A hike along an old pathway on the Middlehead Peninsula - Cape Breton Island

Looking back to the start

This will be a picture story today...from the beginning of the pathway, that stretches about 2 kilometres - nearly a mile along the Middlehead Peninsula - an historic and picturesque part of Cape Breton Island .

The peninisula became private land when it was bought back around 1900 by the owner of the home which eventually became the Keltic Lodge. The owner pastured his cattle out along the penninsula, and put a gate across it to keep the cattle from wandering down to the house in the summer. However he also opened the gate the rest of the time so the people of Ingonish, the nearby village, could go out to the end of the promontory to picnic, to fish, to enjoy what had been theirs since their immigration here.

Where Keltic Lodge is located, about midway along the two mile extension into the ocean, is like a waist - pinching the centre, then it broadens a bit, narrows here and there, and is an amazing bit of granite topped with vegetation, left over from when the ice age scoured the landscape down to bare rock.

Looking ahead - you can see the roots of the trees and tumbled boulders along the pathway, not easy walking.

The park ranger who is leading this hike, explains some of the features we will see and the history. She leans on the pillars that held the gate and points to stones stacked around a spring that used to fill regularly and formed a well to water the owner's cattle.

Looking back at the pillars for the gates, the way we came

The water trough or well

A glimpse through the trees shows Ingonish beach in the distance on the right and perilous cliffs sheering into the ocean inlet.

We reach the "waist" - the narrowest spot on the peninsula and see the north side. Obviously this was a pasture littered with boulders, but grassy with beautiful wild flowers.

And the south side of the meadow/waist - looking towards Cape Smokey across the Ingonish inlet.

We reach the tip to see a fishing boat heading for the small red dots in the water - the lobster pots or traps.

Heading back around the point, the island in the middle of the channel sitting clearly in the distance, with boats? (the white spots) off the island's tip.

And after a delightful and fascinating two and a half or three hours, we head back. It was a great morning. If anyone wants to see this first hand, I recommended it thoroughly. Cape Breton Island, any part of it, is a great place to visit and for those who live there, to make your home. In some ways I'm envious of that.

For tourists and visitors like myself, there are guided tours, and self guided tours, but everywhere the people are marvelous, willing to share their island. What an experience this has been.

About a Cape Breton wedding

Waiting for the ferry at Englishtown on the mainland of Nova Scotia, heading towards Cape Breton Island - about four minutes away by ferry. One car has just driven off - the "run" between the mainland and the island. It  would likely take about five minutes or so to swim across - it's not 100 yards...though perhaps the current is pretty strong.

This particular ferry runs on a cable between to two staging areas. I shot this photo through the car window as the person in front of me waited for all the cars coming our way to leave the ferry. It's an ingenious set up - three anglers went across with us - not in a car though having parked on one side of the waterway. I saw several others standing on the bank with lines in the water as we moved towards the spit of sand and gravel sticking out into the water, that frankly looked far to fragile to be part of a ferry system - but I guess it's sturdier than it looks.

Of course being a nosey parker I wanted to know what the anglers were fishing for. "Mackerel," came the quick reply, two fellows looking me over giving me the "just a tourist" kind of look a single woman driving up the coast would normally get it seems to me. They sort of chuckled at my interest, looking amused at each other.

I stopped on the side of the road after leaving the ferry to see if I could get a shot of them - but that didn't work. So on I went, winding my way eventually up a huge hill.

There were many hills, many curves and often I was by myself on the road. There certainly were no traffic jams.

At the base of one mountainous hill (one which said that I was about to climb some two or three thousand feet high) were two bicyclists - looking up towards the grade which was at least a 45 degree angle at that point and discussing rather heatedly what they were going to do next. If it had been my car I was driving I might have offered them a lift.

Finally I made it to my destination - going through some mist, some rain though mostly just grey skies, into Cape Breton National Park heading towards Keltic Lodge where the wedding was being held and we were all staying - families and friends of both bride and groom.(I did tell you I was going to a wedding didn't I? That's why I was in Cape Breton.) I had to stop and take a photo of Ingonish Beach across this stretch of ocean - it's a beautiful beach at any time and has some great walking trails along it. When I was 13 I first walked on that beach and swam in the 45 degree water. What an experience. I took the photo to remind me of my childish adventures there so many years ago.

Finally I came up past the golf course - which is one of the best in North America apparently and saw the Lodge. What a lovely place it is with a wonderful story behind it (I'll see if I can remember it for a future blog). Before long, we all felt like family, staff and guests alike hoping that it wouldn't rain for the wedding to take place in a couple of days. The people of Cape Breton are such a delight - if you get the chance to visit that island grab it. You'll never forget it.

So the rain held off, though it was supposed to thunder and pour at 3 p.m. when the wedding ceremony was to start. The setting overlooked the ocean with Cape Smokey in the background.

Doesn't it look romantic? It was a lovely ceremony, beautiful bride, handsome groom, happy families and friends... and an amazing setting as you can see.

There are some things that will stick in my memory for a long time - and this was one of them. I was very privileged to be invited and to be able to spend time with my cousin and her husband. Their son was the groom. But to do that, have a vacation and savour the beauty of this amazing, rugged wild part of Canada all at the same time - what a fabulous time out of time.

Hope you enjoy the photographs and the idea of a romantic outdoor wedding. Maybe it will bring back memories for you, or set you dreaming?