Views from the Broad Cove Marsh Road

After securing my room for the night, I drove back to Mabou for a fine birthday dinner for a very special lady. Afterwards, I made my way back to Southwest Margaree for the dance, taking the Deepdale Road (with an excursion down the Loch Ban Road for my first time, where I found no views) and the Broad Cove Marsh Road, where there were the usual great views of the Inverness coast. Photo #1 shows the view from a parking spot at the side of the road I call the Broad Cove Look-Off. As in so many photos of this area, my eyes are drawn first to the Cape Mabou Highlands, which dominate the scene. Taken at 19h24 in the declining evening light, made darker by the white clouds which have largely taken over the sky, the gypsum rocks in the eroded cliffs left of centre nevertheless make themselves known. The three spires of Inverness’ two churches (St Matthews and Stella Maris) are visible in the distance below Cape Mabou on a line with the cliffs. Inverness’ white sand beach runs along the entire middle of the photo, ending at the long breakwater which is right of centre. Broad Cove Banks, on the Sight Point Road,¹ sits behind the beach above the harbour (invisible here).

Photo #2 is a telephoto view of the middle left of photo #1. Many buildings exist in the vicinity of the churches; this view makes one realize that the many trees in the village conceal so much of it when seen from a distance.

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¹ Officially, this is the Broad Cove Banks Road, but everyone I know calls it the Sight Point Road in casual conversation.↩

Further north along the Broad Cove Marsh, one arrives at Smiths Point, where there is a small turn-out off the road from which photo #3 was taken. Its lovely reds and greens shortly before twilight make it stand out from the other photos taken at the same place. Sight Point can be seen in the far distance beyond Smiths Point.

Photo #4, taken from the same place, shows Margaree Island in that same late evening light. The island is now officially the federally protected Sea Wolf Island National Wildlife Area, but it is still universally known locally by its old name. Some one of these years, I hope to be able to make a boat trip around this beautiful and fascinating island.

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Photo #5 looks towards the northeast along the Broad Cove Marsh Road. It’s a view as pretty as any in the area, yet it seems to not be very well known, although I encountered more traffic than usual along this road this evening (three trucks and two cars). It’s definitely a lovely place to watch the sun go down (see, e.g., this photo), though there was surprisingly little colour as the sun set this evening.

What a fine and lovely day this had been, with many and varied scenes from Craigmore to Port Hawkesbury to Kingsville to Lake Ainslie to Broad Cove! Cape Breton Island is truly a treasure trove of beautiful places!