge to the right outside this picture’s scope.
The wide fields of green on the hill in the centre bespeak the farming activity that once was far more prevalent than it is today, though working farms remain in these hills. If one turns off the Cèilidh Trail at the Mabou River Inn and takes the first left, one will be on the Rankinville Road, which leads along these hills towards Hillsborough on Highway 252. The Beaton Road is off the Rankinville Road and leads up to the summit of the hill at the left of this photo, from which there are marvellous views of the Mabou River in the distance—one can see all the way to the river’s mouth! If ever you are in the lobby of the Strathspey Place, make sure to look for the gorgeous panoramic fall photo montage taken by Suzanne MacDonald (whose works can be seen in the Mabou Village Gallery) from the Beaton Road.