Views from the Beinn Alasdair Bhain
(Fair Alistair’s Mountain) Look-Off

At the summit of Beinn Alasdair Bhain (Fair Alistair’s Mountain), a side trail leads to an open meadow at the edge of the mountain, with a nearly sheer drop below: this is the look-off, from which the views are fantastic. Photo #1 shows one of those views, looking to the south of southwest, probably the best known of the views from this look-off. The point in the foreground is, so far as I know, unnamed; that in the centre of the photo is Finlay Point; Coal Mine Point is further back, with just the tip of Beaton Point visible beyond it; Green Point, at the mouth of the Mabou River, is hidden entirely; across the mouth of the Mabou River, the Colindale shore extends to Black Point north of Port Hood, beyond which the northern tip of Port Hood Island protrudes just a bit. Far across St Georges Bay, Cape George sits about a third of the way in from the right side of the photo, very hard to distinguish from the water and the sky in this lighting, but darker blue than either. The overcast skies were continuing to open up, at least over the water, but very few rays of sun were making it down onto the land, though the few open blue sky spots gave hope, as did the wind, which was blowing strong off the water and would hopefully push the clouds further inland or break them up entirely. My friend and I spent a good half hour sitting here, watching the sun moving across one small piece of terrain or another, and marvelling at being able to see relatively clearly a thin band of land to the west—the eastern shores of Prince Edward Island with the ferry from the Îles-de-la-Madeleine (Magdalen Islands) making its way past East Point south to its port in Souris. We both took several photos here, of which those on this web page are the best I got this day.

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Photo #2 looks closer at hand than the wide-angled view of photo #1 at the green fields of MacDonalds Glen, here catching a blast of sun, and Mabou Mines beyond, with Finlay Point at the far right, Finlay Point Harbour right of centre, and Coal Mine Point in the centre of the photo. This view, somewhat further to the south of southwest than that in photo #1, makes the north end of Port Hood Island stand out better than in photo #1, but loses the end of Cape George, which is off the far right end of the photo and outside its scope. The gypsum cliff face to the left of Coal Mine Point is in the shade, but still can be readily identified in this photo. Gypsum rocks can be seen along the beach north of Finlay Point and on the cliffs back of Finlay Point, which, of course, also has a very prominent gypsum cliff on its south side, seen here. Wherever the sun reaches, the leaves clearly sport their fall colours, though they are rather more subdued in the shade.

Photo #3 is a telephoto view looking down from the look-off at Finlay Point at the upper centre right and Finlay Point Harbour at the upper left. The bridge under which Mill Brook flows into Finlay Point Harbour can be readily made out here at the end of its meanders east of Finlay Point. This view also better shows the gypsum rocks along the beach and in the east side of the point. The gravel beach, along which I had the pleasure of walking this summer, appears much foreshortened in this view from above; it continues nearly all the way out to the end of the unnamed point in the foreground, where the point descends directly into the water. This photo also shows the strength of the wind blowing in the size of the waves seen in the lower right crashing into the point.

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Photo #4 looks a bit east of south towards the Cape Mabou Highlands that rise above MacDonalds Glen Road; this view is very similar to the one on the previous page, with its double humps with a connecting col and its brightly coloured trees bearing fall hues, but it is from higher up and so looks further south than that one. It also shows much more of the pastures east of the meadows in MacDonalds Glen and is high enough to show the entire house along MacDonalds Glen Road in the foreground.

Photo #5 looks further east than photo #4, with which it overlaps considerably, and is a wider-angled view. The ridge running from left of centre to the far left creates two valleys: the one at the left of the ridge is the valley through which Mill Brook and the Cul Na Beinne (Beyond the Mountain) Trail run; the one at the right of the ridge is the valley through which MacDonalds Glen Brook and MacDonalds Glen Road run. These beautiful highlands, even if not seen here in the best of light, always delight my eyes as they roam over the contours and recall great memories of other days spent hiking through this gorgeous terrain.