Baddeck, Canada Summary

The amenable resort and yachting town of BADDECK, some 90km east of the Canso causeway along Hwy 105, enjoys an attractive lakeside setting on St Patrick’s Channel, an inlet of the Bras d’Or Lake. It is also home to the fascinating Alexander Graham Bell Museum (daily: June, Sept & early Oct 9am-6pm; July & Aug 8.30am-7.30pm; mid-Oct to May 9am-5pm; $4.25), which overlooks the waterfront from a tiny park and whose excellent exhibits do full justice to the fertility of Bell’s mind. The museum is a mine of general biographical information about Bell and gives detailed explanations of all his inventions – both successful and unsuccessful. Most famous for the invention of the telephone, Bell also made extraordinary advances in techniques for teaching hearing-impaired children, a lifelong interest inspired by the deafness of his mother, and undertook pioneering experiments in animal husbandry. He also worked on aircraft and boats, and his nautical adventures culminated in 1919 with the launch of the world’s first hydrofoil, the HD-4 (of which there’s a full-scale replica in the museum), which reached a speed of 70mph on the lake right in front of town. Bell (1847-1922) spent his last 37 years in Baddeck, working away at Beinn Bhreagh (no public access), the family mansion that still stands amongst the trees just across the bay from town. The museum is Baddeck’s only significant sight, but the town’s waterfront makes for an enjoyable stroll and in July and August the local Lion’s Club runs a free shuttle-boat service from the municipal jetty to Kidston Island, a couple of hundred metres offshore, where you can take a walk in the woods.