Heading to Halifax

2026-08-01
Halifax, Nova Scotia

We have relocated to Halifax for the weekend. We set out this morning from Baddeck heading south in moderately inclimate weather. By the time we got down to Halifax, none of the settings on my wipers felt as unloved as the 9 on a microwave. We did stop at a local grocery store as we got close to town to refill our water. We've used up five gallons so far, and expect that three more needed to be purchased to get us through the trip.

But the good news is that there was a break in the clouds just as we got to Peggy's cove. This lighthouse is claimed to be the most photographed lighthouse in the world. A reader with an amazing memory might recall that the Portland lighthouse makes the same claim. I don't think there is real data to support either claim, but on this particular Saturday Peggy's was bustling with tour buses and full parking lots. It doesn't say "willingly photographed" so hopefully they are all volunteers...

We did eventually get a parking spot, and walked through the quaint fishing village chock full of tourists. Not many fishing villages can boast three separate public restrooms and a main street full of craft shops. Maybe fishermen need a lot of blown glass?

We got up to the lighthouse itself and it was crowded with tourists such as ourselves. There was a busker playing an Alpine Horn of all things, and doing a decent job of it I think. Honestly, who in this country knows if the Alpine Horn player is actually any good? Also, to the side a bit was a wedding. Probably for $20 they could have had the wedding processional played on the horn.

I had enough of the crowds so we headed up the road a few kilometers to the trail to Polly's Cove. We were out walking around the loop when Valerie noticed some rain clouds barreling down on us, so we headed back to the car. The rain continued for an hour or so at various levels.

That timing worked pretty well as we drove about that long to the next hike. It was along the coast. However, I didn't read the recent reviews of the hike. When we couldn't find parking, we checked what others were saying. Currently the trail is essentially a swamp all the way to the coast, and parking is in meter-high weeds. In other words, this is a trail for a different time of year. On to our hotel in Halifax.

After getting cleaned up, we ate supper and walked the board walk here in Halifax. We got to see a tall ship, some cool sculptures, and a mess of restaurants. It was "Buskers Weekend" so there were performances. We didn't watch them, but were happy when they pulled crowds away and less happy when they blocked the walk.

Driving Distance:
Hiking Distance: 5 km (3 miles) approximate.