I arose a bit after 9h30 to a blue sky over a low fog bank just above the water and to overcast inland; it later turned into a lovely blue sky day everywhere. After talking with my host at the motel, I had a late breakfast at Sandeannies and then drove to the Celtic Music Interpretive Centre, where I took care of a couple of errands and then listened a while to Rachel Davis and Kevin Levesconte at the lunchtime cèilidh. I continued on to Port Hawkesbury, where I took care of another errand and stopped off at the look-off on Granville Street for some photos. I then drove north to the Troy Station kiosk on the Celtic Shores Coastal Trail.
Correctly answered by Blaise MacEachern: Granville Street in Port Hawkesbury,
just south of the railway trestle and below the park area that used to be the waste station,
looking across the Strait of Canso to Cape Porcupine; the Canso Causeway is at the far right.
This one’s a bit too hard for a mystery photo, but the birches are gorgeous in the sun and I just had to share.
Sorry for the fat finger blocking out part of the sky, which I didn’t notice until after the photo was posted.
From the Troy Station kiosk, I hiked north on the Celtic Shores Coastal Trail. It was a lovely afternoon with blue sky and bright sun and there were signs, not as visible from Highway 19, of changed colours along the trail. This is a glorious section of the Cèilidh Coastal Trail, closely following the coast most of the way until it turns inland a bit as it nears Low Point. Just beyond the barricade north of kilometre marker 6, the packed sand surface changes to a paved rough asphalt surface that has seen better days, but is still very serviceable; I suspect this 2.8 km (1¾ mi) paved section long predates the current trail, as none of the rest of the trail is paved. 200 m (⅛ mi) north of kilometre marker 6, one arrives at Heffernan¹ Pond, an estuary formed by the outflow of a brook rising on the Big Ridge east of Troy that the topographical map leaves unnamed. The trail crosses the brook on a wooden bridge and this area offers fine views of the estuary, of the mainland north and west of East Havre Boucher, of St Georges Bay to the northwest, and of Heffernan Point at the north end of the estuary. Over the next 3.5 km (2⅙ mi), the trail gains 19 m (62 ft) in elevation, a gentle climb over that distance, to be sure, but one I noticed very readily, pausing frequently to catch my breath. 3.1 km (1.9 mi) from the kiosk, one arrives at an embankment with a fine view of Cape Jack on the mainland; here, one is well north of the end of the mainland on the far side of the Strait of Canso. Another 215 m (⅛ mi) brings one to the end of the paved section and in another 210 m (⅛ mi), one is on a long straightaway between two ponds in a marshy area with fine views of the adjacent highlands. In another 330 m (⅕ mi), one reaches kilometre marker 9, where I turned around and then returned as I came, a total distance of 8.3 km (5⅙ mi) according to my iPhone’s Trails app. While I was on the trail this afternoon, I met two ATV’s, a lady with a dog pushing a baby carriage, a jogger from Howell (New Jersey) who passed me in both directions, two ladies who passed me in both directions, two men walking north, another man walking north dictating notes into his phone, and a guy with a dog walking south; I was delighted to see this trail getting some well deserved use. If you’ve not done this hike and you’re able to, you should do it!
¹ In the original post, I misspelled this as “Hefferman”; poor memory and poor eyes are signs of old age setting in! In any case, the topographical map says this name has two n’s, not an m and an n. The error has been corrected throughout the post.↩
Correctly answered by Douglas Cameron on the second try: the estuary at Heffernan Pond.
The cabins at the far right are the Chisholms of Troy Coastal Cottages.
The headland over across on the mainland is unnamed. Cape Jack is in the far distance.
Georges Bay and the Strait of Canso
I didn’t get back to the car until 17h30, later than I had intended. I drove back to Port Hood and got cleaned up from the hike. I grabbed a quick bite to eat at the Admiral Inn and then headed back to Judique for tonight’s Buddy MacMaster School of Fiddling Masters’ Concert at the Celtic Music Interpretive Centre. This annual concert features the instructors who will be leading classes at the Buddy MacMaster School of Fiddling next week; missing were Kendra MacGillivray (PEI) and Liz Doherty (Ireland), who had not yet arrived on the Island.
The first half started with a great set of jigs by Kenneth MacKenzie, Kinnon Beaton, Wendy MacIsaac, Andrea Beaton on fiddles and Troy MacGillivray on keyboard. The remainder of the first half was a set of tunes from each of the instructors. With Troy remaining on keyboard, Kenneth started off with a tune for his wife, Jenny, composed by Wilfred Gillis, some strathspeys by Duncan Currie and another he wrote, and “then we’ll see where the reels go”. With Allan Dewar on keyboard, Kinnon played the Ashokan Farewell and followed it with strathspeys and reels; he was nervous enough he couldn’t think of the tune names, but his playing was fine. With Troy back on keyboard, Wendy played a tune the Rankins recorded and followed it with other tunes I didn’t get the names of into my notes. With Troy remaining on keyboard, Andrea then gave us some jigs followed by strathspeys and reels, including the Kinnon tune The Judique Consolidated High School 1991 Grads.
After the break, the second half began with a grand rousing set of strathspeys and reels for step dance, with Dara Smith-MacDonald, Shelly Campbell, Kimberley Fraser, and Troy on fiddles and Allan on keyboard. With Allan continuing on keyboard (I think—my notes are silent), Dara then gave us a wonderful set beginning with Mrs Crawford and continuing with strathspeys and reels, including one she learned from Ian MacDougall’s playing. With Allan on keyboard, Shelly gave us a super-understated set beginning with The Rendez-Vous March, a strathspey she learned from a tape, and Betty’s Birthday Boy, among other tunes. With Troy on keyboard, Kimberley gave us a set beginning with Joan MacDonald Boes’ The Sweetness of Mary and followed it with Dan R MacDonald tunes, including Lime Hill. With Allan on keyboard, Troy played a long fantastic set (my notes are silent on any tune names). The concert ended with a grand finale with all eight instructors on fiddles and Allan on the keyboard, giving us a great blast o’ tunes during which Kimberley, Andrea, and Shelly each step danced. As I posted later that night, “if you missed the Buddy MacMaster School of Fiddling Masters’ Concert tonight, you missed one of the best you’re likely to see this October.” A fantastic job by all, featuring pure Cape Breton music in a wonderfully intimate setting!
After chatting with many friends in the audience, I drove back to Port Hood and relaxed in my room, unwinding from the wonderful evening. I made it to bed about 0h20.