The first time I visited Nova Scotia I travelled along the province’s fabled South Shore and the Bay of Fundy. This is the Nova Scotia of postcards: candy-striped lighthouses, tie-dye skies, gelato-coloured fishing villages and white sand beaches.
It’s also packed full of big-hitter sights from the colourful former rum running and ship building port town of Lunenburg and the storybook huddle of wooden fishing huts at Peggy’s Cove to the former Acadian village of Grand-Pre.
Not surprisingly, Nova Scotia’s south shore is incredibly popular.
Not far away, however, is the eastern shore of Nova Scotia. This corner of the province is wilder, woollier and far less visited than its southern neighbour.
But, as I discovered on my recent road trip along Nova Scotia’s eastern shore, this really is one of the most beautiful stretches of coastline home to pocket-sized towns, stirring sea views, community-led museums and some wonderful places to stay.
I was truly blown away by my time exploring the eastern shore of Nova Scotia and constantly surprised at how quiet it was.
If you are looking for somewhere a little different, somewhere away from the crowds and somewhere filled with both beautiful landscapes and offbeat attractions then it’s time to start planning your trip to Nova Scotia’s east coast.
Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links. I was a guest of Nova Scotia Tourism for the purpose of creating this itinerary. See our full disclosure policy for more details.
Eastern Shore Nova Scotia Itinerary (8 and 10 days)
Table of Contents
This 8-day and 10-day itineraries for the eastern shore of Nova Scotia is based on my trip and what I learned along the way. It includes everywhere that I visited as well as some suggestions for places you might want to add to your trip if you have time.
If you only have a week to spend along Nova Scotia’s eastern shore then I would recommend enjoying Halifax, Porter’s Lake, Tangier and Port Dufferin, Liscomb and Guysborough.
Depending on when your flights arrive, it’s worth spending at least two nights in Halifax. You could then plan your trip as follows:
- Day 1: Fly into Halifax and overnight.
- Day 2: Explore Halifax and overnight.
- Days 3-4: Drive to Porter’s Lake and spend two nights at Nalu Retreat.
- Day 5: Drive to Tangier for a kayaking adventure and overnight in Port Dufferin at The Marmalade Motel.
- Day 6: Taylor Head Provincial Park, overnight at Liscombe.
- Day 7: Drive to Guysborough and overnight at Authentic Seacoast Yurts in a Vineyard.
- Day 8: Return to Halifax and home.
Map Key: The red markers indicated places to visit and the purple markers represent places to stay.
If you can, I would highly recommend that you spend 10 days exploring Nova Scotia’s eastern shore. This will give you time to enjoy the above itinerary in a more leisurely fashion.
It will also allow time to explore some of the additional communities that lie along this stretch of coastline as well as more of the region’s popular beaches. You may also choose to head further north and explore Cape Breton.
- Day 1: Fly into Halifax and overnight.
- Day 2: Explore Halifax and overnight.
- Days 3-4: Drive to Porter’s Lake and spend two nights at Nalu Retreat.
- Day 5-6: Drive to Tangier for a kayaking adventure and spend two nights in Port Dufferin at The Marmalade Motel.
- Day 7: Taylor Head Provincial Park, overnight in Liscombe.
- Day 8-9: Drive to Guysborough and spend two nights at Authentic Seacoast Yurts in a Vineyard.
- Day 10: Return to Halifax and home.
Getting to Nova Scotia
Halifax Stanfield International Airport is the is the Atlantic Canadian hub for all domestic, regional and international services to and from Nova Scotia. Air Canada flies daily from London Heathrow’s Terminal 2 to Halifax. The non-stop flight takes just 6h 5m.
The best time to visit the Eastern Shore Nova Scotia
Summer is the most popular time to visit Nova Scotia; the months of July and August are warm and sunny and see the most visitors, particularly along the south shore. Personally, I think autumn is one of the best times to visit. This is when the leaves transform from shades of green into a kaleidoscope of burnt reds, oranges and gold.
Explore the Eastern Shore of Nova Scotia
One of the best things about Nova Scotia is just how easy it is to get around, particularly when exploring the East Coast. No sooner have you escape Halifax then you will find wide open roads and minimal traffic – there were times when I hardly saw anyone else on the road.
Driving distances along the Eastern Shore are also short, which means that you can squeeze a lot into your trip if you want to.
This itinerary starts in Halifax and assumes that you are flying in and out of the capital.
Day 1: Arrive and travel into Halifax
If you are planning on exploring Nova Scotia beyond the capital then you will need a car. Public transportation within Halifax is good but it is not great outside of the city.
I collected a rental car at the airport and drove into the city where my hotel, The Sutton Place Hotel, had a car park. Alternatively, depending on how many days you choose to spend in Halifax, you may choose to collect a rental car in town and then return the car to the airport at the end.
The Regional Express 320 runs between Halifax Stanfield and Downtown Halifax.
I stayed at The Sutton Place Hotel in the heart of downtown Nova Scotia. The modern hotel is located within the Nova Centre (a multi-use building that also houses office buildings and the Halifax Convention Centre) and is perfectly place for seeing Halifax’s best sights including the Halifax Waterfront and the Halifax Citadel.
I arrived in Halifax late afternoon and so by the time I checked in to the hotel it was almost dinner time. There are some great restaurants in Halifax (I loved dining at The Bicycle Thief on a previous trip to Nova Scotia) but this time I choose to dine at the hotel’s Chop Steakhouse & Bar, which was excellent.
Day 2: Halifax
Nova Scotia’s capital really deserves more than just one day but if you are tight for time, then here is how I recommend you spend your time in Halifax.
Morning: Get to know Halifax
I enjoyed breakfast in my hotel and then headed out to the nearby Halifax Citadel that sits on the city’s highest hill.
This is one of the most popular sights in Halifax and well worth a visit. The current structure is the fourth iteration of the citadel: the first was completed in 1749, the second in the 1770s and work on the third citadel got underway in 1796.
By 1825, however, the fort was in ruins and planning began for a fourth, more permanent structure were put in place with work beginning in 1828.
What you see today is this final fortress, a star-shaped stone citadel that took 28 years to complete. Despite never seeing battle, the citadel served as soldier barracks during both World War I and World War II.
You can visit the citadel on your own or with a costumed guide who will show you around the barracks, guardroom and powder magazine. One of the best things about visiting the Halifax Citadel during the summer is the fort’s Living History program which transports visitors back to 1869 when the 78th Highland Regiment was stationed here.
The “soldiers” (members of a historical re-enactment group) stand guard in their MacKenzie tartan kilts , take part in drills on the parade ground, perform firing demonstrations and more, bringing the history of the fortress to life.
It’s very well done and I highly recommend that you spend an hour or two here. If you time your visit for just before noon then you will hear the Noon Gun being fired, a tradition since 1857.
What sounds really fun (but what I sadly did not have time to do) is the ‘Soldier for a day’ experience. The three-hour activity includes getting dressed up, taking part in marching drills on the parade square and learning how to fire a rifle.
Afternoon
When you leave the citadel, head down towards the Halifax Waterfront Boardwalk. Running from the Canadian Museum of Immigration at Pier 21 to the Casino Nova Scotia is this 3km (2mile) footpath that skirts along the Halifax Harbour.
The boardwalk is lined with food huts, restaurants, shops and museums and you can easily spend the afternoon simply wandering around – try lunch at The Bicycle Thief or Ristorante a Mano, an Italian trattoria.
The board walk is also a great spot for joining boat tours to see the city from the water.
My favourite thing about the boardwalk, however, is the Canadian Museum of Immigration at Pier 21. This is an excellent museum and one of the best things to do in Halifax.
Located at one end of the boardwalk, the museum is housed in the historic site at Pier 21 which served as the entry point for nearly one million immigrants between 1928 and 1971. The museum does an excellent job of showing the immigrants’ journeys, from their arrival by ship and the customs and immigration process in Halifax to the train that transported the immigrants to their final destination.
Also located along the boardwalk is the Maritime Museum of the Atlantic, dedicated to Nova Scotia’s maritime heritage. What I found particularly interesting was the exhibit that explained the terrible events surrounding the Halifax Harbour Explosion in 1917 and the role that Halifax played when the Titanic sank in 1912. As the closest large port to the disaster site, ships were dispatched to search for survivors and to rescue victims.
Evening
Assuming that you dined along the boardwalk during the afternoon then you may want to head up to Halifax’s North End for dinner. I didn’t get to visit this neighbourhood on my last trip to Halifax so I made sure to squeeze in a quick stop on this visit.
The North End neighbourhood was once Halifax’s economic hub but the Halifax Explosion of 1917 – when the French cargo ship SS Mont-Blanc collided with the Norwegian vessel SS Imo in the Halifax harbour – devastated the once prosperous neighbourhood.
Today, however, North End is on the up and it’s a fun place to wander around filled with independent boutiques, art galleries, bars and restaurants, and colourful salt box homes.
Days 3 – 4: Porter’s Lake & Lawrencetown Beach
It’s just 40km from Downtown Halifax to Porter’s Lake and Nalu Retreat & Nordic Spa where I highly recommend you spend a couple of nights. I spent two nights here and wish I could have stayed longer.
Fishermen’s Cove
On your way towards Porter’s Lake, make time to stop by Fishermen’s Cove a colourful 200-year-old restored fishermen’s village that lies just 13km from Downtown Halifax.
A row of wooden huts, the colour of Skittles, line the wooden boardwalk housing a variety of shops including a couple of art galleries selling works by a variety of different local artists as well as gift shops. Not surprisingly, perhaps, the most popular store is Jo’s Old Time Candy and Ice Cream Shop.
Yes, it doesn’t feel quite touristy but I still enjoyed my stop at Fishermen’s Cove (and my ice cream from Jo’s!).
It’s 40km from Fishermen’s Cove to Nalu Retreat & Nordic Spa if you choose the most direct route. Or, you can do as I did, and take a more relaxed route along Marine Drive.
This designated scenic driving route hugs the shoreline, winding its way past clapboard houses and cherry-red barns with gambrel roofs, white sand beaches shrouded in rolling fog and sun-kissed communities where Canadian, Acadian and Saltire flags wave in the breeze.
Acadian House Museum
If you have time, make sure to stop at the Acadian House Museum (L’Acadie de Chezzetcook). This was just one of the many small museums that I visited during my time on the eastern shore of Nova Scotia and I really recommend it.
Originally from France, the Acadians arrived in what is today known as Nova Scotia in the years after 1632. They settled, worked the land and lived peacefully, retaining a position of neutrality while the British and the French were at war.
In 1744, the British expelled anyone not loyal to the crown and Le Grand Derangement, saw thousands of Acadians forcibly expelled from their homeland. The Grand-Pré National Historic Site, near the upper Bay of Fundy, tells the tale of this terrible time in history and is today a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It is easy to add the Grand-Pre on to your itinerary when you tour the south shore.
Even if you don’t make it to the Grand-Pre, however, the Acadian House Museum in the small community of Chezzetcook offers visitors a good insight into Acadian culture in this corner of Nova Scotia. During summer months, local students lead tours around the property, a former Acadian home from the 1850s-70s, and explain what life was like for this isolated community.
The home is packed full of household items including wash stands, the family’s best china (which would only come out when the priest came to visit) and the chaise lounge in the living room where, my guide explained, the head of the household would take a nap after returning from the field.
My favourite items were the old curling tongs and the sock-shaped metal hangers for drying wool socks. There’s a cafe on site too, La Cuisine de Brigitte, where I had a quick and tasty lunch.
The museum is open July 1 to August 31, Tuesday to Sunday.
Nalu Retreat & Nordic Spa
One of the best things about my trip along the eastern shore of Nova Scotia was the accommodation. Despite being far less visited than other places in the province, there are some really exciting and innovative accommodation options.
One such place is Nalu Retreat & Nordic Spa.
Set on 25 acres of woodland, overlooking Porter’s Lake, one of the largest lakes in Nova Scotia, sit three oversized white geodomes shining in the summer sunshine. Completely isolated, these marshmallow-like luxury domes are a wonderful adults-only retreat open year round.
What really makes these domes so special are the large panoramic windows. Mine (No. 2) overlooked Porter’s Lake and I spent a large amount of my time sitting on the sofa soaking up the view.
Every dome comes with a large private deck with your own hot tub, an outdoor shower, a fire pit and an electric barbecue. Inside, the domes enjoy all the luxuries of a boutique hotel; a comfy queen size bed with luxury linens, a modern bathroom with rain shower and a well equipped kitchen with almost everything you need to whip up an evening meal. I say almost: the kitchens come with hot plates and there’s a bbq outside to use.
Another highlight are the indoor stargazing loft. Granted, the ladder leading up to the stargazing nook is a little precarious but if your stay coincides with a clear night then the views are spellbinding.
I was not in the mood for cooking during my stay and fortunately Nalu Retreat caters to visitors like me, offering a range of meals that you can order to be delivered to your dome, everything from a generous charcuterie board to a seafood chowder that you can heat up.
Almost next door to the property are the Crowbar Lake Hiking Trails with four routes to choose from.
Lawrencetown Beach
I spent one afternoon during my stay at Nalu Retreat at nearby Lawrencetown Beach. This pebble-and-sand beach is a popular surf spot and two schools offer regular lessons.
I enjoyed a 1.5-hour private lesson with Kannon Beach Surf School and had a very kind and enthusiastic 21-year-old instructor who was extraordinarily patient with me as I attempted to surf (or, rather, attempted to simply stand on the board!).
This was not the first time that I had tried surfing – previous attempts in Australia and France should have given me some kind of advantage – but the truth is that I find surfing incredibly difficult.
The moving board, the inconsistent waves, the ‘popping’ that you’re supposed to do in a matter of seconds in order to stand up, are all a challenge and my attempts on a foggy Lawrencetown Beach were not pretty.
Nevertheless, I really enjoyed my lesson and will definitely try again – if not skill then hopefully dogged determination will see me hang ten before too long!
Day 5: Tangier & Port Dufferin
One of the joys of driving along the eastern shore Nova Scotia is that driving distances are not long. Case in point, the drive from Nalu Retreat & Nordic Spa to Tangier is only 70m and takes just over one hour on Marine Drive.
But there’s no need to do the journey in one shot, there are lots of places to stop along the way including some of the eastern shore’s most popular beaches.
Clam Harbour Beach, Martinique Beach and Musquodoboit Harbour, home of the longest sandy beach in Nova Scotia are all possible stop off points. You will also drive past what I think is one of the best museums in Nova Scotia, the Memory Lane Heritage Village.
Memory Lane Heritage Village
The wonderful Memory Lane Heritage Village is a living history museum showing rural life in Nova Scotia during the 1940s, including life during and after World War Two.
I’ve been to a number of living history museums around the world but typically these have highlighted life from centuries ago rather than a more immediate past.
The museum opened in the year 2000 and was very much a community project. Thea Wilson-Hammond, Executive Director of the museum and daughter of one of the founders, explained that the museum was very much a collective community effort with locals volunteering their time, knowledge and expertise, and donating items for the museum.
Within the museum grounds are 16 rescued and restored buildings that every village in the 1940s had: a church, a one room schoolhouse, a boat shed, a general store, and a gas station. Unique to this corner of Nova Scotia and this museum is the area dedicated to the gold rush era.
Visitors can stop by the gold miners prospecting camp belonging to local prospector Colonel Logan who found gold in the Lake Charlotte area. His original equipment is still on display as is his 1928 Ford Model A.
Sadly the Ford was out of action when I visited but I did get a spin around ‘town’ in the cherry red 1948 International Pick Up truck, courtesy of my guide Rusty.
Some of my favourite stops were the family home complete with a wonderful pink fridge in the kitchen and the cookhouse, which traditionally fed the labourers and today is open for lunch. I had an excellent grilled cheese sandwich alongside some delicious baked beans made, as they always have been, with molasses.
Barry Colpitts
One of the highlights from my trip to the eastern shore Nova Scotia was also one of the most unexpected. I had been told that I would spot the home of folk artist Barry Colpitts as I drove along Marine Drive and sure enough, half way between Memory Lane Heritage Village and my next stop, Tangier, I spied his house.
Granted, his home is a little difficult to miss.
Barry Colpitt is a self-taught folk artist who works with wood, carving colourful figures, statues and whirligigs.
Typically, his garden is filled with brightly painted whirligigs but a storm had been forecast on the day I visited so he had stored them in his workshop. Nevertheless, his house is still unmissable, a two-storey white clapboard home covered in wooden figurines the colour of the rainbow.
I stopped by unannounced but Barry was extremely welcoming and happy to introduce some of his pieces. He explained that every sculpture on the house is someone he knows.
There’s a carved head of a woman who used to sit in front of him in church, the figure of his third grade teacher and a carved sculpture of his mother when she was pregnant with him.
My favourite of all his works was not one attached to his house but one in his workshop called the ‘Flying Bird Chair’, a wooden chair with a dozen birds attached to it by long wooden sticks. The idea is that you a sit among the birds and feel like you are flying with them.
Other works included the ‘Prayer Redemption Helmet’, a wonderful whirligig helmet to wear and the ‘Village Dance’, a joyful whirligig that requires audience participation: you have to ‘shake’ the hands in order for the whirli to move.
Sea Kayaking in Tangier
To really understand the beauty of the eastern shore of Nova Scotia you have to get out on the water.
Thousands of islands pepper the coastline, like gemstones scattered from a merchant’s purse. Some are nothing more than rocky outcrops piled high with Scrub Spruce and others are larger with untouched white sand beaches to rival the Caribbean.
Within this stretch of coastline are the 100 Wild Islands, a protected archipelago of over 100 islands stretching for 30 kilometres along the eastern shore.
Gayle and Scott have been running Coastal Adventures near Tangier for 42 years and are the most delightful duo, leading visitors on kayaking adventures ranging from half-day excursions to eight-day trips to Newfoundland and around Cape Breton.
I spent a wonderful afternoon kayaking along the turquoise waters with Gayle and Scott, past lion mane jellyfish drifting in the clear waters and half a dozen Harbour seals sunning themselves on a rocky outcrop. An Osprey, a fish grasped firmly in her talons, landed elegantly in her nest at the top of a tree ready to feed her young as we paddled gently by.
The Marmalade Motel in Port Dufferin
My home for the night was The Marmalade Motel a charming nine-room modern motel on the edge of the Wild Island. I loved my sunny bedroom with its private ocean-facing balcony and enjoyed a glass of wine sitting on an Adirondack chair watching the sun set.
The motel also has a cafe, the Marmalade Cafe and Coffee Bar, which is a great place to get breakfast and very near the entrance to Taylor Head Provincial Park.
If you are spending 10 days exploring the easter shore Nova Scotia then I recommend staying at The Marmalade Motel for two nights. This will give you more time to enjoy a full day at Taylor Head Provincial Park (one of the eastern shore’s most beautiful provincial parks). Alternatively, you can spend the afternoon hiking in Taylor Head and a full day sea kayaking with Gayle and Scott from Coastal Adventures.
Day 6: Taylor Head Provincial Park & Liscombe
Not far from The Marmalade Hotel lies Taylor Head Provincial Park, a rugged peninsula in the Atlantic Ocean that offers six different walking trails.
I had originally planned to walk one of the shorter routes such as Spry Bay Trail, a four kilometre loop that passes through the coastal forest and along wave-swept boulder shores. In the end, however, I did the longest loop, the eight kilometre Headland Trail that follows the length of the peninsula until you reach Taylor Head Point.
This is such a beautiful corner of the eastern shore, a wild and windswept promontory that is both beautiful and dramatic. The sea mist, so common in this part of Nova Scotia, slowly rolled in as I walked through coastal forest, along fresh marsh and the rocky shoreline rendered smooth by the relentless movement of the ocean waves.
Afterwards, I sat on the white sandy beach of Psyche Cove and ate my picnic – you can pick something up from The Marmalade Cafe. The beach is easy to access from the parking lot.
The trails are all well marked and maps are available in a wooden post box attached to a tree near the start of the trails. A bear sign was in place when I visited so do make sure you are prepared with bear spray – I wasn’t and so made sure to make enough noise to alert any potential bears that I was in the area!
Sheet Harbour Museum
Driving from Taylor Head towards to my next stop of Liscombe, I stopped in Sheet Harbour, a small rural community settled in 1784 by British and Scottish soldiers who had fought in the American Revolution alongside Loyalist refugees.
I stopped by the MacPhee House Community Museum, another wonderful community museum, that tells the tale of this one prosperous town.
The museum is located in the home that once belonged to the MacPhee family, a local family who ran a shop, postal office and hotel from the property as well as looking after six children, and is a wonderful celebration of the town’s history.
It’s packed full of artefacts that have been donated by local families, everything from King George stamps and a weight that was once used to tether horses to a vintage Boy Scouts uniform and an Eaton’s Road King Bicycle that was all the rage in the 1950s.
Of the many items on display, my favourites included the knitted woollen 1920s men’s bathing suit and the paper doll set with a very young Prince – now King – Charles.
The museum is also the Tourist Bureau and the staff are incredibly helpful and friendly.
Liscombe Lodge Resort
It’s roughly 55km from Sheet Harbour along Marine Drive to Liscombe Lodge Resort where I spent the night.
The resort overlooks Liscomb River and, once upon a time must have been the place to holiday. It feels a little like Mountain Lake Lodge, the resort in the movie Dirty Dancing, where Baby meets Johnny. It’s a rustic retreat with a swimming pool and activities such as kayaking and walking trails available.
It was very quiet when I visited and so felt a little neglected but what I did love was the setting, surrounded by woodland and overlooking the dreamy Liscomb River, where I spotted a seal on the hunt for food.
I also really enjoyed the prolific birdlife. The lodge has bird feeders set up outside the main dining room window and I happily spent a long breakfast watching the many birds dash back and forth.
Day 7: Sherbrooke Village & Guysborough
After breakast I headed to my next stop, Sherbrooke Village just 20 minutes away. This ended up being one of my favourite places on the eastern shore of Nova Scotia.
Sherbrooke Village
I arrived at Sherbrooke Village Museum in the village of Sherbrooke thinking that I would spend an hour, maybe two, exploring before hitting the road again. Several hours later and I still hadn’t seen anything at the museum that I wanted to.
Like Memory Lane Heritage Village, this is a living history museum, only this one depicts life in Nova Scotia during the gold rush of the 1860s.
But that’s not the only difference.
Unlike most historical villages, where buildings are dismantled in other locations and rebuilt on the museum site, the Sherbrooke Village is located on the site of where the original village stood. In fact, there are still a couple of homes within the museum grounds that are privately owned.
I loved this museum. Not only is it a fascinating insight into what was an incredibly prosperous time for this corner of Nova Scotia but the attention to detail is extraordinary.
Costumed interpreters bring the museum to life – a schoolteacher in the two-room school house and the post mistress manning the till in the post office for example – and historical items fill each building.
Enter the pharmacy and you’ll find cabinets lined with original medicines, ointments and lotions dating to the 1800s. St Mary’s Printery has a working print press and the general store is packed with items that would have once been for sale. Among them, is a fantastic dog-powered butter churn.
Some of the businesses feature local artisans at work, a potter at work in the Sherbrooke Pottery and weavers working in the Weavers Cottage. At Joe McLane Blacksmith, Tony the head blacksmith forged a coat hook for me before demonstrating his skills on a Penny Farthing bicycle.
There’s a restaurant on site where you can eat lunch alongside many of the costumed interpreters and a gift shop selling, among other things, items made in the village such as the pots made in the pottery.
One of the best things about Sherbrooke Village in my opinion is that you have the opportunity to dress up and explore the village in period costume.
All costumes are handmade and there’s something for everyone not matter your age or size. Given how much I love the chance to dress up I was sad that I didn’t get the chance to put on my 19th century finery, although I was also a little grateful given how hot it was when I visited.
If you do want to wear period costume (outfits include hats and shoes) then this does need to be booked in advance.
Canso
Today involved a lot of driving, which is why I recommend spending 10 days exploring the eastern shore Nova Scotia instead of eight. From Sherbrooke Village it was 113km along Marine Drive to my next stop, Canso, past small coves and bays, and clapboard houses flying Canadian flags and the Saltire.
I planned to spend the night in Guysborough but wanted first to visit the town of Canso, one of the oldest settlements in Nova Scotia. The small town sits on the northeastern tip of the province and was one of only two British settlements prior to the establishment of Halifax in 1749.
It became strategically important when the subsea Transatlantic cable was established in 1866, linking Europe and North America. The Hazel Hill Commercial Cable station (which sadly no longer exists) became the relay station in Canso for telegraph messages that included the sinking to the Titanic and the 1929 stock market crash.
In Canso is the Whitman House Museum, another community museum that does a wonderful job of preserving the town’s history. Housed within the home once owned by CH Whitman, a wealthy local businessman, the property recalls the history of both the Whitman family and Canso itself.
Visits are guided and my guide was fantastic, regaling me with historical facts and quirky tales including the reason why the house looks permanently sunny: amber stained glass windows were installed on the ground and first floor so that they sun always shone inside regardless of what the water was doing outside.
She also pointed out the ensuite bathroom belonging to the Whitmans with its bath that enjoyed “running water”. Given this was 1885, what this really meant was that servants would carry water up to the third floor and pour it into a vessel so that the taps in the bathroom could be turned on.
CH Witman and his wife died in the 1930s and the home was sold. It was only in 1975 that the property became a museum. As such, very few original items belonging to the Whitmans remain although there are plenty of period pieces. There are also displays showcasing the town’s long military history.
Guysborough
If the town of Guysborough was located on Nova Scotia’s popular South Shore then it would be packed with visitors. This tiny town is an absolute delight and the gateway to some spectacular adventures in the Guysborough county.
But when I visited, there were only a handful of tourists. As Glynn Williams, owner of Authentic Seacoast, said “over tourism is not something we have to worry about here.”
And yet Guysborough and the surrounds have all the right ingredients to deliver the perfect holiday.
I spent one night in a Mongolian yurt, one of 10 from Authentic Seacoast Yurts in the Vineyard, that sit on the edge of a pristine shoreline with views for miles.
My yurt, No. 10, is probably the best of the bunch, tucked away on its own peninsula with a private hot tub and shower room, and my own golf cart for zipping around the property.
Glynn Williams fell in love with the Guysborough area on a cycling holiday with his wife nearly 30 years ago and since then has invested millions in the town, believing wholeheartedly that Guysborough has so much to offer.
In addition to the yurts, Glynn owns DesBarres Manor Inn, a charming country inn that dates back to 1837. Located in the heart of town, I had dinner here and it was fantastic.
Glynn also owns a distillery and brewery, Authentic Seacoast, and they produce a range of whisky, rum, beer and even coffee. Ask nicely, and you can take a tour to learn more about the many excellent drinks that they produce.
The following morning I visited the Guysborough Waterfront where a farmer’s market takes place on Saturday mornings from 10am to 1pm. During summer months, the Marina Building hosts an art gallery with works by dozens of local artists on display. Upstairs of the Jost Building is a small cafe, the Cast Away Cafe, that makes a mean grilled cheese sandwich and brews very good coffee.
If you have more time, I highly recommend spending at least two nights in Guysborough, one night really was not enough.
Day 8: Return to Halifax and home
You have two options for your return to Halifax.
The first is to retrace your steps and follow the scenic Marine Drive back towards the capital. Alternatively, you can take the highway back, which is what I did. The route following the Trans-Canada Hwy/NS-104 E takes just over three hours to get back to Halifax and under three hours to reach the Halifax Stanfield International Airport.
I headed straight to the airport and spent the night at the Alt Hotel, which is perfectly located opposite the airport terminal. I flew back to London the following morning and am already planning my return to Nova Scotia.
