Taken 2008 October 9 in Wolfes Landing from MacLeans Point
GPS 45°51.3??'N 60°03.9??'W
In June, I had spent an enjoyable time at Gabarus, taking in the beautiful scenery there and gazing across Gabarus Bay at its northern shores running along the coast all the way to Louisbourg, much of which belongs to the Fortress of Louisbourg National Historic Site. In particular, I was intrigued by historic Kennington Cove, which I attempted to explore the following day but, alas, I found the road there temporarily closed to the public. Thus, I failed once again to get there—I had tried once before a few years earlier, but didn’t locate the road there. The Kennington Cove Road is clearly marked now (and probably was then), but I made the mistake of trying to locate it once I had gotten to the Visitors’ Centre and so missed it completely. The answer is that, instead of turning right where directed towards the Fortress of Louisbourg parking lots and Visitors’ Centre, one just goes straight and continues on past the Fortress.
This fall, I was luckier. After a picture-perfect morning at Lighthouse Point, a few photos from which appear later in this essay, and a tardy breakfast, I drove for the first time to the end of the road at Kennington Cove, a distance of 9.3 km (5.8 mi), arriving at Beach Number Two, the westernmost beach at Kennington Cove. From the parking area on the cliffs above, a quick descent leads to a picnic area carpeted in lovely mown green lawn adjacent to, but still above, the beach. Beyond this area, I descended to the rocky coast below and followed it to the west arriving eventually at the end of MacLeans Point, from which this photo looking to the west across Gabarus Bay was taken. This coastal walk is no easy one; the rocks are very irregular and piled pell-mell, making it very difficult to advance; a younger, more agile person with less fear of falling would have, perhaps, an easier time of it, but I was quite tired when I reached this area and glad to enjoy my first view of the southern coast of Gabarus Bay from its northern coast.
The topographic map identifies the rocks one sees out in the water at the left of the photo as the Kennington Rocks. Cape Gabarus is in the centre of the photo and the shore which runs back to the village of Gabarus and Rouses Point, both of which are outside the scope of this photo, can be seen at the right.
As can be seen from this photo, the weather was in the process of changing; layers of white clouds have taken over the blue skies that brightened the morning, though the sun was still out and it was quite pleasant here along the shore. The water was splashy, but the wind, though breezy, had not yet freshened enough to produce white caps.