Camino Nova Scotia - Labour Day in Cape Breton - Aug 31-Sept 4, 2023

Date and Time: Thursday evening August 31 through Monday late morning, September 4, 2023 (three days of walking in total)

Location: Celtic Shores Coastal Trail, Cape Breton Island, NS

Cost: $800 + $100 non-refundable deposit + optional shuttle (price TBA)

Refund Policy: 100% until July 21; 50% between July 22 and July 31; no refund after August 1. Deposit ($100) is nonrefundable.

About this Event:

Come walk the south-west coast of Cape Breton Island, between the Causeway and picturesque Inverness county. We begin the journey near the south-western tip of the Island, then walk north through communities made famous by landscape, culture, and memory. In our three long weekend days of walking we will trek part of “The Gael’s Trail,” which is a 92-km trek through a region where Gaelic culture, language, and history still resonate through community life and identity. Our focus on Gaelic culture in this particular pilgrimage will build on learnings about the histories and traditions of the Mi’kmaw First Nations of Unamaki, and the Acadians who have lived here since the early 1600s.

Start time: 7:00 pm Thursday August 31 (optional shuttle leaves Halifax 3:30 pm)

End time: 11:00 am Monday September 4 (optional shuttle to return to Halifax arriving approx. 2:30 pm)

Details:

Our three days of walking will take us through some of the most breathtaking country in Cape Breton, including seacoast, forest, and lakeside walking, and the Mabou highlands. The Celtic Shores trail is a “rail to trail” walking path that first began life as a stagecoach run. Camino Nova Scotia pilgrims benefit from the gentle grades of a former train line and the warmth of small Maritime communities, while experiencing, on foot, the beauty, and the culture of Cape Breton’s south-west coast.

We will be walking alongside the homes of world-famous fiddlers and musicians, alongside wharfs, churches, and distilleries of single-malt, fisheries, coal mines, and beautiful beaches. At this date our tentative plans are to overnight the first night in the Judique community centre (the home of Cape Breton’s famous Celtic Music Interpretive Centre), and the second night in a church hall in Port Hood NS. From there we will walk through Mabou, and on to Inverness, with stays in those communities.

As with all Camino NS pilgrimages, our Camino is both local, and guided. The routine usually involves some help with meals (clean up etc.), as well as check-ins and a brief daily, optional, time of spiritual reflection especially focussed on Celtic themes. Camino NS staff will be on hand to facilitate the walking, the pilgrim accommodation, luggage transportation, and to remind walkers not only of the long history of pilgrimage, but also of the Gaelic, Acadian, and Mi’kmaw heritage of the land we are walking. We may even get to hear some world-famous Cape Breton fiddle music!

Leadership Team: Matthew Anderson, Director of Camino Nova Scotia, and staff TBD

To Register:

First – reserve your place by signing up here on Eventbrite, with your non-refundable deposit of $100.

Second – Camino Nova Scotia will send a FULL registration packet to you by email. This packet will give you more complete info and help us to learn any concerns you have about diet, sleeping mats, transportation, etc.

Third – Return the forms in the registration packet by email. Your Nova Scotian Camino awaits!

Accommodation and Transportation: Accommodation for at least some overnights will be on mats in sleeping bags, in school, community, or church halls along the route. Participants must provide their own sleeping bag and pillow (which will be transported by vehicle along the route). Those not bringing an air mattress or sleeping mats must request one beforehand.

The walk begins and ends in Cape Breton. For those who are not driving directly to the trailhead but require shuttle transport to and from the Atlantic School of Theology, Halifax, a shuttle can be booked at an additional cost.

Health precautions: Because COVID-19 continues to be a concern, we require participants to be vaccinated against COVID.

To learn more about the trail, go to: https://www.celticshores.ca/

To learn more about Beinn Mhàbu, the Mabou campus of Colaisde na Gàidhlig, go to: https://www.beinnmhabu.ca/

To learn more about Camino Nova Scotia, go to: www.CaminoNovaScotia.ca

Brought to you by: Camino Nova Scotia

Need more info or have a question? No problem. Simply email Camino Nova Scotia to find out more: camino@astheology.ns.ca

Contact person: matt.anderson@astheology.ns.ca