ARISAIG, N.S. — Tucked away on the Northumberland Shore, on Route 245 north of Antigonish, lies the community of Arisaig, a thriving community that draws in tourists and offers its residents so much to do.
Arisaig was the first place the Scottish settled in Antigonish County, says Mary MacLellan, secretary and founding member of the Arisaig Community Development Association. John Ban Gillis, she says, landed at Pictou in 1791 and travelled east along the Northumberland Strait to a particularly sheltered cove he called Arisaig because of the similarities to his home community Arisaig, Scotland.
The area known as Arisaig is actually comprised of a number of these Scottish settlements along the shore, including Knoydart, Maryvale West, Malignant Cove, Doctors Brook, McArras Brook, and Arisaig. According to the Arisaig website, over 10 years ago, these communities came together to form the Arisaig Community Development Association, creating a community economic plan, with the tag line, ‘Where Community, the Fishery, and Tourism Connect.’
With this in mind, the association has created a world-class wharf area, drawing in hundreds of people each year.
To begin with, the group reconstructed the Arisaig lighthouse. The original had burnt in 1930.
“The lighthouse has become a gathering place particularly in the evenings where the sunsets are spectacular,” says MacLellan.
Visitors can get an ice cream at the lighthouse canteen on-site, and a number of summer events are centred around the wharf and waterfront, making the lighthouse a key focal point.
Every summer, the community holds a variety concert at the wharf on the last Sunday in July. This year’s event attracted over 200 people, which featured local talent and raised funds for the Arisaig Community Development Association, says MacLellan.
Growing bigger
Also on the wharf are the Lobster Interpretive Centre and a small tearoom.
“The tearoom became so popular it overtook the interpretive centre and we changed to a larger menu and called it The Dockside Café,” adds MacLellan.
The building is too small for both the Lobster Interpretive Centre and the café, she says, so the centre will be moving to a larger space, which should be ready this fall. It’s set to open next summer.
Inside the interpretive centre, the focus is on the fishing industry. An eight-minute video showcases the local lobster industry, there are numerous interpretive panels with interesting facts and information about the lobster fishery, a taxidermist has mounted three lobsters - green out of the sea, red cooked, and a unique lobster, she said.
“My son caught a blue lobster this summer, kept it in the fishery plant expecting we would have our new place ready, which will have a touch tank in it,” MacLellan said.
As this didn’t happen, she says, he let it go at the end of the season - after lots of pictures were taken with people holding it.
In addition, the wharf is home to an operating fish plant, floating docks for recreational boaters and there’s a very sandy, protected swimming area at the beach. Visitors and locals alike can pick up the small trail down to the beach behind the community hall to the Frenchman’s Barn rock formation, across to the wharf and on to the provincial park.
Finding fossils
To the west of the wharf is the Arisaig Provincial Park, which MacLellan says is very well-used year-round for walking and hiking or snowmobiling throughout the old growth forest.
“People drive out to the park to watch seals on the ice flows in the winter,” MacLellan said.
But, most of all, the park is probably most famous for its fossils.
Sally O’Neill, of New Glasgow, who works with the nearby Active Pictou County organization, says every time her family visits the park, they always find fossils.
In her article in Shores of Discovery, O’Neill writes that fossils can be most easily found to the west of the park by following the trails to the cliff’s edge and climbing down the path to the beach.
O’Neill says it’s important to remember that all fossils are the protected property of the provincial government and cannot be removed without a permit. She suggests taking a photo as it is lighter to carry.
Overall, MacLellan says Arisaig is worth the trip off the beaten path. She says visitors will find open door access to the church, plenty of history connected to the graveyard, and can even try out the newly-installed pickleball courts.
The population of Arisaig is increasing with the return of a number of young families and their young children, she says, while numerous retired or partly-retired residents have built permanent homes with the intention of living here permanently.
“The friendly welcoming atmosphere cannot be beat,” she adds.
Go online: For more information on the Arisaig communities and what there is to offer, visit arisaigns.com.
