Planning a Trip

Look at a map of Nova Scotia and you'll see the thin strand of Digby Neck extending southwest from Annapolis Basin. You might guess from its appearance on the map that it's a low, scrubby sand spit. You would be wrong. In fact, it's a long, bony finger of high ridges, spongy bogs, dense forest, and expansive ocean views. The last two knuckles of this narrow peninsula are islands, both of which are connected via 10-minute ferries across straits swept with currents as strong as 9 knots.

Although neither the neck nor the islands have much in the way of services for tourists -- just one real lodge, a couple of B&Bs, and a few general stores -- it's worth the drive if you're a connoisseur of end-of-the-world remoteness. The town of Sandy Cove on the mainland is picture-perfect, with its three prominent church steeples rising from the forest. Both Tiverton on Long Island and Westport on Brier Island are unadorned fishing villages where pickup trucks are held together with Bondo and bailing wire. You get the distinct feeling that life hasn't changed much in the past few decades -- or at least since 1960, when the roads were finally paved on Brier Island.

Getting There

Digby is Nova Scotia's gateway for those arriving from Saint John, New Brunswick, via ferry. The ferry terminal is on Route 303, west of Digby. If you've come in on the ferry and want to check the town out before continuing onward, watch for signs for downtown from the bypass or you could end up on Route 101 before you know it. From other parts of Nova Scotia, Digby is accessible via Exit 26 off Route 101.

Route 217 runs 72km (45 miles) south from Digby to Brier Island. Two ferries fill in when you run out of mainland. They leave East Ferry (about a 45 min. drive from Digby), on the mainland, for Long Island every hour on the half-hour, and then depart from Long Island for Brier Island on the hour. The ferries are timed such that you can drive directly from one ferry to the next, provided you don't dawdle. Round-trip fares are C$4 (US$3.60/£2) per car on each ferry; fares are collected on the outbound leg only.

Visitor Information

The province maintains a visitor information center (tel. 902/245-2201) in Digby on Route 303 (on your right shortly after you disembark from the Saint John ferry). It's open April to November. There's also the municipal Visitor Information Centre located on the harbor at 110 Montague Row (tel. 902/245-5714). It's open daily 8:30am to 8:30pm May to mid-October, and daily 9am to 5pm during spring and fall.

A seasonal information booth (tel. 902/839-2853) is located at the local historical museum in Tiverton on Long Island. It's supposedly open from 9am to 7:30pm in July and August, though hours are sometimes more erratic than that. You might be better off collecting information at the aforementioned Visitor Information Centre on the Digby harbor before you set off. There's also a dependable provincial VIC at 227 Shore Rd. (tel. 902/245-2201), open early May to early November from 8:30am to 8:30pm.