The Cabot Trail - Smokey Mountain - Keltic Lodge

Today was the day when our driving ability was really going to be put to the test. We had to make the descent down Smokey Mountain! - not that easy with a weighty motorhome especially on tight "S" bends. We have since learnt that Kiwis and people from Nova Scotia do not speak the same language when it comes to describing driving conditions. It was a descent of about 335 metres over a length of 3.5 kms with one quite tight bend and a few wiggly bits! They would have a blue fit if they saw some of our hills. It was not as twisty or steep as the Hundalees are in places. We stopped at the Keltic Lodge prior to this descent as one of the people at church had said it was worth a visit. Located at the end of a high peninsular, alongside a fairly prestigious golf course, it was probably the most luxurious accommodation in Cape Breton with fabulous views. Shame we had the motorhome; could have stopped the night! Having completed nearly the full round trip we left the trail just above Baddeck where we had started out and cross over the Bras d'Or Lake, this time at the other end, on the ferry and stopped in Englishtown. This is the where Angus MacAskill died in 1863 at the age of 38. He was known as Giant MacAskill because of his height, 7ft 9ins, and his weight 475lb. We took a short walk down the road to the museum, if that is what you could call it. They had some relics of the past, some photos, along with his bed, chair and walking stick.