East Coast 2022: Cabot Trail Loop - Ingonish

The drive from Baddeck to Ingonish involved some steep, twisty roads and picturesque scenic views that reminded us of the lush, green beauty of Ireland.  We made multiple stops for photo ops as we looked at treelined cliffs plunging down to the Atlantic Ocean, and rocky beaches in coves and inlets.  In Ireland where the steering wheel is on the other side of the car and less familiar for Rich, we took the precaution to drive in a direction that put us in the lane away from the cliffs.  On the Cabot Trail, we bravely took the route that put us (especially me on the passenger side) right next to the cliffs.  Luckily there were guard rails the entire way and I had some amazing sightlines from the car.

Cape Breton Island has declared itself “The Craft Capital” and published an Artisan Trail Map listing all the artist studios and crafts shops along the Cabot Trail.  As we drove towards Ingonish, we stopped at several of these locations.  The indoor space for Iron Art & Madam Mouton seemed to be closed so we didn’t get to see the photographs, knits and gifts on sale inside, but there were many cool examples of metal sculptures on display on the property surrounding the shop.  Piper Pewter specializes in lead-free pewter jewellery and gifts, including Celtic crosses, flowers, seashells, fiddles and more.  Rich purchased a beautiful pewter bookmark with an intricate dragon design carved into it.  Closer to Ingonish, we found another souvenir at North Shore Woodsmiths where carver Bob Evans uses a variety of woods including yellow birch, beech, oak, ash, maple, cherry, apple and walnut in order to create beautiful, original and functional products.  We fell in love with a kidney-shaped box with a lid that features attractive marquetry patterns created with the use of different coloured woods.

Cabotto chocolates and Colouratura Art Gallery was a fun stop that tempted us with both chocolate treats and art to admire.  The property in front of the shop is lined by a row of giant coloured pencils and a mural on the side of the building depicted a man holding binoculars that reminded me of Alex Colville’s iconic work.  Inside we found moulded chocolates made from premium-quality Callebaut chocolate with fillings of liquer, nut and truffle flavours including sea salt, cappuchino, hazelnut praline and caramel.  Some of the chocolates were beautifully decorated with painted designs.  I loved the “Chocolate Library” consisting of different flavoured chocolate bars wrapped in covers depicting popular books by Cape Breton authors.  When she caught us peering through the glass, the chocolatier came out to speak to us and explained about properly tempering chocolate so that it doesn’t melt and retains a smooth glossy finish.  In the same space is the art gallery which offers carvings, photography, jewelry, paintings, and carvings.

By the time we reached Clucking Hen Café and Bakery, we were ready for a snack, drink and restroom stop.  We ordered a piece of wild blueberry pie and San Pellegrino orange drink to share and had a nice respite on the outdoor patio where we had a great view of the water and admired glasswork from the Glass shop that we would head towards next.  As hinted by its name, the café featured chicken-themed décor all over the place.  There was a chicken calendar, hooks, paintings, embroidery, felting, thermometer, and a slew of chicken-shaped ceramics. Best of all, when you open the screen door to enter or exit the restaurant, the sound of a clucking chicken is emitted.  How cool is that?

Glass Artisans Studio and Gallery has gorgeous blown-glass works by a variety of artists.  Out front is a bronze sculpture of a man blowing glass and in a small kiosk to the side of the shop, glass blowing demos were being held.  There was a group there in front of us and we didn’t have that much time to wait, so we just went inside to look at the decorative pieces.  There were large orb and buoy-shaped glassworks hanging on ropes, beautiful stained-glass windowpanes, as well as blue and red glass lobsters.  Smaller pieces included framed pictures and jewellery.

Our last stop on this leg of the Artisan Trail was Wildfire Pottery and Books.  There was not much of a selection of pottery, but we found the section with old books and vinyl records and CDs.  There were also touristy gifts as well as paintings and cards depicting wildlife.  But what made the visit special was meeting the owner Paul Cranford, a fiddler who plays traditional Cape Breton music which is a mixture of Celtic, Scottish, Irish and Acadian music that is unique to the island.  After speaking to him for a bit, Paul serenaded us with a quick fiddle performance.

Finally arriving in the region of Ingonish, whose motto is “Nature’s Home”, we passed by its three main attractions--the popular Ingonish Beach, St. Peter’s Church which is over 100 years old, and the Keltic Lodge Resort which includes a hotel, spa, multiple restaurants and dining areas, meeting and function rooms, and a golf course.  Accommodations at the Keltic Lodge include rooms in the main lodge, various inns and oceanside cottages.  The current Keltic Lodge complex is built on the site of the original summer home (also named Keltic Lodge) of Industrialist Henry Corson, friend of Alexander Graham Bell.  While out of our price range, but it was nice to see the resort and we had to drive by in order to get to the entrance of our first of several hikes that we had planned for this Cape Breton side trip.

The Middle Head Trail includes a 3.8km interpretive loop with an elevation of up to 150 feet, that at starts and end at a point near the Keltic Lodge.  We encountered some rocky, rugged sections with exposed tree roots, a patch of trees with burls or bulbous growth on their trunks that were developed as a protective response to tree disease, and a bunch of fallen tree trunks that formed a canopy effect.

At the halfway point of the 3.8km loop is a sign indicating a choice to be made.  Turning left to continue following the loop will return you to the start.  Heading straight will take you another 1km (one-way) along a long, narrow peninsula that separates two ocean bays, ending on the headland cliffs overlooking the Atlantic Ocean, Cape Smokey Provincial Park and Ingonish Island.  It was a no-brainer for us to take on the extra 2km round-trip trek in order to reach the highest point of the hike and get the best views.  Even along the way as we started to climb, we could see scenic views of Ingonish Island and the cliffs in the distance.

By the time we reached the top, we had climbed over 500 feet in elevation and were rewarded by some stunning views.  Rich and I were careful not to approach too closely to the edge of the cliffs.  Despite the dire caution signs, we saw examples of others who ignored these warnings, including a man carrying a baby on his back who was looking over the lip into the water below.  I looked around to see if a frantic mother would come rushing up to admonish her husband.  Even from our safe distance, we could see terns and seabirds, but unfortunately no whales or sealions as hinted by the initial sign for the trail.

As we looked down upon a plateau below us, we spotted people congregated around a red Adirondack chair and wondered how this big heavy chair came to be situated in the middle of nowhere.  It would have been too onerous to carry the chair up the steep paths that we had traversed.  Later I googled and found that Parks Canada had placed over 200 of these red chairs in peaceful, scenic locations throughout the country including nine of them in Cape Breton Highlands National Park.  They must have delivered this one by helicopter.  We would see yet another red chair the next day on another hiking trail.  Once the people had departed, we wandered down ourselves and each had a nice rest while sitting in the chair and admiring the vista.  We then retraced our steps back down this extra stretch of trail and completed the original loop for a total hike of 5.67km.

After our hike, we checked into the Seabreeze Cottages, which was not as chichi as the Keltic Inn, but was perfect for our needs in terms of price, comfort, and location. We even scored one of the rooms directly facing the water so that we had a beautiful view when looking out of the window.  This was probably because I had booked the room months in advance using Booking.com, taking advantage of the free cancellation option, which costs a few extra dollars but is more than worth it for the flexibility to accommodate last minute changes in itinerary.  On the property were fun cardboard cut-outs of a lobster and a fisherman which Rich begrudgingly obliged in posing behind, although I think it was more a grimace than a smile on his face.

That evening, we had dinner at the Seagull Restaurant which was just a few minutes away.  I wore the vintage purple polka-dot blouse that I bought in Baddeck the previous day and posed with Ingonish Island in the background as the sun started to set.  We would have liked a table in the enclosed patio deck with a view of the water.  Unfortunately, that section was full, so we sat in the main area and continued our trend of eating seafood for our entire trip.  We had more mussels as well as fish and chips with breaded clams (which were nowhere near as large as the ones we ate in Dartmouth!).  By the end of our meal, the patio had emptied so I wandered onto it to admire the view.

The next morning, we had breakfast at Salty Rose and Periwinkle Café and Inn before heading off to our next stop.  This was a lovely stone building with several charming rooms upstairs that would have been fun to stay at, but had been fully booked when we tried to reserve.   We each ordered a Brekkie Sandwich with egg, pickled onions, greens, house mayo and crab, along with a latte and a freshly baked scone to share.  The inside seating area was so sweet that we considered sitting there, but it was such a nice day that we sat in the outside patio.  While we were eating, we heard loud mooing sounds and turned around to see a couple of black cows across the road with their heads sticking out of the wooden fence.  There was a little coin-operated dispenser next to them and tourists would buy fodder to feed them with. I thought this was a great scam to get people to pay for the right to feed your cattle.