The 107-km Ceilidh Trail (pronouned Kay-Lee) is the scenic route linking the Canso Causeway with the Cabot Trail, with splendid views, inland glens and access to Lake Ainslie, the largest natural freshwater lake in the province. The Ceilidh Trail follows the western shore of Cape Breton Island through several villages. We crossed over this bridge to start our journey across Cape Breton.
In Scottish Gaelic Ceilidh means a social gathering usually involving traditional folk music and dancing.
We saw several signs that said "Ceilidh Tonight", as we drove along this coastal trail.
After we set up we took a walk along the beach and the water was cold in my opinion but there were people swimming and supposedly it was one of the warmest beaches in Eastern Canada.
We saw jelly fish and small starfish and lots of birds out in the water and on the jetty
Then we walked along this old pier that was falling apart but people still drove their cars on it all the way to the end to fish or board boats that were waiting for them.
The following day we headed out to Egypt Falls located in the upper Margaree area of the Island. It was about 45 minutes away from Port Hood so we started driving on Hwy 19 towards Mabou.
We came to a spot off the side of the road which was part of the Trans Canada trail, what we call rails to trails in the US where they have turned the old railway trails into hiking and biking trails all over Canada.
On our way through Mabou there were a lot of cars parked along the main roadway and people lined up.
We drove slowly but realized there must be a parade about to start and sure enough the parade was coming from the other direction. The police women who started the parade said "you might as well put it in park" as she went by. A few others went by then someone stopped the next parade participant from going and let us go through to the other side where we stopped a took some pictures of it.
This was funny as the sign says "Will and Kate saving Gas" and the part of the sign you can't see says "Peddling their Royal Ass".
There was a festival going on for 5 days in this town from what I read from the tourist guide and this was one of the events.
We then continued on up towards Egypt Falls but saw no signs for it. We put in the city name on the GPS where the Falls were located and it took us down some dirt road which thank goodness was not too long but must have been a short cut. We found the dirt road that led to the Falls only by the description in the tourist book and followed it through some farmlands. There was a sign that looked like a nearby resident had made probably because they were tired of people asking them where it was. There were a few cars up there already and a small sign was next to the trail leading down to the Falls.
It wasn't too bad except very wet from the rain the night before until we got about 3/4 of the way there and then we came to a very steep part of the trail where they had tied rope around the trees so you had something to hold onto while you climbed up or down.
There were some people coming up so we waited our turn. Four younger people came down the trail so we let them go first then we started down with Ty who made it look easy.
There were a few spots were it was very scary and close to the edge and Bill had to carry Ty down one steep part but we made it to the bottom to the beautiful falls cascading down and the river just clear as could be.
These were the four young people we let go ahead of us and they climbed up the falls using a rope someone had left hanging there.
It was hot out so I took off my shoes and socks and put my feet in the water and it was so cold it hurt!!!!! I don't know how those youngsters where practically swimming in it!
After about 1/2 hour we started back up the trail holding on tight to the rope as we ascended on the very narrow path.
When we got to the top of the steep part there was another path leading to the top of the Falls so we walked it and Bill went down to the middle and decided not to walk any farther as it was muddy and lots of roots were exposed from the trees.
We headed back up the trail to where the car was parked and Ty was pretty dirty so Bill wiped him down really well.
After we got back on the main road we headed north to get back on the Ceilidh Trail. We stopped for gas then we drove up the street where there were a few businesses and saw a sign for hot dogs so we stopped and got a few at the temporary stand run by a young guy who was very cordial. He had some cucumbers cut up and said "try them, they are from my own garden". He was grilling the hot dogs as they were ordered so we waited a few minutes for them but it was a pretty location under the trees and the breeze was gently blowing so we did not mind waiting. We sat at a picnic table and gobbled them up as we were pretty hungry after our hike.
We then continued our drive and came to the intersection where the Cabot Trail and the Ceilidh Trail meet.
We drove around the area which was known as Margaree Harbour, with people at the beaches and across the harbour was a fishing and lobster Marina with seemed like thousands of seagulls all squaking at each other.
We drove over the bridge and took a left turn to get to the Marina where the birds were. There were so many of them and a good majority of them were immature black backed seagulls.
We got some good pictures of them then got back in the car and decided it was time to start heading back to the Port Hood. We noted that this is where we would be coming back through in about ten days from now after we went around the Cabot Trail.
This was a beautiful coffee table made out of Oak made to look like a lobster trap
Turning around we headed back over the bridge heading south on the Trail
We drove on through Glenville and came to the "Glenora Distillery", North America's only single malt whiskey distillery. After we drove into the Distillery and stopped at the parking lot snapping a few pictures, we went back to the trail and drove the short distance to Port Hood.
We arrived back at the campground and Bill decided he would make dinner so I fed the dogs and walked Ty down by the beach, this time going north along the water. It was a pretty evening and after we walked for close to an hour we got back to the RV and we had dinner after the sun set.
On Sunday we wanted to go back to Mabou and check out the Farmers Market that was opened until two and in the indoor recreation center. It was almost over when we got there and it was basically homemade items like soap, quilts, hot sauces and a few jarred jams and jellied items.
We then drove up the river looking for the "anything that floats" race but did not see where it started. We did see this tractor that was cutting the grass going over a pedestrian/bicycle bridge which was part of the trans-canada trail.
We headed towards another attraction we read about "Mother of Sorrows Pioneer Shrine", a charming miniature church which was moved from its original location in 1967 by the Brothers of Our Lady of Seven Sorrows. The small white church was repaired and restored and was officially opened as a Shrine in July of 1968, dedicated to Our Lady of Sorrows and the brave pioneers of the Mabou area.
The above picture is a miniture replica of the church right behind it
After driving past the Shrine, we decided to hike part of the Trans-Canada Trail that was north of downtown Mabou.
The view was pretty from the trail
This flicker was not timid at all and let us take pictures of it for a few minutes
It was hot and much of the trail was not shaded so Lucky and Ty were hot and thirsty when we got back to the car.
Heading back towards town we found a place in the shade to park the car for the dogs and went into "The Red Shoe" Pub, owned by the Rankin family. This family owned quite a bit of the real estate and property in Mabou. They were also musicians and not only played at their restaurant but at festivals and events all over Cape Breton.
They were charging $10 a head for the music that was to start there in 45 minutes but we just wanted to go have a beer and an appetizer at the bar and said we would be gone by the time the music started or shortly after that. We ordered an unusual appetizer that turned out to be very good. At first glance I made a face and the bartender laughed and said" that is not what you expected is it!:" I said no but after I tasted it I thought it was not bad. It was sweet potato fries topped with cheese and cabbage marinated in beet juice. We shared one appetizer and had two beers each and it was over $30.00...overpriced for sure. We were almost done when the entertainment began, two young men, one playing a fiddle the other the piano.
We left the Pub and went back to the campground for the evening. Bill decided he would do the laundry so I took Ty for another walk around the area and took more pictures.
When the sun was setting it was a clear evening with no clouds in the sky so it was fabulous. I kept taking pictures as the sun went down and then the sky was orange all the way across the horizon. Bill missed the whole thing as he was still doing the laundry. It was a great ending to our stay on the Ceilidh Trail as we were leaving to start the Cabot Trail in the morning.
