We did part of the Acadian coastal drive in New Brunswick from Campbelton to Bathurst and again from Miramichi through the Kouchibouguac National Park to Boutouche. This is a province of many rivers so not just one coastal road but many twisting and turning roads as we navigated the inlets. The curved Confederation Bridge to Prince Edward Island is 8 miles (12.9 kms) long and they say it is the longest in the world crossing icy waters (although not in August) It was certainly a fun crossing, although I wouldn't want to do it in a howling gale!
The island is named for Prince Edward, Duke of Kent and Strathearn and the father of Queen Victoria. England and France had been fighting the Seven Year War and by 1758, the island (known as Ile Saint-Jean) surrendered to Great Britain. Within weeks, the English began rounding up all the French and Acadian people on the island and put more than 3,000 on ships, sending them back to France. This was known as the Great Expulsion. Around 1,600 escaped to other parts of the island, New Brunswick and Quebec. There are still a number of communities on the island. We toured around most of the island and found lots of small fishing villages and we've already blogged about all the tasty seafood.
From PEI, we went back across the bridge and down to Nova Scotia. We stayed at a small place called Linwood, not far from Port Hawkesbury with easy access to Cape Breton. Our first day trip was to Cape Breton Island and the world famous Cabot Trail around the National Park. The views and the highland scenery were quite dramatic and they are very proud of their Celtic heritage. We passed a souvenir shop in a little hamlet and their sign read "If its nae Scottish, its crrr......app" Says it all really. We've not driven the Scottish highlands but imagine it must be lot like this
From here we headed south to Sheet Harbour then along the coast to Halifax/Dartmouth. We had a lovely day following the coast road round to Peggy's Cove
The following day we went into Halifax and did the tourist thing including a visit to Alexander Keith's Brewery
followed by a walk along the waterfront
and the changing of the guard.
We said goodbye to Halifax and headed north to Truro. Here we saw the tidal bore, a natural phenomenon where the tide sweeps in from the Bay of Fundy and forces the Salmon River to flow in the opposite direction. It was quite cool.
We drove around the coast road along Cobequid Bay to Burntcoat Head, the site of the world's highest recorded tides. The tidal range reaches 16.3m (53.5 feet) at its greatest from low to high tide.
Further round the coast to the UNESCO world Heritage site of Grand Pre, a traditional farming settlement created in the 17th century by the Acadians in a coastal zone with tides that are among the highest in the world.
From Nova Scotia we crossed over into New Brunswick and headed to Saint John. Unfortunately, this city is known for its fog and the last few days have been no exception. We escaped the city and drove west along the coast and into the sunshine.
to Lepreau Falls. From here, the fresh water of the Lepreau River will travel and meet the saltwater of the Bay of Fundy.
The rain has just started pelting down and Mark is barbecuing under cover of the awning. The storm is really something. I think we'll be eating indoors tonight!
Tomorrow we head back across the border into the US and Maine, just in time for the bank holiday weekend.
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