Ingonish, Cape Breton
It was beautiful, sunshiny morning in Port Hawkesbury and after breakfast at the A&W, off we headed. I told Roz to take the lead and pointed north. We went thru town, past the Tim Horton’s then left past the Sobey’s. She almost got onto the
hwy 104 but I told her to go straight up hwy 4. Route #104 heads toward Sydney, wrong direction for us today. Roz says that I tend to lead even when I follow and I got her to turn left onto Riverside Road. This is one of those meandering semi-paved roads that seem to lead nowhere. I loved it but Roz kept stopping to ask if we were lost. ‘We are on holidays, we are riding the bikes in the sunshine, so how could we be lost. Just enjoy the road, it will be fine’. And yes it finally did come out to Hwy105 and off we went toward the Cabot Trail.
We have traveled this road many times and decided not to stop until we were up the Cabot Trail a ways. We rode past Whycocomagh and Baddeck, but if you are riding this way only once, make sure you stop for a day in Baddeck. Visit the Bell Museum, it’s a fascinating place. And there are many great little shops and cafes in this beautiful little town on the Bras D’or Lakes.
We decided not to wait for the Englishtown Ferry. The lineup extended all the way back to the intersection at St Anns. The ferry crossing 
will save you about 30 minutes, but only if there is no lineup. Besides, the road around Englishtown Bay is a wonderful, bendy-road ride. Because we have been up this road many times, we have our favourite places to stop. One of them is the Clucking Hen Bakery & Café just past Cabot Shores. They now have a new larger covered deck overlooking the ocean. The menu is limited depending on the time of day, but everything we have tried has been fresh and tasty. Tea and scones, sitting in the sunshine overlooking the ocean; welcome to Cape Breton indeed.
Just up the highway after Wreck Cove you get your first glimpse of Ole Smokey, one of the most photographed rock faces in Cape Breton. As you climb the escarpment you twist around the only true switchback on the island, followed by several quick turns that don’t allow you the time to look out over the spectacle of the Atlantic Ocean. There is a pull off area at the top but you have to walk about 500 meters to look over the edge 
and back down that iconic roadway. I think its worth the hike.
For the next several miles the road follows the coastline around a few bays and thru a few small villages. The village of Ingonish has a few stores, a couple of cafes, an Inn, a bank and the Beer Store. When you leave Ingonish you enter the Cape Breton Highlands National Park. There is an entrance fee that allows you to stop at any parking area in the park. The small park office here also has info on camping and hiking trails. We decided to ride thru to visit Hugh first.
We arrived at the hospital in Neil’s Harbour about 1pm to find out that Hugh and Margaret had left about an hour ago. Great; now back down to Ingonish. I guess the news that Roz and I were on our way was enough to get Hughie up off his ass. Hugh is now 90, Margaret is 83. They live in Burlington, spending summers in Ingonish. They have been our friends for almost 30 years and we have been fortunate enough to have visited their lovely cottage about 15 times.
The cottage is called ‘Happy Days’ and is on a small strip of property right on the Cabot Trail with a full ocean frontage. The cottage is really a glorified mobile home that has been jacked up and placed about 25 feet from a ten foot cliff on top of Ingonish Beach. The beach is a semi-circle of sand about 30 feet wide and 5 miles long stretching around Ingonish Bay. Hugh and Margaret have built a small deck that sits right on the edge of the cliff and a walkway leading to a larger deck that runs off the kitchen of the cottage. A few years ago they built a one room cabin about 20 feet north of the cottage for guests. The cabin is complete with a queen sized bed, a small table, a kitchenette and a ½ bath. The whole front wall is windowed and completes this perfect, picturesque locale. It aint fancy, just awesome.
When we arrived at Happy Days, Margaret ran out to greet us with lots of hugs and kisses and teary eyes. Hugh was sleeping but had been overjoyed to hear that we were on the way. Margaret was preparing lunch and could barely contain herself; Hugh has been a great challenge for her of late, she was looking forward to a long chat and perhaps a G&T or two.
Hughie had been acting his age lately, less energy, disinterest in anything, refusal to eat, disgruntled; then he caught a cold which turned into pneumonia. Hughie is a cancer survivor with several other problems associated with the elderly, but until recently had been quite active. I had played 9 holes of golf with him the previous summer and had difficulty beating him (I never beat him before he turned 80). The local doctors had informed them that Hugh should get back to Burlington as soon as possible to have the doctors have a look. Hugh was responding well to the anti-biotics but the doctors in Burlington would be better equipped to deal with the problems.
Margaret asked how long we could stay. She had phoned and had their return airfare tickets changed to a week tomorrow; that was the earliest flight they could arrange. Problem was they didn’t want to leave the cottage without cleaning things up a bit. They have a regular tenant that arrives September first each year and leaves at the end of June; a school teacher from Halifax. They wanted to make sure things were in order for her. Hugh usually spends all his spare time each summer repairing and cleaning, etc. This year he was unable to do anything.
As I said, we have visited here many times. We have been here more than any of their family or other friends. OK, we’ll stay for a few days and see what we can accomplish. We do love it here, the scenery is idyllic, the people fantastic and of course there is the Cabot Trail.
For the next 4 days I spent several hours each day painting, cutting grass, cleaning eaves, repairing lawn furniture and emptying ‘things’. I got up early every day, made a coffee and sat on the beach deck watching the sun rise. Absolutely awesome. After breakfast I got as much work done before noon as possible, then it was off to ride the Trail and hike the Highlands. In the evenings we drank beer and played cards or just sat and listened to the ocean. I love this place.
Quite a bit has changed in the 25 or so years since we first visited Cape Breton. Our favourite pub used to be the Thirsty Hiker in the basement of the GlenGorm Inn; but that is under new management and the pub is now closed. They used to have a one man band there every evening and the place was packed with fun loving tourists and locals all singing along with the ballads and shanties. We did manage to take Margaret to her favourite café, The SeaGull for lunch. They still have the best fish and chips in 
the area, but somehow not as good as I recall. The SeaGull is a very old family run restaurant with an enclosed (in plastic sheeting) patio overlooking Ingonish Bay. The place was packed and we stood in line for about 20 minutes before finding a table in the main room. The service was terrible, too many customers, not enough family.
Prior to leaving on this trip, Roz had made friends with a fellow Spyder rider on Facebook who lived in Ingonish. Mike and his wife had recently sold their home in Kitchener and purchased the Island Inn. Roz called Mike and he invited us over for a coffee. The inn was a beautiful old frame mansion on the hill in the middle of the little village of Ingonish. After coffee on the huge verandah and a very pleasant chat with Mike and Rhonda, Mike volunteered to lead us on a ride up the coast. Of course we had been on every road in this area many times, but it was a lovely day for a ride.
There is only one main road, the Cabot Trail, that winds its way up the coast. If you have never been to Cape Breton, go. The Cabot Trail is renowned worldwide as one of the premier motorcycle riding roads in the world. Some of the scenery is truly breathtaking. The problem is that it is a narrow 2 lane road and the traffic can be quite thick, especially on sunny weekends in July and August. This is further complicated by badly needed road c
onstruction. The main hiway past Neil’s Harbour is closed for the summer as they completely tear it out for a 5 mile stretch for widening and replacement. We seldom take the main hiway anyway preferring to ride the old hiway along the shoreline. Now all the traffic must go this route.
We travelled up the road, not bothering to explore the few sideroads. Mike stopped at Angie’s Family Restaurant for lunch. Service was slow, food was mediocre and prices were a little higher than would be expected for such a small, cozy place. We travelled back to Ingonish only stopping once at Broad Cove to admire the scenery.
On the third day at the cottage and after my choirs, I took off on my own to rediscover some of my favourite places. On the scenic road around Neil’s Harbour the first bay you come to is the little hamlet of New Haven. When I pulled over to take a photo of the view a young lad, Trevor, rode over to me on his bicycle to admire the Harley. We chatted for about 10 minutes, he was born here and had never been farther than Sydney. His dad was a fisherman and his mom worked at the hospital. One day he was going to buy a Harley and ride to Halifax or maybe Boston.
My next stop was the sideroad down to White Point. I love the short trip off the mountain down into this picturesque old fishing port. It is truly a different world. Next, back out onto the Cabot Trail then a ride out to Dingwall. Many of the roads around here wander along the coast or follow a river or some other natural flow of the land. Most are poorly paved and if you decide to leave the main road be prepared to encounter large potholes or gravel. If you do decide to be adventurous, use caution but you will be rewarded with some startling views and interesting non touristy locales. My favourite along this section of the Trail is Bay St Lawrence. The village has almost disappeared, populated now with only a couple of scattered shops and houses perched on the rocks around the Bay. Bay St Lawrence was apparently the first place John Cabot stopped when he visited this area over 400 years ago because it has a deep, accessible, natural harbor. If you are real adventurous, take the side road up to Meat Cove, but beware, the last section up the mountain is gravel and steep. There is a campground at Meat Cove with a spectacular view and a Chowder Hut. Check it out if you can.
The following day I decided I needed to go for a hike after several hours trying to be handy Andy. One of my favourite hiking trails in the area is Mount Franey, but that is at least a 4 hour hike and quite a climb and I am getting to old to jog around like I have in the past. My second favourite is MiddleHead. To get there you have to ride past the Keltic Lodge and the Highland Links Golf Club. The lodge is now an upscale inn and spa catering to those with lots of money. They do have an afternoon tea that is reasonably priced that will allow you to take in the old world atmosphere. Try it. And 25 years ago The Highland Links Golf Course was rated as the number one course in Canada. The first time I played there they did not have cart paths so you had to carry your clubs. Not a big deal until you consider that the tenth tee is about 1000 feet above sea level and the first few holes run along the coast and it is almost a kilometer between the 8th green and the 9th tee. Take the cart if you want to play this challenging and extremely scenic course. The course is remarkable in many ways, rough cut in the 1930’s by hand. There are only a few places on the course where you can even see another fairway. If your ball leaves your fairway it is lost in the bush, just drop another and take the penalty. The view from the 15th tee is unbelievable, almost 600 yards long, down a steep, bumpy hill with the iconic church steeple as a guide to the green and the Atlantic Ocean as a back drop. .
I parked in the lot just past the Inn and removed my chaps. I had come prepared, wearing shorts and hiking boots. The MiddleHead trail is an old cow path from the original farm settled here by a Scottish lord in the 1800’s. The ‘MiddleHead’ is a mountainous spit of land that juts out into the ocean for about a mile. The trail has many spots along the way where you can stop for great views of Ole Smokey across the Bay, but the real treat is the headland itself. The Trail ends at a cliff standing about 100 feet above the Atlantic Ocean. Sea birds flash the cliff edge to get a lift on the air flow rising off the sun drenched cliffs. And if you are extremely lucky you can perhaps catch site of a whale at sea or seals on the rocks at the foot of the cliff. Its a perfect spot to stop and enjoy a quick snack. The round trip takes about 90 minutes depending on how quick you walk and how often you stop to be amazed by the scenery.
Then it was back to the cottage and a quick dip in the ocean before dinner. Margaret’s homemade offering was capped by a spectacular evening sitting on the deck watching the ocean and sipping on a cold one. Yep, a tranquility and peace that the rest of the world may never experience.
Tomorrow we continue the adventure.