Maritimes - Judique Nature walk

In Judique, Cape Breton, I wanted to visit the Celtic Music Interpretive Center. Unfortunatly it was closed for the season. Nearby, however, was a nice system of community trails.

I encountered a very old graveyard with a bench.

The trails are well made and sturdy enough for a wheelchair.

 

I also got a nice art shot of local mushrooms.

Maritimes - Cape Breton Bike and Hiking Paths

It is known that the Cape Breton Cabot Trail route is one of the best biking routes in the world for scenery. For those who prefer flatter trails for biking and walking there is a newer route on the South West part of Cape Breton. You can find all kinds of trails in Nova Scotia here. Theres lots to see and a good place to streach your legs and see the sights.

Maritimes - Glenora Distillery and Resteraunt

Glenora Inn and Distillery is located just North of Mabou. I had olny tried wiskey once before but know this was a gastronomic destination so I gave it a try.

The grounds are very nice.

Here is the entrance to the hotel and resteraunt.

To start I had a lobster trio: lobster salad with celery, lobster sushi with wasabi aoli and lobster wonton with chili sauce. A delicious start!

As a main I had the smoked pork chop, asparagus and potatoes. Very nice but I would have liked them more smoked.

As an accompanyment I had thier fourteen year old wiskey, one half ounce. Interesting. I could taste the little flavors but have no idea if it was good or not.

Lastly I had the chocolate blueberry pot de creme which filled me up nicely. Tasty too.

I stopped by the brook again for a while until the mosquitoes came out. Otherwise a good tasting meal and good experience.

Maritimes - Laurel's Bed and Breakfast

Laurel's Bed and Breakfast is an excellent place to stay at when visiting Cape Breton, Nova Scotia. Near Mabou, it is well located for visiting the island, its sights, food and music. Laurel is friendly, knowledgable and a great cook. Breakfasts are a treat for the senses.

Maritimes - Fortress Louisbourg - Inside the Community

Here is a fellow dressed as a servent for one of the Captain's of the Fortress.

Here is an assortment of vegatables that the renactors use in making food for the day.

Here is a lady showing how to make lace, a popular passtime.

A room full of charts and maps.

Here is an old drawing of Chateau Amboise, where my wife and I went to last year.

They also had a display of how the buildings were made back in the day. Here is the drainage system for water.

Here is the soldier renactor showing the chapel in the main barracks of the fortress.

Here is the same renactor cleaning his rifle, as he fires it off at the beginning of every tour.

This is the final post on Fortress Louisbourg. When in Cape Breton, Nova Scotia, stop by early to get a good day at the site. Too see the other posts of the background, outside the fort, inside the fort and the buildings of the community, click on the links.

Other posts on Forts built during the same time period are:
Fort George in Halifax, Nova Scotia
Fort Beausejour/Cumberland near Amherst, Nova Scotia
Fort Edward near Windsor Nova Scotia

Maritimes - Fortress Louisbourg - The Community

Here is the main street linking the inner harbour on the port side to the main fortress and barracks. During peak season there would be many reinactors...and tourists.

Here is a view of half the town from the side of the fortress. As you can see there are many buildings and most are open during the tourist season. All are made using the plans, art and techniques of the timeperiod it was built.

This buiding, for instance, was designed by a Captain of the Fort whose wife lived in the area for a time. She knew how cold it would get and infuenced the final design.

This building, also for a captain, was built for him and his wife who were from a warm area of France. They were always cold in the fall to spring period because of the high ceilings and thin walls.

This is one of the working gardens and paddocks they have in the town. It helps to immerse yourself in the timeperiod of the 1740's.

Here is one of the reinactors dressed in typical clothing for a French citizen.

Maritimes - Fortress Louisbourg - Inside the Fortress

The inside of Fortress Louisbourg is very nicely made. Although there were other barracks nearby, they are still ruins so the main building is doing triple duty: Barracks for men and officers, Chapel and Governor's quarters.

Here is the typical uniform of a French garrison soldier in the 1740's.

This is the back of the main building.

This paddock is for the Governor himself. It would have animals, stored food and wine as well as a small garden.

Here is the main inner area of the fortress, with ramps to the upper defencive wall.

At points in the town are guard posts for the soldiers keeping an eye on the populace and for possible invaders

Maritimes - Fortress Louisbourg - Outside the Fortress

Here is a view of the fortified causeway entrance. This is also the main entrance to the fort turing the main part of tourist season.Note the low lying areas that could be filled with water to act as a moat, if the defenders have enough time.

Here is the series of defendable lines that soldiers could be positioned at to repluse attackers. Because of the stepped nature of these defenses, they are useless to the attacker if they take them.

This is a view of the rise on the other side of the depression tot eh middle of the fortress. Cannon can and were placed to bombard and beseige the fortress.

The walls are high and several feet thick.

Cannon were situated to either give supporting fire or aimed together to give barraging fire.

One of the last defences are these sniper nests. You could aim at distant or nearby attackers or scouts with secure comfort.

Maritimes - Fortress Louisbourg - Introduction

Fortress Louisbourg was built by the French government in order to have an ice free harbour to protect thier fishing industry. Originally called Havre à l'Anglois, it was established in 1713. This habitation quickly grew with more buildings, fortified walls and a garrison. This Fortress was to be the most expensive one, for the time, in North America by its heyday in the mid 1740's.

Unfortunatly it was built surrounded by higher ground and the main defensive consideration was defending against sea based assaults. This was a factor in its surrender to the British in 1745. When it was given back in the Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle, the British built a fortified port in Chebucto Bay and called Halifax in 1749 (for more about Fort George in Halifax, click on my blog article here)

In order to stop the British Colonists moving Westward, the French and its Indian allies tried to stop them which led to the French Indian War in 1754 which led to the larger Seven Years War in 1756.

In 1757, Fortress Louisbourg suffered a failed attack by the Britsh but the French Navy helped to repluse it. Without the Navy's help, it fell under a new British assault in 1758.

This fortress was used in an assault on Quebec the next year that was the last gasp of French control of North America.

Engineers systematically demolished the walls and fortifications in 1760 to make reuse by the French impossible. In 1961 a rebuilding of the Fortress and town was done for use in a historic park, which was expanded and still in use today.

Maritimes - Lobster Kettle

The Lobster Kettle resteraunt is a great little place in Louisbourg with a view of the Fortress. I had the down home seafood chowder which was filled with local fish and shellfish. Very tasty lunch and i'd come back here for lunch or supper.

Maritimes - Townhouse Pub

The Townhouse Pub, in Antigonish Nova Scotia is an excellent place to go for food and music. For starters I had six raw local oysters, with a lemon dipping sauce. Then it was the bangers and mash (2 of the Pork Shop’s Bratwurst Sausages, creamy mashed potatoes, and your choice of Stout & Bacon Baked Beans or Sauerkraut (GF option) ). With these I has the local Stutz cider. Everything was very tasty and filling. In the background were some local celtic musicians and added to the ambiance. I'd come back here again.

Maritimes - Fort Edward

Fort Edward is located in Windsor, Nova Scotia. It was an important British fort and was built to withstand Mi'kaq, Acadian and French attacks. In 1750, the British failed to take the Acadian settlements of Chignecto (the ithsmus between New Brunswick and Nova Scotia) and ordered the local Acadians to burn down thier Catholic church so a fort could be built on the strategically positioned land.

After the Battle of Fort Beausejour in 1755 (go here for my post), Fort Edward was the central point where local Acadians were rounded up during the Bay of Fundy campaign. More than 7000 Acadians were sent away during this event. During the expulsion there were Acadian and Mi'kmaq raids on the fort, which did damage a warehouse. These raids were for nought.

During the American Revolution and the War of 1812, the fort was garrisoned and used to house privateer prisoners of war.

During WW1, the fort was used as a training base. In particular it was the site used to train the Jewish Legion. They were to be used to free the Palastinian area from the Ottoman Empire and they participated in the Jordanian Valley actions in 1918.

In 1920 the fort became a national historic site. In 1992 the blockhouse was designated a federal heritage building and is the oldest surviving blockhouse in North America. Here is a look at the inner architecture of the blockhouse.

Maritimes - Tangled Garden and more

Right near the Just Us! Coffee Roasters Co-Op (previously posted about here) is this delightful place that sell jams plus other fruit delights, the Tangled Garden. I only tried thier jams but they are varied and delicious. Give them a try when near Wolfville, Nova Scotia (Grand Pre actually). There is also a winery nearby, Domaine de Grand Pre Winery, that sells a supurb apple wine, Pomme d'Or.

Maritimes - Oaklawn Farm Zoo

Oaklawn Farm Zoo is a medium sized zo in Aylesford Nova Scotia, just East of Greenwood. They also have animals that are in thier senior years from other zoos so they can live thier final years in a relaxed setting. They also have a very tasty fish burger!

They have farm animals as well as other more exotic animals.

We were there mid day so the animals were in thier siesta phase.

I wish the cages and pens were larger but for a low budget it was apparent the animals were well treated. It was also a good stop to spend time with my sister and nephew. A list of some of the animals they have are here.